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, b. May 19, 1925, d. Feb. 21, 1965, was an influential American advocate of BLACK NATIONALISM, and--as a pioneer in articulating a vigorous self-defense against white violence--a precursor of the black power movement of the late 1960s. Born Malcolm Little in Omah ....

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.... An ideological split developed between Malcolm and the more conservative Elijah Muhammad, and in 1963 Malcolm was suspended as a minister of the Black Muslims. After a pilgrimage to Mecca, he announced (1964) that he had become an orthodox Muslim and founded the rival Organization for Afro-American Unity. His travel in the Middle East and Africa gave him a more optimistic view regarding potential brotherhood between black and white Americans; he no longer preached racial separation, but rather a socialist revolution. His career ended abruptly when he was shot and killed in New York City on Feb. 21, 1965, by assassins thought to be connected wi ....