El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Arabic: ٱلْحَاجّ مَالِك ٱلشَّبَازّ‎, romanized: al-Ḥājj Mālik ash-Shabāzz, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) also known as Malcolm X was an African American nationalist and civil rights activist. Before he became Malcolm X, his original name was Malcolm Stuart Little. Malcolm X's father was a Baptist minister whose skin was very dark, whilst his mother's skin was of a much lighter tone. His parents taught him to be proud of being black in an openly anti-black society. Malcolm X's father died when Malcolm was only six years old, leaving his mother in poverty.