Prison
During Little's imprisonment he met fellow convict John Bembry,[29] a self-educated man he would later describe as "the first man I had ever seen command total respect ... with words".[30] Under Bembry's influence, Little developed a voracious appetite for reading.[31]
At this time, several of his siblings wrote to him about the Nation of Islam, a relatively new religious movement preaching black self-reliance and, ultimately, the return of the African diaspora to Africa, where they would be free from white American and European domination.[32] He showed scant interest at first, but after his brother Reginald wrote in 1948 "Malcolm, don't eat any more pork and don't smoke any more cigarettes. I'll show you how to get out of prison",[33] he quit smoking and began to refuse pork.[34] After a visit in which Reginald described the group's teachings, including the belief that white people are devils, Little came to the conclusion that every relationship he'd had with whites had been tainted by dishonesty, injustice, greed, and hatred.[35] Little, whose hostility to religion had earned him the prison nickname "Satan",[36] now became receptive to the message of the Nation of Islam.[37]
In late 1948, Little wrote to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad advised him to renounce his past, humbly bow in prayer to Allah, and promise to never engage in destructive behavior again.[38] Though he later recalled the inner struggle he experienced in bending his knees to pray,[39] he soon became a member of the Nation of Islam.[38] "Between Mr. Muhammad's teachings, my correspondence, my visitors—usually Ella and Reginald—and my reading of books", he later wrote, "months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life."[40] From that time, he maintained a regular correspondence with Muhammad.[41]
In 1950, the FBI opened a file on him after he wrote a letter from prison to President Truman expressing opposition to the Korean War and declaring himself a Communist.[42] That year, Little also began signing his name "Malcolm X".[43] He explained in his autobiography that the Muslim's "X" symbolized the true African family name that he could never know. "For me, my 'X' replaced the white slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears.