Malcolm X's Harlem: Witnessing the Autobiography

Sites featured on our Malcolm X's Harlem tour

The Schomburg

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is where our tour begins. It is part of the New York Public Library and is an ideal location to ground our tour and introduce us to Harlem.

Harlem YMCA

The Harlem YMCA just down the street from the Schomburg Center marks the beginnings of Malcolm's life in Harlem. This is where he would stay during his short trips to New York as a teen before settling down.

Masjid Malcolm Shabazz

The Masjid Malcolm Shabazz is the final stop on our tour. This was the original Temple No. 7, where Malcolm X preached as a minister of the Nation of Islam (NOI). He later left the NOI and founded his own institution just a few streets down, but was assassinated shortly thereafter. The Temple adopted Sunni Islam in 1975 and got its current name in 1976.

Hotel Theresa

The former Hotel Theresa was a key site of organizing for Malcolm X. He would often preach in front of it, and even planned to house his new Muslim organization inside it after returning from the Hajj pilgrimage. It is also where the famous photo of Malcolm meeting with Fidel Castro was taken.