Hello, and welcome to this lesson on the role of Malcolm X in the Civil Rights Movement.

This lesson is part of a broader inquiry looking at the way the Civil Rights movement changed after 1965.

In the course of this unit, we'll be looking at the changing ideas and the new groups and movements formed after 1965.

However, the focus of this lesson will be the role of Malcolm X.

Now, before we get started, you're going to need a piece of paper and a pen.

If you don't have one, that's absolutely fine.

Just pause the video now, get everything you need, and then come back and press play when you're ready to go.

Great work.

Now you've got your piece of paper and your pen ready.

We can have a look at our lesson outcome, which is now on the slide.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to say that you can describe the role of Malcolm X in the Civil rights movement, which includes his changing attitudes in the mid-60s.

In order to do this though, we're going to need some keywords, and for today we've got five keywords: White supremacists, separatism, orator, pilgrimage, and Black Power.

Now, we'll be seeing these words in the context of the lesson, but it's really important to have a look at some definitions first, so that when we see them again later, it'll help reinforce our understanding of them.

So firstly, White supremacists are people who believe that those identified as Whites are superior to all other races.

Separatism is the belief that keeping people separate is the right thing to do.

So, for example, a group called the Black Muslims believed in separating Whites and Black Americans.

An orator is a public speaker.

A pilgrimage is a religious journey to a place of significance.

Muslims usually go on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.

And finally, Black power is the political name for groups aiming for self-determination for Black Americans.

Now we've got our keywords.

We can get started on today's lesson.

And in the first part of our lesson, we'll be looking at the early life of Malcolm X.

Now, Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little, the son of a Baptist preacher in 1925 in Nebraska.

But as a result of violent threats from the KKK, his family moved to Michigan where the threats would continue.

When Malcolm was six, his father was murdered by a group of White supremacists.

Although the police said that his death was an accident and his family were denied the benefits after his father's death.

Four of his uncles were also murdered in similar circumstances.

After his father died, Malcolm's mother had a nervous breakdown and he was sent to a foster home.

But despite doing well at school, he dropped out at the age of 15 and moved to Boston.

And in Boston he became involved in various criminal activities, but it was in 1946 at the age of 21 that he was sentenced to prison for 10 years for burglary.

But it was during his time in prison that he first learned about the teachings of a man called Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Black Muslims, also known as the Nation of Islam.

Now, before we go on to look a little bit more about the Black Muslims, also known as the Nation of Islam, we're just going to pause and check our understanding so far.

So firstly, I'd like you to tell me which two of the following statements about the early life of Malcolm X are correct.

A, his family moved to Michigan because of violent threats from the KKK.

B, at the age of six, his mother was murdered by White supremacists.

c, at the age of six, his father was murdered by White supremacist, and d, he was the son of a Muslim leader in the local community.

Pause the video now, make a decision, and when you've got an answer, come back and press play.

We know that the answers are a and c.

His family moved to Michigan because of violent threats from the KKK, but unfortunately the age of six, this violence continued and his father was murdered by White supremacists.

His mother was not murdered by White supremacists.

Although following the death of his father, he suffered a nervous breakdown and he was sent into foster care.

We know that he was not the son of a Muslim leader in the local community.

He was the son of a Baptist preacher.

However, he discovered the teachings of Elijah Mohammed, a leader of the Black Muslims while in prison for burglary.

Now, I'd like you to tell me which two of the following statements about Malcolm's life in Boston are correct.

I've kind of given some away already, so hopefully you were listening.

Is it a, he moved to Boston from his hometown in Nebraska, b, he graduated from high school in Boston, c, he became involved in various criminal activities, or D, he was sentenced to 10 years for burglary? Pause the video now, make a decision, and come back when you've got an answer for me.

Excellent.

We know that the correct answers are c and d.

We know that when he moved to Boston, he became involved in various criminal activities, and then in 1946, he was sentenced to 10 years for burglary.

Now, I'd like you to put what you've learned into practise by writing an account of the early life of Malcolm X, making sure to include the following details in your response.

The KKK, White supremacists, Boston, 10 years, and Elijah Mohammed.

Pause the video now, make sure you've got these key details in the paragraph you're about to write, and then in about five to 10 minutes when you've completed your account, come back and press play.

Excellent.

Now let's have a look at what your account might have included.

So you might have said Malcolm Little, later known as Malcolm X, was born in Nebraska in 1925, but as a result of the violent threats from the KKK moved to Michigan with his family, however, the violence continued and his father was murdered by a group of White supremacists.

After this, his mother had a nervous breakdown and Malcolm was sent to a foster home.

Although Malcolm did well at school, he dropped out when he was 15 and moved to Boston where he would become involved in crime.

At the age of 21, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

It was during this time that he first heard the teachings of Elijah Muhammad.

Really well done.

Hopefully you got all of those key details in there, and by doing it, you've got one of our keywords, White supremacists, in there as well.

If not, not to worry.

You can pause the video now and make a note of any of these sentences that you're like, ah, I really wish I added that in there.

Now, in the next part of the lesson, we're going to be looking at a group known as the Black Muslims. They're also known as the Nation of Islam.

