Source: Les Payne. The Dead Are Arising - The Life of Malcolm X (2020)
On 15 November 1915 in Georgia, shortly after the “Birth of a Nation” became America’s first blockbuster movie, the 2nd KKK was born, and it became far-too-influential in shaping the landscape of Post-WW I America. At the time, time, the NAACP leadership was actually mostly white, while the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA, with Marcus Garvey the leader) was 100% African-American. Earl and Louise Little were enthralled w/ Garvey, and formed a UNIA chapter. Inspired by the spectacle lynching of Will Brown in Omaha (1919), locals created Klavern #1, the first 2nd Ku Klux Klan unit in Nebraska.
In 1922, the 2nd KKK wrote Garvey requesting a meeting, and Garvey accepted, naively thinking that the 2nd KKK might be able to help him with his massive legal troubles with the US Gov’t. On 25 June 1922 in Atlanta, Garvey and a key leader of the 2nd KKK met. When the meeting was leaked by the 2nd KKK, it was a boon to W.E.B. DuBois and the NAACP in the Civil Rights arena, in that Garvey was discredited, and that his Black Separatism movement was actually not resonating with most African-Americans. By the Summer of 1922, the Littles were very much in the minority within the world of African-American Civil Rights.
All the while, the FBI monitored and increased tensions between the UNIA and the NAACP with great relish. The Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, used those divisions to try and divide-and-conquer, not seeing Civil Rights, but Communist agitators. Garvey had been arrested, and was sentenced to five yeas on prison for mail fraud concerning the UNIA’s Black Star Line corporation; the federal government wanted Garvey deported to his native Jamaica.
In 1922, the 2nd KKK wrote Garvey requesting a meeting, and Garvey accepted, naively thinking that the 2nd KKK might be able to help him with his massive legal troubles with the US Gov’t. On 25 June 1922 in Atlanta, Garvey and a key leader of the 2nd KKK met. When the meeting was leaked by the 2nd KKK, it was a boon to W.E.B. DuBois and the NAACP in the Civil Rights arena, in that Garvey was discredited, and that his Black Separatism movement was actually not resonating with most African-Americans. By the Summer of 1922, the Littles were very much in the minority within the world of African-American Civil Rights.
All the while, the FBI monitored and increased tensions between the UNIA and the NAACP with great relish. The Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, used those divisions to try and divide-and-conquer, not seeing Civil Rights, but Communist agitators. Garvey had been arrested, and was sentenced to five yeas on prison for mail fraud concerning the UNIA’s Black Star Line corporation; the federal government wanted Garvey deported to his native Jamaica.
While Garvey appealed his sentence, the Littles saw Garvey as a living martyr, and as a result were even more all-in with their support. In the midst of this fierce and destructive conflict within the Civil Rights arena was the divide between “Light-Skinned” and “Dark-Skinned” African-Americans. “Light-Skinned” African-Americans viewed themselves as superior, using the tenets of racial superiority to their advantage. Louise was a “Light-Skinned” African-American whose ancestry was from the Caribbean, while Earl was dark-skinned. During the 1920s, Louise was treated very differently than Earl by not only whites, but also within the local African-American community.
By February 1925, Garvey had exhausted his appeals and would spend about three years in prison, essentially for a $25 mail fraud charge. President Calvin Coolidge decided, mostly to avoid an appeal dealing with prosecutorial misconduct in the Garvey case, to commute his sentence and deport him to Jamaica as an “undesirable alien”. The Littles, nonetheless, clung to Garvey’s message. All of these events led to the 2nd KKK paying a “visit” to the Little home in Omaha in 1925 (with Louise pregnant with Malcolm, and Earl 500 miles away in Milwaukee). In effect, Louise faced down the 2nd KKK, who left after making threats and breaking a window; had Earl been home, the result would have been far more violent and horrific.
Earl decided to move his family to Milwaukee shortly after the incident. Milwaukee in the mid-1920s was the 12th-largest US city, which had a large percentage of its population composed of German, Polish, Russian, Irish, Italian, and Scandanavian ancestry/immigration. During the Great Migration, many African-Americans decided that Milwaukee was preferable to Chicago, looking for jobs in meatpacking, bricklaying, brewing, and shipping (Milwaukee is about 90 miles north on Lake Michigan from Chicago).
By February 1925, Garvey had exhausted his appeals and would spend about three years in prison, essentially for a $25 mail fraud charge. President Calvin Coolidge decided, mostly to avoid an appeal dealing with prosecutorial misconduct in the Garvey case, to commute his sentence and deport him to Jamaica as an “undesirable alien”. The Littles, nonetheless, clung to Garvey’s message. All of these events led to the 2nd KKK paying a “visit” to the Little home in Omaha in 1925 (with Louise pregnant with Malcolm, and Earl 500 miles away in Milwaukee). In effect, Louise faced down the 2nd KKK, who left after making threats and breaking a window; had Earl been home, the result would have been far more violent and horrific.
