Malcolm XBy Sophie Gilbert
One of the most influential leaders who fought for the rights of African Americans was Malcolm X (also known as Malcolm Little, and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz). Malcolm X was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm’s parents were Earl and Louise Little. Earl Little was a Baptist preacher who was a leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He had three children from his first marriage, and seven from his second marriage, which included Malcolm.
Unfortunately, three of Earl’s brothers died because of acts of racism, which was soon to be his own cause of death. It was said that when Earl Little was run over by a streetcar in the town of Lansing, he had just slipped and fallen on the tracks. But his wife Louise knew otherwise.
This left Louise Little to take care of her children alone. Things were really tough because Louise was unemployed, and the insurance companies refused to give her the benefits she should have received, because the police had reported that Earl Little had committed suicide. Not too long after this, Louise had an emotional breakdown and was declared legally insane. All the children were sent to foster homes, and Louise was sent to a mental hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan where she stayed for 26 years.
Malcolm Little was very intelligent, but dropped out after one of his teachers told him that being a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger.” Malcolm finally moved to Boston to live with his half-sister, Ella Little Collins.
In Boston Malcolm, who was now nick-named “Red”, worked as a shoe shiner at a place called the Lindy Hop Nightclub. There he was exposed to a whole world of jazz - he even met people such as Duke Ellington. He wore fine clothing, and like all the hip guys around, he smoothed his hair into a conk. He was living what he thought was a perfect life, dating girls, even once a white woman.
Finally, Malcolm decided that he needed to find a better job, and a way to New York. He ended up getting a job in the kitchen on a train of the New Haven Railroad. Malcolm soon fell in love with Harlem and moved to see what was in store for him there. He became embroiled in drug dealing, gambling, and robbery.
Later after Malcolm had returned to Boston, he was arrested for a burglary. He was charged with larceny and breaking and entering. His punishment was to serve eight to ten years in the Massachusetts State Prison. In prison Malcolm met a man named John Bembry who encouraged Malcolm to read as much as possible. He read mainly when the prison lights had been turned off for the night.
Eventually Malcolm began to hear about the Nation of Islam. He started to talk with Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Black Muslims. Thanks to Malcolm’s sister, he was transferred to another prison that had a much bigger library, where he began to read more and more. Finally he was released from prison.
Upon his release, Malcolm visited Elijah Muhammad. It was then that he changed his last name to X. He did this because his original last name was passed down from slave-masters. Malcolm was committed to teaching the beliefs of the Nation of Islam to others. He always started his speeches with the phrase “The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that...”.
Malcolm seemed to be teaching the world everything that Elijah Muhammad had told him. He taught that black people were the original people of the world and that white people were a bunch of devils. The Nation of Islam believed that black people were superior to the white. Malcolm was once asked about why he thought white people were devils and he said, “History proves the white man is a devil. Anybody who rapes, and plunders, and enslaves, and steals, and drops hell bombs on people, anybody who does these things is nothing but a devil.”
While people like Martin Luther King were trying to fight against racial segregation, Malcolm X was fighting for the separation of African Americans from white people. He wanted to do everything that was possible to keep the two apart. Finally after Malcolm left the Nation of Islam, he began to develop his own thoughts on racism. He began to believe that segregation was the wrong idea, but that African-Americans should stand strong for their rights to defend themselves against any whites who chose to continue their racist strong holds.
Malcolm went on a religious journey around Africa and the Middle East speaking on radio stations, and television shows, and meeting many white people who changed his thoughts and preconceived notions about all white people. Back at home he and his family had begun to be threatened by people under the orders of the Nation of Islam. They attempted to wire a bomb to his car, and called his home with death threats. He was married to Betty X (Betty Shabazz) and they had six children, so the threats were taken seriously.
One night, Malcolm was speaking in Manhattan at a Organization of Afro-American Unity meeting, when suddenly a man in the crowd of nearly 400 people shouted, “Nigga! Get your hand outta my pocket!”
Within seconds a man ran forward and shot Malcolm in the chest with a sawed off shotgun. Two other men ran at the stage and shot him 16 times with hand guns. Shortly after being taken to a hospital, Malcolm was pronounced dead. The suspects in the shooting were all members of the Nation of Islam.
At Malcolm’s funeral it is estimated that 14,000 to 30,000 people attended. The Church that held the service was filled to its full capacity of more than 1,000 people, and loudspeakers were put outside so that the crowds could listen. Among the people to respond to Malcolm X’s death was Martin Luther King, Jr. who sent a telegram to Betty Shabazz, that said “While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and the root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems we face as a race.”
I believe that the different backgrounds of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. played an instrumental role in their varied approaches to racism. Martin Luther King was born into a family, that was not as poor as Malcolm’s. They were middle class people who strongly believed in education. Martin Luther King had a positive outlook, he believed that change could happen through peaceful demonstrations and organizing. Martin Luther King believed in unity, he wanted to bring whites and blacks together.
Malcolm X wasn’t like Martin Luther King until much later in his life and career. Malcolm was born into a down trodden family. His family was oppressed, especially after the Ku Klux Klan burnt his house down and killed his father. Malcolm was never taught to value education, but later he knew it was important and taught himself many things. Malcolm did not want whites and blacks to be united in the ways of Martin Luther King. He wanted them to be separated.
No matter what, both men had a dream of a better America. They both worked hard to bring hope to all blacks, and even whites, around the world.
