Malcolm X made a lot of mistakes when it came to women. In his famous autobiography, Malcolm X tells us his life story, but upon closer examination, all the women in his life end up on the shorter end of the stick.
Malcolm and Laura
Laura was the young woman who befriended Malcolm X when he was a 14-year-old and worked as a clerk at a soda fountain. Laura later becomes a drug addict and a prostitute. Malcolm admits to his role in her disappearance and even tells Alex Haley that he ruined his life. Laura, by the way, was the only woman to have a chapter named after her.
Malcolm and Sophia
Sophia was the white girl Malcolm chose before Laura at a dance. She was a white girl who obviously had jungle fever and it became one of the main stages of her life as a young con artist. Malcolm then convinces her and her sister to become complicit in his robbery plan. Later, after holding a piece of jewelry and being caught with a gun, Malcolm presents state evidence against him and they were both given time in the women’s reformatory.
Malcolm and Ella
She was Malcolm X’s older half-sister who moved him from the foster home to Boston to live with her. She was Malcolm’s guardian and loved him very much. She was his closest ally during his life. When he went to prison, it was Ella who worked feverishly to move him from maximum to minimum security. But, when Malcolm left the Nation of Islam and made his trip to Mecca, Ella, an Orthodox Muslim, had been saving her own money for the trip to Mecca and the Hajj for herself. Malcolm convinced her to lend him her savings so he could leave, she agreed and Malcolm admits to Alex Haley before he died that he never paid her back. Even after receiving several book previews of his autobiography.
Malcolm and Betty Shabazz
Malcolm’s wife, Betty Shabazz, gave him six daughters. She was a perfect Muslim wife and mother, dedicated to her husband and his cause. However, when Malcolm parted ways with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm claims that the only argument she gave him was her inability to save money. He knew that once the separation was final, Malcolm X would be cut off the Nation’s payroll and their home would even be taken away from them, as it belonged to the Nation of Islam. Malcolm didn’t listen. But even worse, when Malcolm X was assassinated, Betty Shabazz ran out of money to bury her husband. Even though he was under death threats and predicted that he would never live to see his autobiography finished, Malcolm X never bought life insurance for his wife and children.
There are other women who received little attention in Malcolm’s autobiography, such as a prostitute belonging to his pimp friend Sammy. Malcolm slapped her angrily due to a misguided and unsuccessful robbery attempt that Malcolm planned but got Sammy shot. Finally, Elijah Muhammad’s mistress who was used by Malcolm X to bring paternity charges against Elijah Muhammad so that he could defame Mr. Muhammad and build his own organizations. Alex Haley writes that Malcolm X took the women to the lawyer to bring these charges against Elijah Muhammad and it was Malcolm X who spoke on behalf of the women. These mistakes Malcolm X made regarding women are taken from his own words in his autobiography and paint a very sad picture of our beloved but controversial leader.
