Rival of

• Louis Farrakhan

  Farrakhan publicly and harshly criticized Malcolm X's break with the Nation of Islam, just weeks before his 1965 assassination.

Mentee of

• Elijah Muhammad

  Elijah Muhammad mentored Malcolm X in prison and then made him the Nation of Islam's most visible minister, before their relationship broke down in 1964.

Ideological rival of

• Martin Luther King Jr.

  Malcolm X and Martin Luther King embodied two opposing strategies, separatist self-defense versus nonviolent integration, though their positions grew closer in the final months of both their lives.

Monitored by

• J. Edgar Hoover

  The FBI closely monitored Malcolm X throughout his public career, both within the Nation of Islam and after his break with it.