In the winter of 1965, supporters of civil rights in Alabama mourned the untimely passing of a strong voice for equality. On Sunday, February 21, Malcolm X took the stage of the Audubon Ballroom in New York City, preparing to address a rally of the newly formed Organization for Afro-American Unity, a group formed by the speaker to fight for civil and economic equality for African Americans. Just a week earlier, Malcolm X’s home had been firebombed, and many believed that the crime was perpetrated by the Black Muslims, a revolutionary quasi-religious group known for advocating militant self-defense, and whose leader, Elijah Muhammad, had recently expelled Malcolm X as part of a larger power and identity struggle within the group. Malcolm X feared for his life, telling his autobiographer, Alex Haley, that he would not survive to read the finished product and applying to local authorities for a permit to carry a pistol.
Becoming Alabama:
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