ABSTRACT
This chapter brings together a dazzling array of perspectives on Malcolm X to discuss the importance of X as a cultural hero and provide guidelines for teaching Malcolm-related material at elementary, high school and university levels. It represents the "every day" and informal knowledge that this young Southern African American hoy has acquired about the meaning of Malcolm X for African American children. He was discouraged from school all of his life by racism. He led a life of crime from a very young age and was sent to prison. He educated himself while in prison. Also, he was introduced to the Nation of Islam. He became a great leader in the Nation of Islam and in the African American community after he was released from prison. He established a newspaper and helped organize businesses. He eventually started his own group, called the Organization of Afro American Unity. His fight for his people continued until his assassination.
