This paper gives a brief but succinct summary of the major events of Malcolm's life, as outlined in his autobiography. It
then delves into the reasons underlying the racism and inequality of the United States in Malcolm's time. A brief history of slavery and the African-American experience explains the social
conditions for African-Americans in the mid-1900s, in America. The paper also examines the reasons for Malcolm's behavior in the social context of the 1940s to the 1960s in the United States. It
describes if Malcolm's conditions and treatment are similar to those experienced by other African-Americans, in the United States, during the same time frame. It provides a thorough sociological analysis of Malcolm's behavior, in terms of the social conditions he was exposed to. Further, it describes Malcolm's behavior in terms of the sociological concepts of both deterrence theory and labelling theory. The paper finally describes the presence of social conditions, in current United States society, that mirror those seen in the 1940s and the 1960s in the United States. It compares these social conditions to the social conditions that were seen in Malcolm's "Autobiography of Malcolm X".