https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p By Rachel Cain en-us 2022-02-21 18:13:04 UTC 2026-02-21 22:06:10 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/1582227130/aaf11f2e9a94bdddb3f16e6cddee6c4c/4AF77402_2E03_4ACB_884A_3141F8DF9EB7.jpg rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065374323      “Learning to Read” is an excerpt from Malcolm X’s autobiography that gives insight into his unexpected educational journey that took place during his years in prison. Having quit school in his teen years, consequently stunting his intellectual growth, Malcolm now had ample time to expand his mind by reading books. He explains how meeting Bimbi, a knowledgeable inmate with a broad vocabulary and a gift for speaking, ignited his desire to become as learned as he. Writing letters to Elijah Muhammad from prison had been difficult because of his struggle to articulate, but Malcolm began studying dictionaries to be able to express himself effectively, and the ability to understand books was also granted to him. After he had learned tons of words and their meanings, consuming the information available to him in the prison library became his passion. Though incarcerated, Malcolm X claimed he’d never felt more free.]]> 2022-02-24 21:52:09 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065374323 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065386279 2022-02-24 22:05:20 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065386279 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065386819 Truths Malcolm X could now see because of his new ability to read changed his life. He found great value in pursuing education for its own sake, and was especially interested in history and philosophy. It was here in prison where the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, profoundly affected Malcolm. In his reading he found abundant evidence of violence against blacks committed by whites, as Muhammad had taught. Eventually, Malcolm X was driven to learn anything and everything he possibly could if he believed it might help uplift black Americans. Celebration for the pursuit of knowledge and the personal satisfaction it can bring is evident in “Learning to Read,” and the reader is easily inspired.]]> 2022-02-24 22:05:57 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065386819 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065429874 The intellectual metamorphosis he underwent because of his willingness to learn seems to be the focus of Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read.” Because it’s a section from his larger biography, it contains a few details of his experiences in prison as he applied himself to learning, like a reference to times he’d pretend to be asleep to fool guards when he was in fact up late reading. Malcolm’s writing feels eager, and every paragraph contains information essential for conveying his thought processes at the time he was acquiring his informal education. Additionally, this text also demonstrates Malcolm X’s writing proficiency which, of course, he gained himself.]]> 2022-02-24 22:52:39 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065429874 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065430285 Besides recounting his own experience and satisfaction with learning, perhaps Malcolm X intended to provoke academic curiosity in his readers through this section of his autobiography. “Learning to Read” no doubt covers parts of Malcolm X’s social ideology. Although this particular text includes some of his motives for becoming active in the Civil Rights Movement, he merely explains them. Persuading the reader to join his cause or agree with his politics doesn’t seem to be his goal in this section, although it should be noted that Malcolm X was very close to the hurt experienced by black Americans in the fight for equal treatment, and he makes it known in this writing that his life was a battle. His autobiography was published the year he died, and by that time his views on civil rights had evolved from what they were in prison. Nevertheless, his ideas were extremely influential and relevant to people living in his time.]]> 2022-02-24 22:53:12 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065430285 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065431016 “Learning to Read” has a dynamic aspect about it, as it’s capable of producing varying thoughts and emotional responses depending on the reader. For example, a black housewife in the 1950s would most likely have thought differently about Malcolm X’s words compared to a white teenager living in the 2020s. What was it like to self-educate in the 1940s versus now? Between both whites and blacks, what were the prevailing ideas about race throughout most of the 1900s, and how have they changed? These are questions readers of today might ask when reading this essay. Using Malcolm X’s educational experience as motivation, readers might see value in seeking answers for such questions, and in delving into America’s bittersweet history.]]> 2022-02-24 22:54:09 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065431016 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065440619 nps.gov
whyislam.org
pbs.org
allthatsinteresting.com
aaihs.org
livescience.com

]]> 2022-02-24 23:06:04 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065440619 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065441840 socialistalternative.org 
nps.gov
thoughtco.com
oah.org
whitehousehistory.org
tibbottrichardson.com]]> 2022-02-24 23:07:39 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065441840 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065460614 • Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, and his family lived at 3448 Pinkney Street. They moved to Michigan soon after he was born because of threats from the Ku Klux Klan. ]]> 2022-02-24 23:28:35 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065460614 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065467689 • Malcolm’s father died mysteriously when his sons were young, but it’s suspected he was killed by white supremacists. A few years later Malcolm’s mother was sent to an asylum because of her mental illness. ]]> 2022-02-24 23:34:22 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065467689 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065473074 • When he was roughly twenty years old, Malcolm was sent to prison for larceny. In prison is where he discovered his love for knowledge. ]]> 2022-02-24 23:41:05 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065473074 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065478426 • Malcolm had stopped attending school at fifteen years old.]]