From Emmett Till to Barack Obama

obama and civil rights malcolm x
Corbis / Bettmann

Acrimony
In 1964, Malcolm X formally announced his departure from the Nation of Islam, citing his belief that it had "gone as far as it could" because of its rigid religious teachings. The resulting rift between him and the Nation intensified in the subsequent months, as the organization and its leaders began making threats against him both in public and in private. In June, the Nation sued to reclaim Malcolm X's residence in Queens, New York, saying that it was their property. On the night before a hearing to postpone the eviction date, the house (the vacant area in the photo above) burned to the ground. Eight months later, Malcolm X was assassinated by men associated with the Nation.

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