Louise Little
1897?-1989
Louise Little was the mother of Malcom X.
In 1917, Louise became an active member (secretary and branch recorder) of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). She met her husband, Earl Little at UNIA and married in 1919. Malcom X (born 1925) was the fourth of her seven children.
Because of the Little’s involvement with UNIA, the family received threats in Omaha, Nebraska from the KKK they relocated to Lansing, Michigan. There they continued to be harassed and their house was burned down by a white racist group. In 1931 Louise’s husband died under mysterious conditions, rumored to have been killed by white racists. Following the birth of her last child, Louise had a nervous breakdown in 1938 and was committed for the next 26 years to a mental hospital. Her children fought to get her out and succeeded in 1963.
After her release, Little lived quietly with one of her daughters until her death.