Malcolm Little was a victim to racist actions, which destabilized his family. A white supremacists group murdered Malcolm Little's father as a result of his support for civil rights. Mrs. Little became widowed, struggled to make money, and was deemed unfit to care for her children and was sent to a mental facility. Malcolm Little and his siblings were quickly separated between family friends and foster homes leaving Malcolm to temporarily live at a foster home. .
Despite the destabilization Malcolm Little continued to perform especially well at a new school he attended; however, that did not last as a consequence to continual racist actions he experienced. Malcolm Little consistently achieved at the top of his class academically over his white classmates. Towards the end of his 8th grade year Malcolm Little's favorite teacher asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. When Malcolm Little told him he hoped to be a lawyer, his teacher told him that was "an unrealistic goal for a nigger." Malcolm Little was devastated by his teacher's comments. Malcolm Little was devastated because he did not understand why he could not be a lawyer if he was just as smart or smarter than his white classmates. .
As a result of these racist experiences Malcolm Little dropped out of school and began to participate in illegal actions when he moved to his sister's home in Boston. Eventually he became involved with drugs and alcohol. Malcolm Little stayed demoralized and no longer cared about what happened to his life. Soon, he began committing burglaries by stealing valuables from wealthy Boston homes. When the police were after him, he took the train from Boston to Harlem, New York. When Malcolm Little first discovered Harlem, he had never been anywhere with such a diverse African American Community. There he continued illegal acts along with robberies in Boston taking trains in and out of the cities when the police were after him.
