ABSTRACT
Malcolm X as a major leadership figure of the 1960s witnessed change that occurred from ordinary people that were swept up in extraordinary circumstances that resulted in grassroots actions that became part of Africana Social movements. In the context of Africana Social Movements, Malcolm X's leadership represents the catalyst for community organizing in the 1950s and 1960s exploring the possibility of social change. An important influence on Malcolm X's political ideology was Black Nationalism. After becoming a member of the Nation of Islam (NOI) in the late 1940s, Malcolm X adhered to the organization's adaptation of Garvey's sociopolitical philosophy of Black Nationalism emphasizing group empowerment through cultural pride, economic development, and social separation. In his public career, one of Malcolm X's public statements to Black people was for them to gain political control within their communities and to connect with Black people of newly independent African nations.
