Women’s History Month: Civil Rights Activist Alziz A. Hamid’s Powerful Impact On Younger Brother - Civil Rights Icon Malcolm X

It is true that Ella Little-Collins, also known as Alziz A. Hamid, the older half-sister of Malcolm X, or Malik Al Shabbaz, was swayed by him to join the Nation of Islam, but it was Little-Collins who became a Sunni Muslim in 1959, paving the way for Malcolm five years later.

Eleven years his elder, Ella Little-Collins took Malcolm X into her home after his mother was admitted to a mental hospital. Little-Collins was his guardian from the time he entered eighth grade until he was 21. About Little-Collins, Malcolm X wrote, “If Ella had ever thought that she could help any member of the Little family put up any kind of professional shingle, as a teacher, foot doctor… anything, you would have had to tie her down to keep her from taking in washing.”

Malcolm also wrote glowingly about her in his iconic autobiography, “the first real proud Black woman I have ever seen. She was plainly proud of her very dark skin. This was unheard of among Negros… I had never been so impressed by anybody.” Malcolm X also credited his older sister for being the only positive influence in her life. Throughout Malcolm’s life, Little-Collins was probably the only person who could relate to Malcolm X’s many philosophical conversions.

Pictured: Little-Collins and Malcolm X / image courtesy of New York Amsterdam News

Little-Collins was described by Malcolm X to have been a very strict guardian. She had a strict curfew and would force him to spend the night with other relatives if he was not home in time. She helped him secure his first job as a cook on the trains. Even after Malcolm disappointed her by becoming mixed up in crime and imprisoned, she kept in contact with him while he was in prison and welcomed him with open arms whenever he came to visit after he did his time. When Malcolm X broke from the Nation, he again returned to his sister to ask for help to pay for a trip to Mecca. Malcolm X said, “She never once really wavered from my corner.” Although she had been saving money for her own trip to hajj, she gave her savings to Malcolm X for his trip, insisting that it was more important that he go.

While in the Nation of Islam, Ella helped to establish the Nation’s Boston Islamic Center and daycare center in the mid-1950s. Malcolm X credits Little-Collins’ strong personality as the reason for her break with the Nation of Islam. He reported that she had a tendency to take charge of any situation, which wasn’t welcomed among the male members of the Nation. When she left, she went on to serve her community by establishing the Sarah A. Little School of Preparatory Arts in Boston. In the school, children were taught Arabic, Swahili, French and Spanish. The school also taught children etiquette and the arts. It ran from 1958 until 1968.

Until her death in 1996, Little-Collins continued to support causes with her own money and time.  In addition to teaching youth about Islam and helping them to get an education, she would also take some of them into her home when they didn’t have anywhere else to turn. She also sent several of the youth to Mecca. When Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, she would temporarily run the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which Malcolm X had founded after he broke away from the Nation of Islam. She kept the organization running by choosing its leaders, serving as the interim president, and donating her own funds. The organization is credited with its inclusion of women in key leadership roles.

Image courtesy of Boston University News Service

 

Little-Collins lived the last several years of her life in a nursing home after suffering from a series of strokes. She eventually had to have both legs amputated due to complications with diabetes before she died at the age of 82 in 1996. Today, her son, Rodnell Collins, is attempting to preserve the home where she raised Malcolm and continue his mother’s community service efforts.

References

[1] Ella lee little-collins. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://law.jrank.org/pages/8323/Little-Collins-Ella-Lee.html

[2] Ella little-collins, Malcolm X's Resourceful half-sister. (2020, February 27). Retrieved March 31, 2021, from http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2020/feb/27/ella-little-collins-malcolm-xs-resourceful-half-si/

[3] Felber, G. (2016, October 28). Women's leadership in the organization of AFRO-AMERICAN UNITY. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.aaihs.org/womens-leadership-in-the-organization-of-afro-american-unity/

[4] Press, T. (1996, August 06). Ella Collins, 82, relative who Aided Malcolm X (PUBLISHED 1996). Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/06/us/ella-collins-82-relative-who-aided-malcolm-x.html

Mahnaz Pater-Rov is an advocate for teaching youth about the history of Islam in America. She works as an educational diagnostician in a public school system, but she also has formal training and certification as a school administrator.