INKSTER, Mich. – A project shedding light on Civil Rights leader Malcolm X’s Inkster roots is making headway.
They are restoring the home he lived in with his brother and sister-in-law on Williams Street as part of Project We Hope, Dream and Believe.
“It’s time for Inkster to hold its head high and say we had one of America’s greatest,” said Aaron Sims, who started the project.
Malcolm X lived in the Inkster home from 1952 to 1953 with his brother and sister-in-law after he was released from prison in Massachusetts. It was when his name was changed from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X and the beginning of his rise in the Nation of Islam and the Civil Rights leader known today.
“He became Malcolm X in the city of Inkster, he became reformed in the city of Inkster so hopefully we can keep the youth focused on making sure they can have a better future in this city,” said Dawon Lynn, who also helped start Project We Hope, Dream and Believe.
For about 10 years, Lynn and Sims were going back and forth with the city, trying to save the house from demolition on top of years of working to get grant money. They were awarded a $380,000 grant from the National Parks Services African American Civil Rights program to restore the home and a $50,000 grant from the Ford Foundation for the project too.
The home now has new siding, a front door, new roof, new porch, and electricity.
They’ve also worked closely with Wayne State University’s anthropology department.
Inside, the plan is to have a museum highlighting Malcolm X’s life and what Inkster was like in the 1950s.
Saturday, Dec. 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., people can sign their names on the inside frames and bricks of the home to leave their mark on history. The address is 4336 Williams St Inkster, MI 48141.
The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is in the final stages of getting a historic marker.