chunk: Malcolm X follows the life of African-American activist Malcolm X. Rising from a troubled childhood, in which his father, a preacher, is murdered by the Black Legion and his mother is institutionalized for insanity, Malcolm gets a job as a Pullman porter, calling himself Detroit Red. After getting involved with a Harlem gangster named West Indian Archie with whom he has a falling out, Malcolm flees to Boston and decides to become a burglar. He and his best friend, Shorty (played by Spike Lee) are arrested by the police and Malcolm is sentenced to a ten-year prison term. In prison, a fellow inmate, Baines, introduces him to the teachings of the Nation of Islam.