Now, they were founded in 1930 and quickly became known as a movement that brought together the beliefs of Islam and Black nationalism.

The Black Muslims also believed in separatism, and therefore they oppose the involvement of White Americans in the Civil Rights movement.

The Black Muslims were one of several groups who opposed Martin Luther King Jr's commitment to nonviolent protests.

However, Malcolm X later wrote in his autobiography that he believed that he and Martin Luther King had the same end goal.

So here on the slide we can see a photograph of Elijah Muhammad giving his speech to Black Muslims. And remember, it was the teachings of Elijah Muhammad that caught the attention of Malcolm X while he was in prison.

Now, before we go on to look a little bit more at the Black Muslims, we're gonna pause and check our understanding quickly.

So I'd like you to have a quick discussion, either with the person next to you, or if you're doing the session independently, try and articulate a response out loud for me.

So what were the core beliefs of the Black Muslims? Pause the video now.

Give yourself 15 seconds to think first, and then have a go at answering this question, or having a discussion with the person next to you.

Give yourself a couple of minutes to do this and then come back and press play when you've got beautiful articulation ready for me.

Excellent, so hopefully in your beautiful, brilliant responses, you've said that it was a combination of the beliefs of Islam and Black nationalism that they believed in separatism.

And hopefully you've explained what that is from our keywords.

It's the belief in separating different groups of people, in this case, separating Black and White Americans.

Also that they were opposed to the commitment to nonviolent protests by other leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr.

Really well done.

Let's go on to look a little bit more at the Black Muslims. So I told you earlier that Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little, but when he joined the Black Muslims, Malcolm X changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X.

It was typical for members to change their surnames to X as a way of rejecting the surnames that came from slavery.

After being released from jail in 1952, Malcolm X would go on to become one of the most famous members of the Black Muslims. As an excellent orator, he quickly increased their membership to a hundred thousand by 1964.

As a leader of the Black Muslims, he travelled across the USA to set up organisations for young Black people in poorer areas.

And as a result of his childhood experiences, Malcolm X preached against trusting White Americans and encouraged his followers to defend themselves by any means necessary, and this included violence if needed.

Now, sometimes people get a little bit confused here and assume that he openly just advocated for violence in all instances, but he was very clear in what he encouraged.

He encouraged the use of violence as self-defense if needed.

So while unfortunately, Malcolm X is remembered largely for his support of violent opposition, he was instrumental in motivating many young Black Americans to reconnect with their African heritage and the increasing number of Muslims among the Black community.

So remember, changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X, and this was really typical of other people within the Black Muslim community.

As an excellent orator, he increased their membership to a hundred thousand.

And although he's largely remembered for his support of violent opposition, what he was instrumental in doing was motivating many young Black Americans to connect with their heritage and also supporting younger Black Americans in poorer neighbourhoods across the USA.

Now we're going to pause here, check our understanding and put what we've learned about the Black Muslims into practise.

So firstly, we're gonna have a discussion, again, with the person next to you, or out loud if you're doing the session independently, I'd like you to discuss what Malcolm X did as a leader of the Black Muslims. So have a think about the different things that were mentioned.

You can include what maybe he's best known for, but what he was still really instrumental in organising and leading.

So pause the video now.

Again, give yourself 15 seconds to have a think before you start your discussion or before you start articulating out loud.

And then come back in a couple of minutes when you've got some beautiful, brilliant responses ready for me.

Really well done.

So in your discussion, you might have mentioned the increase in the membership of the Black Muslims to a hundred thousand by 1964, using his skills as an orator.

One of our key words, you might have mentioned that he set up organisations for young Black people in poorer areas.

You might have mentioned that he preached against trusting White Americans.

He encouraged members to defend themselves, but he was also instrumental in motivating young Black Americans to reconnect with their African heritage.

Really well done if you were able to get these key ideas in your discussions.

Now let's have a go at putting this into practise.

To do that, we're gonna need to read Jun's account of the role of Malcolm X as a leader of the Black Muslims. He says Malcolm X was one of the most famous leaders of the Black Muslims. As a leader and excellent orator, his most important contribution was his open support for the use of violence by Black Americans who looked to defend themselves.

He travelled around the USA, sharing his views and increased the membership of Black Muslims to a hundred thousand by 1964.

So what I'd like you to do is to write one paragraph explaining why Jun's account is an oversimplification of the role of Malcolm X.

It's not that he's using incorrect facts, but he seems to have simplified it to the point where he's missing out some really key ideas.

So pause the video now.

Give yourself five to 10 minutes to write one paragraph explaining why this account is an oversimplification of the role of Malcolm X.

Great work.

Now let's have a look at what your answer could have included.

You might have said, while Jun is correct to acknowledge Malcolm X's role in increasing the membership of the Black Muslims and his support for the use of self-defense, which included violence if necessary, this account oversimplifies the role of Malcolm X, as he also made many other contributions as a leader of the Black Muslims. Malcolm X travelled across the country to set up organisations for young Black people in poorer areas, as well as playing a central role in supporting many young Black Americans to reconnect with their African heritage.

