Whereas Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925 and was a leading steward and voice of inspiration for the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s; Whereas Malcolm grew up in poor urban neighborhoods, spent the remainder of his childhood in a series of foster homes after the death of his father and institutionalization of his mother, and despite being an extremely intelligent and ardent student at the top of his class, dropped out of school after being told by his teacher that he could never fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer because he was Black; Whereas after dropping out of school, Malcolm eventually turned to drugs and crime and spent years in prison, but fortunately used that time as a period of self-enlightenment and reform; Whereas by the time Malcolm was released from prison, he was a changed man and a devout follower of Islam, who changed his surname to X in order to signify his family’s unknown African tribal name that had been lost when they were given their slave master’s name Little , before he eventually adopted the Muslim name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz; Whereas Malcolm X dedicated his newfound freedom to advocating for African Americans and to sharing his faith, quickly becoming a national spokesman for the Nation of Islam, and was later appointed as a minister; Whereas Malcolm X was a skillful orator whose beliefs as a Black Muslim made him a controversial figure who was more radical than the mainstream civil rights movement, but his ability to continue learning and evolving led to changing his views on Black nationalism and becoming a proponent of international Black consciousness and integration; Whereas despite constantly receiving death threats, being a target for assassination, and barely escaping his home that was firebombed while his wife and children were inside, Malcolm X continued to fearlessly dismiss the ongoing dangers to his family and himself