In 1930 Earl and Louise Little built on this site the house that was home to Malcolm X and his siblings Wilfred, Hilda, Philbert, Reginald, Yvonne, Wesley, and Robert. Malcolm was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925. The Littles led the Lansing chapter of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association and advocated Black economic self-sufficiency. In Lansing they lost their first home after a court ruled that they could own land but not live in a white area, and arsonists destroyed the house. In 1931 the Reverend Earl died under suspicious circumstances. Louise tried to hold the family together and foster Black pride in her children, but in 1937 welfare services began breaking up the family. Malcolm lived with families in Mason until he was sixteen, when he left school, moved east, and in 1946 was imprisoned for petty crimes. In prison Malcolm Little began reading history and philosophy and, guided by his brothers, started following the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. After his 1952 parole, he used the names Malcolm X and Malik-el-Shabazz. He achieved global prominence as a Nation of Islam preacher and spokesperson. In 1964 he left the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque Inc. and the nonsectarian Organization of Afro-American Unity. After converting to the Sunni faith, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca. His commitment to articulating racial discontent, building Black pride and self-sufficiency, and organizing for human rights began with his family and grew to encompass the oppressed throughout the world. He often visited Lansing and his Michigan family members, married Betty Sanders at the Lansing courthouse in 1958, and was assassinated in 1965.