Brilliant work if you are able to point out some of the key things that Jun missed out in his account, including the role he played travelling the country, helping young Black Americans in poorer areas and helping them to reconnect with their African heritage.

If not, not to worry.

Just pause the video now and give yourself a couple of minutes to jot down some of those key ideas.

Really great work.

So in the third and final part of this lesson, we are going to be looking at the changing attitudes of Malcolm X.

And these changing attitudes began in 1964.

This is when things would change drastically.

He left the Black Muslims and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

On this trip, Malcolm X saw Muslims of different races living and working together, and so he decided that Islam might be the way to overcome racial discrimination in the USA.

He no longer encouraged people to turn against White Americans, but taught them that racism itself was the problem.

And after returning from this pilgrimage, he set up another two organisations called the Muslim Mosque Incorporated and the Organisation of Afro-American Unity, which brought him enemies within the Black Muslims. Despite his new enemies, his changing attitudes and more moderate philosophy would go to become the foundation of the Black Power Movement and the Black Panther Party.

Inspiring many, most notably, Stokely Carmichael, a leader of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which by the mid-1960s had become a huge civil rights organisation.

This change in attitude also changed his relationship with Martin Luther King.

And by the end of 1964, it appeared the two civil rights leaders were moving towards some level of alliance in the fight against racial injustice.

And we can see them here in 1964.

This looks very different to what we were talking about earlier, where he was leading the Black Muslims who oppose many of Martin Luther King's key ideas.

But as we can see here, his change in attitude meant that by the end of 1964, they seemed to be moving closer towards some kind of alliance.

Unfortunately, Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, only a year after his pilgrimage.

So he was not able to see through much of this new philosophy.

Although there is a lot of controversy surrounding his assassination, it's believed that he was shot by members of the Black Muslims. And we can see a photograph here of followers of Malcolm X kneeling by him after he'd been fatally shot.

Now, before we finish for today, we're going to check our understanding again one last time, and then put what we've learned into practise.

So firstly, I'd like you to tell me whether this statement is true or false.

Malcolm X had made enemies in the Black Muslims by 1964.

Pause the video now and come back when you can tell me whether this statement is true or false.

Excellent work.

We know that this statement is true, but we need to have a think about why.

Is it true because many of his views changed after his pilgrimage, including his views on separatism, or was it because many of his views changed after his pilgrimage, most of which were too religious for the Black Muslims? Again, pause the video, make a decision, and come back when you've got an answer for me.

Excellent.

Hopefully you said a.

It is true that Malcolm X had made enemies in the Black Muslims by 1964, and this is because many of his views changed after his pilgrimage, including his views on separatism.

Now, our last discussion for today, I'd like you to discuss with the person next to you, or again out loud if you're doing this independently, absolutely fine.

How had the relationship between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X changed by the end of 1964? So again, like before, give yourself 15 seconds to think about your response before you start your discussion, and then give yourself a couple of minutes so both of you have a chance to articulate a response.

When you've got some beautiful, brilliant responses for me, come back and press play.

Brilliant.

So hopefully in your discussion, you both mentioned that it was as a result of Malcolm X's more moderate philosophy, it seemed that the two leaders were moving towards an alliance by the end of 1964.

Really well done.

So what I would like you to do for our last practise task of today is to explain how Malcolm X's beliefs and attitudes changed by 1964, making sure to include these phrases and details in your response.

This led to, as a result of, Mecca, racism, Muslim Mosque Incorporated, Black Power, and Martin Luther King.

So pause the video now.

Give yourself 10 minutes to complete this final task for today and then come back when you're done.

Really well done.

Let's have a look at what your answer may have included.

So you might have said in 1964, Malcolm X adopted a much more moderate philosophy.

After his pilgrimage to Mecca.

On his pilgrimage, he saw Muslims of different races living peacefully together.

This led to him seeing racism itself as the problem, rather than White Americans, with Islam as a way to overcome racism.

As a result of his changing beliefs, when he returned from Mecca, he set up the Muslim Mosque Incorporated and the organisation of Afro-American Unity.

Although his actions brought him enemies from within the Black Muslims, his changing beliefs would go on to inspire the Black Power movement and leaders of other civil rights organisations, for example, SNCC.

In addition to this, his more moderate views by the end of 1964 led to an alliance seeming to be formed between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

Really well done for getting all those keywords in there.

If you weren't able to, not to worry, just pause the video now and make a note of those extra sentences so your response is even more incredible than it was before.

Fantastic.

Now the last thing we're going to do is look at a summary of what we've learned today.

So first, we learned that after being released from prison, Malcolm X became a leader of the Black Muslims known as the Nation of Islam.

We also learned that Malcolm X supported separatism and preached against trusting White Americans.

Thirdly, we learned that although Malcolm X supported the use of violence in self-defense, he also played a pivotal role in supporting young Black people in poorer areas.

And then finally, in 1964, he left the Black Muslims and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which led to him adopting a more moderate philosophy.

Unfortunately, his assassination in 1965 meant that he was not able to see much of his new philosophy through.

Really well done in this lesson.

You have worked absolutely fantastically.

You've covered lots of information, but you've persevered and done some brilliant work.

I'm so impressed.

Really well done.