Louise Helen Norton Little (née Langdon; 1894 or 1897 – December 18, 1989) was a Grenadian-born American activist. She was the mother of

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

Early years and family

Louise Helen Norton Langdon was born in

La Digue La Digue is the third most populated island of the Seychelles, and fourth largest by land area, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. In size, it is the fourth-largest granitic island of Seychelles after Mahé, Praslin, and Silho ...

, Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada, to Ella Langdon in either 1894 or 1897. Ella was the daughter of Jupiter and Mary Jane Langdon, both of whom were kidnapped from Africa, possibly in the region of modern-day

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, and sold into slavery. The pair were freed by the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and eventually transported to the Grenadian village of La Digue. It has been claimed that Louise's mother, Ella, one of six children of the Langdons, was raped by a "significantly older"

Scotsman Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...

named Norton, resulting in Louise's birth. In later years, Louise's maternal uncle, Egerton Langdon, stated that her father was a

bank teller A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. T ...

from England. A local historian has suggested that Louise had an older brother, Ruford, who died at only a few years of age. Little was raised by her grandparents, Jupiter and Mary Jane, until Jupiter's death in 1901 and Mary Jane's death in 1916. She was educated in a local Anglican school, and was fluent in English, French and

Grenadian Creole French Grenadian Creole is a variety of Antillean Creole. In Grenada and among Grenadians, it is referred to as patois. History Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonise the island due to resistance from resident Island Caribs, ...

. After her grandmother's death, she emigrated from Grenada in 1917 to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, where her uncle Egerton Langdon introduced her to

Garveyism Garveyism is an aspect of black nationalism that refers to the economic, racial and political policies of UNIA-ACL founder Marcus Garvey. Ideologically, Garvey was a black nationalist and racial separatist. Generally referring to dark-ski ...

and the

Universal Negro Improvement Association The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and his then-wife Amy Ashwood Garvey. ...

(UNIA).

Career

Through the UNIA in Montreal, she met Earl Little, a craftsman and a lay minister from

Reynolds, Georgia Reynolds is a city in Taylor County, Georgia, United States. The population was 926 in 2020. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Reynolds in 1865. The community was named after L. C. Reynolds, a railroad official. Geography R ...

. The couple married on May 10, 1919. The following year, they moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

because they believed that their lives in that city would be better than their lives in Canada, and then, they moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

in 1921. While she was in Omaha, she became the secretary and the "branch reporter" of the UNIA's local chapter, sending news about local UNIA activities, led by Earl, to ''

Negro World ''Negro World'' was the newspaper of the Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA). Founded by Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey, the newspaper was published weekly in Harlem, and distributed int ...

''; they inculcated self-reliance and

black pride Black pride is a movement which encourages black people to celebrate their respective cultures and embrace their African heritage. In the United States, it initially developed for African-American culture and was a direct response to white ...

in their children. Their son Malcolm, who became famous as

, later said that white violence killed four of his father's brothers. Another son, Wilfred, later remembered that Louise "received letters from the leaders of the movement thanking her for the work she had done and praising her for her devotion to the cause". Earl and Louise had seven children together: Wilfred (1920–1998), Hilda (1921–2015), Philbert (1923–1993), Malcolm (1925–1965), Reginald (1927–2001), Wesley (1928–2009), and Yvonne (1929–2003). Her eighth child, Robert (1938–1999), had a different father. Because of threats from the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

– Earl's UNIA activities were said to be "spreading trouble" – the family relocated to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

in 1926, and shortly thereafter, the family relocated to

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

. There the family was frequently harassed by the Black Legion, a white

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

group. When the family home burned in 1929, Earl accused the Black Legion. In 1931, Earl died in what was officially ruled a

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

accident, though Louise believed Earl had been murdered by the Black Legion. Rumors that white racists were responsible for Earl's death were widely circulated, and were very disturbing to Louise and their children. After a dispute with creditors, Louise received a nominally life insurance benefit of $1,000 ($,000 in dollars) in payments of $18 per month; the issuer of another, larger policy refused to pay, claiming her husband Earl had committed suicide. To make ends meet Louise rented out part of her garden, and her sons hunted game. During the 1930s, white Seventh-day Adventists witnessed to the Little family; later on Louise Little and her son Wilfred were baptized into the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

. In 1937, a man Louise had been datingmarriage had seemed a possibilityvanished from her life when she became pregnant with his child, Robert (1938–1999). In late 1938 she had a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and was committed to Kalamazoo State Hospital. The children were separated and sent to

foster homes Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member ...

. Little was institutionalized at the Kalamazoo Mental Hospital from 1939 through 1963. Malcolmwho rose to fame as Malcolm X, a leading minister of the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...

joined his siblings in securing her release from the hospital. She lived with her surviving family and descendants for the rest of her life in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2024, a billboard was erected in La Digue, Grenada to mark Little's birthplace.

In popular culture

* Louise Little is the primary protagonist of

Merle Collins Merle Collins (born 29 September 1950 in Aruba) ...

' historical novel, ''Ocean Stirrings'' (

Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. Poet Kwame Dawes has said: "Peepal Tree Press's position as the leading pu ...

, 2023).

References

Notes

Footnotes

Sources

* Blain, Keisha N. (February 19, 2017). "On Louise Little, the Mother of Malcolm X: An Interview with Erik S. McDuffie". Black Perspectives. African American Intellectual History Society. Retrieved July 14, 2018. *Carew, Jan (1994). Ghosts in Our Blood: With Malcolm X in Africa, England and the Caribbean. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books. p. 118. . *DeCaro Jr., Louis A. (1996). On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X. New York: New York University Press. pp. 43–44. . * McDuffie, Erik S. (Fall 2016). "The Diasporic Journeys of Louise Little: Grassroots Garveyism, the Midwest, and Community Feminism". Women, Gender, and Families of Color. 4 (2): 152. doi:10.5406/womgenfamcol.4.2.0139. *Malcolm X; with the assistance of Alex Haley (1992)

965 Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tarsus and Mopsuestia. The Muslim resid ...

The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: One World. pp. 3–4. . *"Malcolm X and Seventh-day Adventism". blacksdahistory.org. Retrieved July 25, 2019. * Marable, Manning (2011). Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. New York: Viking. pp. 20–30. . *Natambu, Kofi (2002). The Life and Work of Malcolm X. Indianapolis: Alpha Books. p. 3. . *Russell, J., Little, H., Jones, S. (2021). The Life of Louise Norton Little. Our Hidden Gem LLC. ISBN B08XLGGDSP. * Perry, Bruce (1991). Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America. Barrytown, N.Y.: Station Hill. pp. 2–3. . * Vincent, Ted (March–April 1989). "The Garveyite Parents of Malcolm X". The Black Scholar. 20 (2): 10–13. JSTOR 41067613. *Wurth, Julie (April 7, 2016). "Activist's mom 'stood her ground'". The News-Gazette. Retrieved July 14, 2018.