Malcolm X is best described as which of the following?

• A. Civil rights leader who advocated nonviolence
• B. President
• C. African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist
• D. Supreme Court Justice

Answer: (C)

Malcolm X is best described as an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist who emerged as a major voice in the Civil Rights era, emphasizing Black empowerment, self-determination, and a global view of racial justice. As a minister in the Nation of Islam for many years, he provided religious leadership and helped organize communities around dignity and self-respect. He later broadened his activism to a wider human-rights framework, linking U.S. racial oppression to global struggles against colonialism and injustice. This combination of religious leadership and international human rights advocacy distinguishes him from figures known mainly for political office or for a strict nonviolent approach. He was not a president or a Supreme Court Justice, and his methods favored self-defense within a human rights context rather than the strictly nonviolent boycott-only strategy of some other civil rights leaders.