Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska . His mother, Louis Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the family's eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, who is one of the best-known African leaders in the Western Hemisphere. Malcolm first got a glimpse of black oppression at a very young age when his father's mutilated body was …showed first 75 words of 432 total…

…showed last 75 words of 432 total…contact with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as well. <Tab/>As a result of Malcolm's new views, he became the victim of death threats. On February 14, 1965, his home was firebombed; his wife and children escaped unharmed. A week later, on the 21st, Malcolm was shot and killed at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, while preparing to speak. The three arrested were later identified ironically as members of the Nation of Islam .