Res. No. 779
Resolution recognizing May 19, 2025, as the 100th birthday of Malcolm X and commemorating May 19 annually as Malcolm X Day in the City of New York to honor his enduring legacy as an influential civil rights leader, speaker, and author
By Council Members Ossé, Cabán, Banks and Louis
Whereas, Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 19, 1925, to Louise, a homemaker, and Earl, a Baptist minister, who were followers of Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican-born Black nationalist; and
Whereas, The Littles drew the unwanted attention of local white supremacists and, in 1929, the family house in Lansing, Michigan, was burned down; and
Whereas, In 1931, the body of Earl Little, who had been a chapter president of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, was found on the streetcar tracks under mysterious circumstances; and
Whereas, In 1938, after struggling financially to raise her children by herself, Louise Little was committed to a state mental hospital and left Malcolm and his six siblings without a home; and
Whereas, Malcolm went into care until his sister, Ella Collins, brought him to live with her in Boston when he was 15; and
Whereas, Malcolm, who had dropped out of school, began a life of odd jobs and low-level crimes until he was arrested in 1946 for grand larceny and sentenced to 8 to 10 years in prison; and
Whereas, In prison, Malcolm studied and embraced the teachings of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and its leader Elijah Muhammad, who corresponded with Malcolm while both of them were in prison; and
Whereas, Elijah Muhammad preached that white society kept Black Americans from achieving political, economic, and social success and that the NOI’s goal was a separate state of their own; and
Whereas, Upon Malcolm’s release in 1952, he moved to Detroit and joined the NOI, famously changing his last name to “X” to represent the unknown African tribal name he should have had rather than the “slave name” of Little; and
Whereas, Malcolm became a spokesperson for the NOI, working under Elijah Muhammad, and helped grow its membership from about 400 members in four temples in 1952 to tens of thousands of members in 49 temples a decade later by travelling the East Coast and telling Black Americans about the NOI’s advocacy for Black Americans; and
Whereas, In 1958, Malcolm married Betty Dean Sanders, who had changed her name to Betty X before she met her future husband and who was later known as Betty Shabazz; and
Whereas, An impressive speaker with natural charisma, Malcolm became the leader of the NOI’s Harlem temple, where he preached about Black self-reliance and the Black nationalist movement, and soon became a national figure; and
Whereas, During this time as Malcolm’s fame grew, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began to monitor the activities of the NOI; and
Whereas, After serious personal and political disagreements with Elijah Muhammad, Malcom left the NOI in 1964 to form Muslim Mosque, Incorporated; and
Whereas, Malcolm’s travels to the Middle East and Africa, including a pilgrimage to Mecca and his adoption of Sunni Islam, gave him a broader view of his beliefs, and he began to consider joining with other Muslims he met there as he called for the unity of all oppressed people; and
Whereas, On April 3 and again on April 12, 1964, Malcolm delivered “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech one month after leaving the NOI, with the April 12 version, considered by some scholars as the definitive version, given at King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit to a crowd of 2,000; and
Whereas, In the speech, Malcolm explained that the “political philosophy of black nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community” and that the “time when white people can come in our community and get us to vote for them so that they can be our political leaders and tell us what to do and what not to do is long gone”; and
Whereas, Malcolm also spoke of the importance of Black Americans going into business and supporting Black businesses in order to create employment opportunities and make the economy of their own communities work for them; and
Whereas, Malcolm further called for putting religious differences aside, noting that “[w]hether you are a Christian or a Muslim or a nationalist, we all have the same problem,” which is that “they hang you ’cause you’re black”; and
Whereas, Malcolm also claimed that “[w]e suffer political oppression, economic exploitation and social degradation,” that “this government has failed us.” and that “[w]e see America through the eyes of someone who has been the victim of Americanism”; and
Whereas, Malcolm further noted that Black Americans were “disillusioned,” “disenchanted,” “dissatisfied,” and “frustrated,” and that “in 1964 you’ll see this young black man, this new generation, asking for the ballot or the bullet”; and
Whereas, Malcolm went on to imagine that there could be a “bloodless revolution” in America because all America has “got to do is give the black man in this country everything that’s due him, everything”; and
Whereas, Malcolm then pictured taking the civil rights fight to “the United Nations and let the world see that Uncle Sam is guilty of violating the human rights of 22 million Afro-Americans…Uncle Sam, with the blood of your and mine mothers and fathers on his hands…[w]ith the blood dripping down his jaws like a bloody-jawed wolf”; and
Whereas, Malcolm concluded the speech with the idea that Black nationalism can unite Black Americans, regardless of their other beliefs, and thus gain control of their own political and economic lives in their own communities; and
Whereas, In the wake of becoming an international figure, tensions between the NOI and Malcolm increased; and
Whereas, Malcolm received death threats before suffering the firebombing of his house in February 1965; and
Whereas, While giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem a week later on February 21, 1965, to a weekly meeting of his Organization for Afro-American Unity, Malcolm was assassinated at the age of 39 in a hail of bullets; and
Whereas, Malcolm’s funeral in Harlem on February 27, 1965, was attended by well over 1,000 people, including leading civil rights leaders; and
Whereas, Well-known actor and activist Ossie Davis said in his eulogy of Malcolm that it “is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate, but nonetheless proud community has found a braver, more gallant young champion than this Afro-American who lies before us-unconquered still” and that “Malcolm had stopped being a ‘Negro’ years ago…[and] had become an Afro-American and he wanted-so desperately-that we, that all of his people, would become Afro-American too”; and
Whereas, Doubleday’s editors had asked writer Alex Haley to collaborate with Malcolm on his autobiography, which Doubleday published nine months after his assassination; and
Whereas, Since its publication, the best-selling Autobiography of Malcolm X has been read and praised by generations of civil rights activists; and
Whereas, Literary giant James Baldwin’s unfinished screenplay adaptation of the Autobiography of Malcolm X eventually became the basis for Spike Lee’s acclaimed Malcolm X film in 1992; and
Whereas, After Malcom’s assassination, Betty Shabazz raised their six daughters by herself, including twins born after his death, became a university professor and administrator at The City University of New York’s Medgar Evers College, and spoke internationally on social justice causes before her death in 1997; and
Whereas, The designation of a day is fitting to commemorate the life and legacy of Malcolm X, whose commitment to fighting for the rights of Black Americans is remembered today by young civil rights activists in his adopted home of New York City and throughout the country; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York recognizes May 19, 2025, as the 100th birthday of Malcolm X and commemorates May 19 annually as Malcolm X Day in the City of New York to honor his enduring legacy as an influential civil rights leader, speaker, and author.
LS #18510
2/6/2025
RHP