Malcolm X’s mother, Louise Little was born in Granada to a black woman who had been raped by a white man. This traumatic past instills her with a disgust for her own lighter skin tone, a disgust which is passed down to Malcolm. After Malcolm’s father is killed, Louise gradually loses control of her family’s finances, and eventually is institutionalized for mental illness, where she remains for the next 23 years.
Louise Little (Malcolm’s Mother) Quotes in The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The The Autobiography of Malcolm X quotes below are all either spoken by Louise Little (Malcolm’s Mother) or refer to Louise Little (Malcolm’s Mother). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
Eventually my mother suffered a complete breakdown, and the court orders were finally signed. They took her to the State Mental Hospital at Kalamazoo.
It was seventy-some miles from Lansing, about an hour and a half on the bus. A Judge McClellan in Lansing had authority over me and all of my brothers and sisters. We were "state children," court wards; he had the full say-so over us. A white man in charge of a black man's children! Nothing but legal, modern slavery—however kindly intentioned.
Related Characters:
Malcolm X (speaker), Louise Little (Malcolm’s Mother), Reginald Little, Hilda Little, Philbert Little, Wilfred Little
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Louise Little (Malcolm’s Mother) Character Timeline in The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The timeline below shows where the character Louise Little (Malcolm’s Mother) appears in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Nightmare
As the autobiography begins, Malcolm X describes how his mother (Louise), pregnant with Malcolm himself, confronts a gang of Ku Klux Klan members who are looking...
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Malcolm is born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, the fourth of Louise Little’s children. His older siblings Wilfred, Hilda, and Philbert were born in Philadelphia, while his...
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Earl Little was a violent man, Malcolm says, often beating his wife (probably because of Louise’s educated way of talking back) and the other children for breaking his rules. However, he...
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Meanwhile, his mother Louise had the enormous task of caring for the home and its eight children, often while...
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One afternoon in 1931, Earl and Louise are fighting over whether or not she will cook a rabbit for dinner. After killing...
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Louise finishes cooking dinner, but is on edge after her vision of Earl’s death. When he...
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...and Malcolm, meanwhile, fight each other and anyone else they meet, with Reginald tagging along. Louise tries to find work as a housemaid, and she finds several positions thanks to her...
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...begin to receive Welfare assistance, but it comes at the cost of these degrading meetings. Louise tries hard to not only provide for the family, but to do so in a...
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...is at its worst and no one in town has enough to eat. Meals for Louise’s family might consist of old bread, cornmeal, or sometimes just dandelion greens, to the amusement...
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The family, and especially Louise, begins to deteriorate psychologically. Malcolm, fed up with being labeled a Welfare recipient, starts to...
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Louise also begins to receive visits from Seventh-Day Adventists, a conservative but welcoming religious organization, and...
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...As the pressures from running the home and dealing with the state increase, implications that Louise is going crazy begin to circulate. Her religious dietary restrictions, spurred on by the Adventists,...
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In an effort to make the family more secure, Louise begins to see a “dark man from Lansing” in 1935. She works hard to get...
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At this point, Louise really starts to lose control of her mental state, and the state agencies begins to...
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Malcolm continues to visit home, where his mother is mentally deteriorating. Finally, Louise breaks down and is sent to the State Mental Hospital. The children, meanwhile, are now...
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Louise will be in that hospital for 27 years, and visiting her will cause emotional pain...
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Chapter 2: Mascot
...several successful members in the North and South. Ella suggests they all go to visit Louise together, and the visit goes surprisingly well.
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Chapter 5: Harlemite
Malcolm then pays several house calls in Lansing. He first goes to see his mother Louise, who doesn’t really recognize him. Shorty’s mother, an elderly woman, thanks him for news of...
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Epilogue: Alex Haley
The next time Malcolm comes, Alex asks him, on a hunch, about his mother, Louise. Malcolm is so exhausted and emotionally vulnerable at the time that he responds honestly to...
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...trip out of town, Malcolm returns, proudly telling Alex that his questions about his mother Louise had pushed Malcolm to go and visit her. Not only that, but his siblings have...
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