Trivia

During his early adulthood, he and a close friend were both noted for their reddish brown hair which subsequently led to their both being called by the nickname "Red". In an attempt to distinguish these two men with identical nicknames, their associates prefaced the nickname "Red" with cities these two men had frequented. Subsequently, Malcolm X became known as "Detroit Red", and his friend - a local dishwasher - was called "Chicago Red"; "Chicago Red" later become famous as the comedian known to the world as Redd Foxx.

According to his autobiography, his adapted surname, "X", symbolized his ancestor's original African surname, which he felt his ancestors had been robbed of by being forced into slavery, and therefore, by extension, he had been robbed of this as well.

Following his assassination, he was interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Friends took up the gravediggers' shovels to complete the interment themselves. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965, three months away from what would have been his 40th birthday on May 19, 1965.

On February 12, 2021, the house in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts, where Malcolm X resided with his half-sister Ella Little-Collins and began getting involved into the Nation of Islam, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house that once stood in Omaha, Nebraska was the first house where Malcolm X resided with his birth family. In 1965, the house was torn down before the current owners knew about the connection with Malcolm X. On March 1, 1984, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is currently identified by the State Historical Marker.

His autobiography was technically ghostwritten. He dictated his life story to Alex Haley, who wrote this book. Learning Malcolm's life story inspired Haley to investigate his own ancestry, through which he eventually learned the name of his ancestor kidnapped from Africa. Haley wrote the book "Roots" about his family history, and this have turned into a famous miniseries.

Played by Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992), Mario Van Peebles in Michael Mann's Ali (2001), and Kingsley Ben-Adir in One Night in Miami... (2020).

Had six daughters: Attallah Shabazz (born 1958), Qubilah Shabazz (born 1960), Ilyasah Shabazz (born 1963), Gamilah Shabazz (born 1964), and twins Malaak and Malikah Shabazz (born 1965).

Brother of Ella Collins, Wilfred X and Philbert X, uncle of Rod Collins.

Was friends with James Baldwin, John Henrik Clarke, Ossie Davis and Gordon Parks.

A few days before he was born the Ku Klux Klan smashed the windows of his family's house in Omaha, Nebraska who demanded his preacher father come out and face the angry mob as they intended to lynch him. He was not at home at the time.

His most famous words, "by any means necessary", were derived from Italian political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli's book "The Prince".

He was considered one of history's greatest and most influential African Americans.

He was mentioned in singer Billy Joel's 1989 novelty song "We Didn't Start the Fire".

Chosen by GQ magazine as one of the 50 most stylish men of the past 50 years.