Earl decided to move his family to Milwaukee shortly after the incident. Milwaukee in the mid-1920s was the 12th-largest US city, which had a large percentage of its population composed of German, Polish, Russian, Irish, Italian, and Scandanavian ancestry/immigration. During the Great Migration, many African-Americans decided that Milwaukee was preferable to Chicago, looking for jobs in meatpacking, bricklaying, brewing, and shipping (Milwaukee is about 90 miles north on Lake Michigan from Chicago).
As they had in Nebraska, the Littles decided that they would not live in Milwaukee’s designated “Negro Area”, and rented a place in a predominantly Italian neighborhood. Italians in the mid-1920s were undergoing a sort of review by American whites, seen as “Honorary Whites in Waiting”. In Milwaukee, where the city’s population was 50% immigrant, Italians were considered to be the lowest rung on the social ladder, just above African-Americans. There were negative stereotypes galore concerning Italian-Americans, and the 2nd KKK had targeted that immigrant group due to its Catholicism. Also, the 2nd KKK targeted Italians seeing them as major bootleggers, violators of Prohibition. But with all that being said, in Milwaukee, the 2nd KKK and law enforcement largely left the Italians alone in their enclave. As within African-American communities, Italian-Americans, due to their lighter complexion, saw themselves as superior to African-Americans, such as the Littles.
Earl Little wasted no time in trying to get Garvey’s conviction overturned, even writing directly to Coolidge (Garvey was still imprisoned in Atlanta in June 1927, awaiting deportation). Louise opened her little garment-making (and alterations) shop, taking measurements and orders; being multilingual, Louise was able to communicate with Italian customers. Louise also kept active on the UNIA front, using her language skills in that sphere as well. Both Earl and Louise worked hard to try and restore the UNIA’s reputation and influence.
The Little kids went to public school, and it wasn’t long before they were exposed to the immigrant working class’s beliefs in racial superiority. Soon enough, the Littles moved to Michigan, living with Earl’s brother, James, and then moved to Lansing in 1928. As in Omaha and Milwaukee, the Littles chose not to reside in the “Negro Area” of Lansing, and rented a place in the less densely-populated east (white) side of Lansing. Earl quit his foundry job in order to use his carpenter skills in construction.
Earl Little wasted no time in trying to get Garvey’s conviction overturned, even writing directly to Coolidge (Garvey was still imprisoned in Atlanta in June 1927, awaiting deportation). Louise opened her little garment-making (and alterations) shop, taking measurements and orders; being multilingual, Louise was able to communicate with Italian customers. Louise also kept active on the UNIA front, using her language skills in that sphere as well. Both Earl and Louise worked hard to try and restore the UNIA’s reputation and influence.
The Little kids went to public school, and it wasn’t long before they were exposed to the immigrant working class’s beliefs in racial superiority. Soon enough, the Littles moved to Michigan, living with Earl’s brother, James, and then moved to Lansing in 1928. As in Omaha and Milwaukee, the Littles chose not to reside in the “Negro Area” of Lansing, and rented a place in the less densely-populated east (white) side of Lansing. Earl quit his foundry job in order to use his carpenter skills in construction.
Earl found it difficult to gain traction in construction since word was out concerning his UNIA activities, and as a result he was unable to earn union scale wages, always subjugated to the “helper” (apprentice) level. “Concerned” whites forced Earl’s boss to fire him, and he was forced to work off-the-books for even lower wages as a private carpenter. The Littles moved to the west side of Lansing in an area that had been legally declared “for whites only”. The previous owner of the house violated the covenant, selling to the Littles. Eventually, in 1948, the Supreme Court would rule racial covenants unconstitutional, but in 1922, the Supreme Court ruled that racial covenants were not only legal, but enforceable. Neither Louise or Earl had any idea about the racial covenant that as in place. A judge ruled that the Littles could own the property, but could not live in the house. The judge ordered the Littles to vacate their home.
During the night of 8 November 1929, and explosion rocked the house, and the Littles were able to escape their burning home. The Lansing Fire Department refused to come to the aid of a “colored” house. Contrary to all the evidence and reasoning, it was determined by the powers-that-be in Lansing that Earl had committed arson. Investigators didn’t lift a finger to move towards the truth, but zeroed-in on Earl’s admission that he had shot at the two fleeing men who had committed the crime. The only focus at that point for the authorities was whether-or-not the weapon was registered. Earl had given the unregistered .38 Colt handgun to someone he felt he could trust, and told the authorities he had used a shotgun. When discrepancies were discovered between Earl’s account compared to the other members of the family, Earl was jailed under suspicion of arson, held under $500 bail.
During the night of 8 November 1929, and explosion rocked the house, and the Littles were able to escape their burning home. The Lansing Fire Department refused to come to the aid of a “colored” house. Contrary to all the evidence and reasoning, it was determined by the powers-that-be in Lansing that Earl had committed arson. Investigators didn’t lift a finger to move towards the truth, but zeroed-in on Earl’s admission that he had shot at the two fleeing men who had committed the crime. The only focus at that point for the authorities was whether-or-not the weapon was registered. Earl had given the unregistered .38 Colt handgun to someone he felt he could trust, and told the authorities he had used a shotgun. When discrepancies were discovered between Earl’s account compared to the other members of the family, Earl was jailed under suspicion of arson, held under $500 bail.
Four months later, the arson charges were dismissed, but Earl had been away from his family the entire time. Earl’s reputation on both sides of the racial divide were badly tarnished. The fire only increased the resolve of Louise and Earl to live where they chose, and they bought an acreage (six acres) just south of Lansing. It was during the time that four year old Malcolm Little was old enough to start to register the world around him., and Malcolm had to have at least registered the emotions/desires in play by his parents, and registered the negative consequences.
Contrary to most African-Americans in the 1920s, who taught their kids ways to avoid trouble with whites (if nothing else, for the sake of survival), the Littles taught their kids about racial equality and independence. Lansing’s population (according to the 1920 Census) of 57k was almost all white, including 700 African-Americans, which was around 1% of the population. With no real audience in Lansing, Earl often traveled to Detroit, which like Chicago, was a major destination during the Great Migration.
Malcolm was enrolled in kindergarten in January 1931 in an all-white elementary school, two miles from their acreage. Malcolm got along well-enough with recent immigrant kids, but with the “Hillbilly Whites”, Malcolm got into fights. About the only thing positive for the Littles was that Louise was Caribbean (lighter skinned), which to whites meant that she was “less Black”, and therefore, more “accommodating” and “agreeable”. Louise in particular advised her kids to not react to racial slurs, hoping/expecting that if there was no reaction, then the racial slurs might diminish or stop. In no way did Louise teach her kids that they should accept that kind of behavior, and it was from learning about racial equality, standing up to racism and injustice that Malcolm was raised. Louise, Earl, and the eldest sibling, Wilfred, instilled a sense of racial pride and independence in Malcolm; he would carry all of this social perspective with him to his dying day, after spending far too many years “wandering” (in other words, engaged in criminal behavior).
Contrary to most African-Americans in the 1920s, who taught their kids ways to avoid trouble with whites (if nothing else, for the sake of survival), the Littles taught their kids about racial equality and independence. Lansing’s population (according to the 1920 Census) of 57k was almost all white, including 700 African-Americans, which was around 1% of the population. With no real audience in Lansing, Earl often traveled to Detroit, which like Chicago, was a major destination during the Great Migration.
Malcolm was enrolled in kindergarten in January 1931 in an all-white elementary school, two miles from their acreage. Malcolm got along well-enough with recent immigrant kids, but with the “Hillbilly Whites”, Malcolm got into fights. About the only thing positive for the Littles was that Louise was Caribbean (lighter skinned), which to whites meant that she was “less Black”, and therefore, more “accommodating” and “agreeable”. Louise in particular advised her kids to not react to racial slurs, hoping/expecting that if there was no reaction, then the racial slurs might diminish or stop. In no way did Louise teach her kids that they should accept that kind of behavior, and it was from learning about racial equality, standing up to racism and injustice that Malcolm was raised. Louise, Earl, and the eldest sibling, Wilfred, instilled a sense of racial pride and independence in Malcolm; he would carry all of this social perspective with him to his dying day, after spending far too many years “wandering” (in other words, engaged in criminal behavior).
During the early-1930s, a splinter group of the 2nd KKK, the Black Legion, was established in Michigan by unskilled and uneducated Protestants just up from the South; they were nothing more than a not-so-secret vigilante/terrorist group. The Black Legion would number up to 25k in Michigan alone, and wile they were operating, Earl still traveled to Detroit for UNIA reasons; no doubt the Black Legion was aware of Earl.
On 28 September 1931, twelve years to the day of the spectacle lynching of Will Brown in Omaha, Louise tried to talk Earl out of going to town that night, sensing a very bad omen; but Earl would hear nothing of it, and left. It was late that night that a police car stopped at the Little home, telling Louise to come with them to the hospital. Earl had been run over by a back wheel of a streetcar, and his left leg had been severed, his abdomen had been crushed, and there was no saving him. Earl died at 11:50 pm at the age of 41. Louise accepted the police account that Earl’s death was an accident. Malcolm took the loss of Earl the hardest, losing his anchor at the age of six.
Addendum: Malcolm X - 1931 - 1939 . . .
On 28 September 1931, twelve years to the day of the spectacle lynching of Will Brown in Omaha, Louise tried to talk Earl out of going to town that night, sensing a very bad omen; but Earl would hear nothing of it, and left. It was late that night that a police car stopped at the Little home, telling Louise to come with them to the hospital. Earl had been run over by a back wheel of a streetcar, and his left leg had been severed, his abdomen had been crushed, and there was no saving him. Earl died at 11:50 pm at the age of 41. Louise accepted the police account that Earl’s death was an accident. Malcolm took the loss of Earl the hardest, losing his anchor at the age of six.
Addendum: Malcolm X - 1931 - 1939 . . .