> 2022-02-24 23:47:39 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065478426 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065480612 • While a young man in prison, Malcolm X converted to the brand of Islam taught by Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. ]]> 2022-02-24 23:50:23 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065480612 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065484922 • After being released from prison, Malcolm, born as Malcolm Little, changed his last name to “X” to symbolize his lost African ancestry and culture. ]]> 2022-02-24 23:55:41 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065484922 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065487884 • Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam quickly and was its main spokesman during the 50s and early 60s. He worked closely with Elijah Muhammad himself. ]]> 2022-02-24 23:59:03 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065487884 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065489539 • Membership in the Nation of Islam grew from hundreds to tens of thousands during the time Malcolm X spent working for the organization. ]]> 2022-02-25 00:00:55 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065489539 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065497363 • The Nation of Islam’s Temple No. 7 in New York was headed by Malcolm X where he preached sermons weekly. His ideas strengthened the pride of black nationalists during the Civil Rights Movement. ]]> 2022-02-25 00:09:11 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065497363 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065500749 • There was a time when Malcolm X was arguably racist. During his time with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm believed in racial separatism and saw no place for blacks in a white society, and vice versa. He would have supported violence if he thought it was necessary for empowering black Americans. ]]> 2022-02-25 00:12:35 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065500749 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065511447 • Both men were iconic in the fight for racial equality, yet Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. had conflicting ideologies. They met only once, but unfortunately there was no possibility for a relationship to grow because the two of them were killed a short time later. ]]> 2022-02-25 00:23:56 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065511447 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065528962 • Malcolm X eventually left the Nation of Islam, one reason for his departure being the scandalous behavior of Elijah Muhammad. He traveled to Mecca where he converted to Sunni Islam, therefore becoming less radical in his approach to fighting for black liberty. He then completely rejected the Nation of Islam’s ideology and embraced anyone of any race who would stand with him in the fight against racism. ]]> 2022-02-25 00:41:08 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065528962 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065552714 • In the Audubon Ballroom in New York, as he prepared to give a speech, Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965. He was only thirty-nine. Details regarding the motive and possible perpetrators are disputed to this day. ]]> 2022-02-25 01:03:14 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2065552714 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067008233 • The Nation of Islam was a powerful influence over blacks during the Civil Rights Movement, although it was less favored because of its separatist and more radical political views. It grew quickly thanks to Malcolm’s involvement and increasing pride within black communities. ]]> 2022-02-25 21:07:41 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067008233 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067020756 • In 1955 Rosa Parks’s decision to refuse letting a white man take her seat on a bus caused a major rise in public expressions of opposition to segregation. Her action sparked bus boycotts and made her known as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Junior, Whitney Young Junior, and John Lewis were other strong supporters of black rights living at the same time as Malcolm X. ]]> 2022-02-25 21:22:49 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067020756 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067049080 • Legal action to desegregate schools happened in 1954, although many children still attended segregated schools, and much of the public, especially in the south, didn’t appreciate this development. ]]> 2022-02-25 21:56:31 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067049080 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067055068 • After John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson took his place and signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. He made many government positions available to black citizens and welcomed them into the White House. ]]> 2022-02-25 22:04:58 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067055068 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067080336 • For the better part of the 1900s, black Americans often faced harsh discrimination because of Jim Crow laws, and the violent Ku Klux Klan was source of constant anxiety for black people. ]]> 2022-02-25 22:45:21 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067080336 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067144804 Learning to read can be read here: http://www.lattc.edu/Lattc/media/lattc_media/PDFs/Learning-to-Read-by-Malcolm-X-PDF.pdf]]> 2022-02-26 00:38:09 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067144804 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067185695 This website contains a list of books Malcolm X read while in prison. ]]> 2022-02-26 01:53:23 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067185695 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067191682 2022-02-26 02:04:10 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067191682 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067193060 2022-02-26 02:06:47 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067193060 rkcain https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067195850 2022-02-26 02:11:04 UTC https://padlet.com/rkcain/numv8vhhy3puju3p/wish/2067195850