The March on Washington in August 1963 was one of the largest mass protests ever held in the U.S. Its physical and spiritual leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., based his entire campaign on nonviolent resistance. But his strategy was not endorsed by everyone. Another giant of the civil rights era had other ideas about the African-American struggle.
Malcolm Little spent much of his early life in Lansing, at first with his parents and siblings and later in foster homes. Little changed his name to Malcolm X when he converted to Islam. For most of his public life, Malcolm X advocated militant resistance to whites “by any means necessary.” But near the end of his life, his worldview had started to change.
In Lansing , Malcolm X’s childhood home, a group called the X Foundation carries on his memory. Dennis Burnside is one of the founders of the group. Current State’sKevin Lavery met him at a most appropriate location, the intersection of Malcolm X Street and Martin Luther King, Junior Boulevard in Lansing.