Malcolm X was a very powerful influential man in his time, as well as today. Malcolm Little, from the moment he was born, was influenced by racism. He had to endure its devastating effects his entire life and eventually, as he predicted, it was the end of him. The day Malcolm Little was born he was set on a predetermined path, shaped by racism, society, and his role in both.
             From a very early age Malcolm Little experienced racism and its effects up close and personal. Growing up in Nebraska, Malcolm and his family were forced to move due to the pressure and intimidation of the Ku-Klux-Klan. A young Malcolm was exposed to devastating open racism, and to the horrendous murder of his preacher father whose case was never solved. Not many years later Malcolm was exposed to racism of another type when his mother was forced into a mental institution by the constant barrage of questions from welfare workers that led her to losing her dignity, and soon after, her mind. Malcolm's life is completely changed by these events; he is fostered by white parents, sent to white school, and most surprising of all, strived to fit in with the whites. Apparent to Malcolm later in his life, was how he was treated better by his father due to his lighter skin color. His father was a man, who spent his entire life working to better the position of blacks, but racism was so ingrained in society, he too was influenced by it. Malcolm Little was elected class president, but began to realize that he was a novelty to his white classmates. In class one day when Malcolm told his teacher of his aspirations to become a lawyer, and was put down, he realized that even whites that meant well did not accept blacks as their equals. Malcolm became more and more frustrated with the racial inequality that existed. Malcolm sought the fastest way out of his current situation and found it when he moved in with his half-sister Ella in Boston; whom he had visited the previou...