Malcolm X in Lansing

Malcolm's Third Lansing Home

Malcolm X moved to 4705 Logan Street (now Martin Luther King Boulevard) in 1930. Malcolm’s father, Earl Little, built the house for his family when they got tired of the racial segregation of East…

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Academy

By Marisa Elzy

“Today will be the best day of my life! It will be a day where I honor my ancestors and my parents by doing excellent work. It will be a day of peace while I perform all of my assignments without…

Mason High School

By Kristin McConnell

Although brief, the two years Malcolm Little spent at Mason High School were extremely influential to his perspective on race relations as his experience, especially his multiple confrontations with…

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Featured Tours

Malcolm's Homes

6 Locations ~ Curated by Marisa Sundin, Brianna Brennan, Marisa Elzy

Recognition throughout the City of Lansing

3 Locations ~ Curated by Brianna Brennan, Marisa Sundin, Marisa Elzy

Malcolm's Education Shaped by White Supremacy

3 Locations ~ Curated by Kristin McConnell, Claire Nowinski, Darrell Williams

Malcolm in Mason

5 Locations ~ Curated by Claire Nowinski, Kristin McConnell, Darrell Williams

The Making of Malcolm

7 Locations ~ Curated by Jack Kissinger, Rachel Brunhild, Rory Brosnan

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Random Stories

The Erickson Kiva at Michigan State University

By Jack Kissinger

The Erickson Kiva is located near the center of campus of Michigan State University. Malcolm X was invited by the university’s NAACP chapter and the African Students Association and gave his speech “The Race Problem in America” on January 23rd,…

Work Site: REO Motor Car Company

By Rachel Brunhild

While previously, the REO Motor Company hired primarily white workers, in the 1940s, the demand for labor increased due to the war. In his autobiography, Malcolm X recounted how previous to the war, REO did not hire black workers, but later began to…

Work Site: Dr. Gertrude O'Sullivan

By Claire Nowinski

One person that Malcolm X worked for in Mason, Michigan, was Dr. Gertrude O'Sullivan (http://brothermalcolm.net/mxtimeline.html). Malcolm was a chauffeur and houseman for Dr. Sullivan. There was not much information for when he started and stopped…

Second Location of Temple No. 16/ Philbert X (Little)'s House

By Becca Tresnak

In 1964, the Nation of Islam Mosque No. 16 moved to Philbert X (Little)'s house at 408 S. Butler Blvd. in Lansing, MI. The mosque was only in this location for a short time until it was closed down. The building has since been torn down (Evolution of…

Work Site: Coral Gables

By Rachel Brunhild

When Malcolm X worked for Coral Gables in the 1940s, it had turned into a place for big bands to be showcased. It was called the “Coral Gables Ballroom” and it attracted well-known bands and musicians. At this time, it was the closest place to the…

Pleasant Grove Elementary School

By Brianna Brennan

Malcolm enrolled in kindergarten at Pleasant Grove in the January of 1931. Malcolm and his family were the first to integrate into the all-white community of Lansing after moving to the area from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the school, Malcolm and his…

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Malcolm X in Lansing

Malcolm's Lansing is the creation of Michigan State University's Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) Fall 2015 class: RCAH 192: Proseminar: Malcolm X in Lansing. The 13 students worked to learn and apply research methodologies, and this is their creation. Sources for each individual page can be found at the bottom--and have been hyperlinked whenever possible. We welcome your comments and insight into our tentative conclusions. The class benefitted greatly from assistance provided by MSU's LEADR Lab, Digital Humanities specialists from MSU Libraries, and the Department of History. This site is powered by Omeka + Curatescape, a humanities-centered web and mobile framework available for both Android and iOS devices. Read more About Us