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Homelessnessby Sophie Gilbert
homeless |ˈhōmlis|
adjective
(of a person) without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets : the plight of young homeless people |
Homelessness is a serious problem that occurs in every village, town, city, state, country, and continent on our planet. In America alone, it is estimated that 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless. While there is much being done to help these people get food, shelter, and other services, there is still much to be accomplished. By understanding the root causes of homelessness, perhaps our society can better correct this increasingly serious problem.
There are many reasons that people of all ages face life on the streets. Homelessness and poverty are closely linked. Impoverished people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. One of the primary causes today of homelessness is not having the resources to pay for housing.
To be poor means that you are lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society. In 2005, 38,231,521 people lived in poverty in the United States. Among these, there are more children and young teenagers represented than any other age group. For many families and individuals struggling to pay rent, living with a serious illness or disability can send them straight to the streets. Usually they start out by losing their job, using up savings, and eventually it results in homelessness.
Many women who are in poverty or homeless have had to make a choice between staying in an abusive relationship or being homeless. Domestic violence is another leading cause of homelessness in the United States. Approximately half of all women and children who are homeless are indeed escaping domestic violence situations.
Many individuals who are living on the streets are effected by mental illness. These people were often at one time in mental hospitals, but once they were discharged they had nowhere to go and no way of getting back on their feet. In the United States, it can be very hard to find assisted housing for people with special needs.
Another group of people living on our streets today are those who cannot support themselves due to severe drug or alcohol addiction. Addictions are one of the largest reasons for homelessness especially in older men. Many of these men begin drinking after being challenged by a long period of depression. They often spend all of their money on their addictions, therefore ending up moneyless and unable to acquire a stable home.
Sadly, every day homeless people face dangerous environments and situations. Many die from hunger, fights, beatings, and most awful, cold weather. Every winter in Seattle, homeless people are stuck sleeping on sidewalks in 30˚ temperatures accompanied with wind, rain, and even snow. Many of the women and children living on our country’s streets are beat and raped and some turn to prostitution in hopes of making some kind of money.
Homelessness is caused by an unsettling amount of conditions. It’s sad how easily these things could be avoided if more people stepped up in their own communities to help someone out. The best time to help these people is early on before the problems get too severe. Many people talk about the issues our world faces such as homelessness, they talk, and talk, about ideas and solutions to the problems, yet they never actually get up to do something about it.
I suppose the real reason that I have chosen to write about this is because I want to be one of those people who does get up to do something. I want to find out what it is that is keeping people from acting upon this issue.
I seem able to think of easy solutions for ending homelessness - solutions that are so obvious I am astounded we aren’t doing more to implement them. For example:
- Establish jobs that pay enough for the average person to live.
- Establish sound support for people who cannot work.
- Ensure affordable housing for everyone.
- See to it that people have access to affordable health care.
- Open up more food banks.
- Open up more shelters that offer access to other services such as healthcare, job support, and food.
- Educate the public about the horrors of homelessness, and show them what they can do to help.
- Make it possible for people to make donations of blankets, clothing, food, and anything else all year round, not just seasonally.
- Create a system of assisted housing that can pull people off the streets quickly and get them back where they left off.
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Women in the Civil Warby Sophie Gilbert
There is so much information to know about what went on in the Civil War. One topic that I found interesting when I researched the Civil War was the role of women, who served during the War as spies, nurses, and even soldiers, and their experiences and relationships as the War started and ended. There were many different women whose involvement in the War was key to many of the things that went on.
Here are some descriptions of different women who gave up their normal routines to join the Civil War:
I would like to begin with Belle Boyd. Belle Boyd was a spy for the Confederacy of Woman Spies. Her main job in this was to carry letters and important documents to the enemies. Boyd was married to Captain Harding, a union navy officer. She started spying from her fathers hotel by passing on important information to General Ashby and Stonewall Jackson during 1862. Belle was arrested on July 19, 1862 after being exposed by her husband, Captain Harding.
One of the most well-known woman spies was Emeline Pigott. Emeline was a confederate spy. She started working in the war by gathering food, clothing, and other numerous supplies for Confederate troops, and was known for hiding these things around in the trees for soldiers to find. Emeline Pigott ended up finding ways to get large amounts of important information from the soldiers and never told anybody the things she knew.
Another interesting person I have found in my research that caught my interests was a woman by the name of Pauline Cushman. Pauline Cushman was an actress who decided to become a Union spy. She was born in 1833 in New Orleans, and moved with her family to Michigan. At age 18, she ran away to become an actress in New York, which was one of her biggest dreams.
While she was in Louisville, Kentucky acting in a show, two Confederate officers gave her a large amount of money to give to Jefferson Davis. Since she was so supportive of the Union, she asked one of the Union officials if that was okay for her to do. Eventually she became a Union spy, was fired by her acting manager, and removed from the Union. After that she chose to follow the confederate soldiers and told them that she was on the search for her brother. Through that lie, she was able to receive some very important information from the Confederates.
After some time, a man went through her papers which had large amounts of information about his headquarters in Shelbyville, Kentucky. She was tried, and found guilty. She was given a 10 day notice of a hanging, but lucky for her, the Union troops attacked Shelbyville before the 10 days was up and let her go. The things she had found out from the confederates helped out the Union troops in many ways. After all of this, she traveled the country doing speeches about what it was like for her to be a spy. When the war ended she continued acting, but committed suicide on December 2, 1893 because she had fallen ill and was addicted to opium.
So many women worked in both armies during the Civil War. Many of them had no idea they would end up as spies, but when they did, they were major contributors to how the war continued and eventually ended.