A Sister’s Love, Ella Collins, The Forgotten Sister who Helped Malcolm X
Ella Collins was an American human rights activist and the half-sister of Malcolm X. Ella was an independent and proud dark-skinned black woman who played a very significant role throughout the various stages of Malcolm’s life. She was his guardian, trusted adviser and firm supporter of his various causes. Despite playing such a crucial role in Malcolm’s development, Ella is conspicuously absent from Spike Lee’s acclaimed film Malcolm X (1992), and she rarely gets a mention in discussions about notable black and Muslim figures in recent history. In an attempt to raise awareness of Ella Collins’ important contributions to Malcolm’s life and her human rights activism, below are some facts from this inspiring but often forgotten woman’s life;
Proud Black and Muslim Woman
Malcolm speaks about the significance that his older sister had on his black consciousness in his autobiography;
“I think the major impact of Ella's arrival, at least upon me, was that she was the first really proud black woman I had ever seen in my life. She was plainly proud of her very dark skin. This was unheard of among Negroes in those days, especially in Lansing.”
Arguably the first person to instil a pride of blackness in Malcolm, Ella was not only pro-black but she was a proud Muslim who embraced Islam after leaving the Nation of Islam movement. She also funded Malcolm’s life-changing trip to Mecca after he left the Nation and used her wealth to teach people about Islam, as Malcolm narrates:
“Then, there was my sister Ella herself. I couldn't get over what she had done. I've said before, this is a strong big, black, Georgia-born woman. Her domineering ways had gotten her put out of the Nation of Islam's Boston Mosque Eleven; they took her back, then she left on her own. Ella had started studying under Boston orthodox Muslims, then she founded a school where Arabic was taught! She couldn't speak it, she hired teachers who did. That's Ella! She deals in real estate, and she was saving up to make the pilgrimage. Nearly all night, we talked in her living room. She told me there was no question about it; it was more important that I go. I thought about Ella the whole flight back to New York. A strong woman. She had broken the spirits of three husbands, more driving and dynamic than all of them combined. She had played a very significant role in my life. No other woman ever was strong enough to point me in directions; I pointed women in directions. I had brought Ella into Islam, and now she was financing me to Mecca”
Loyal Sister
A self-assured woman who helped Malcolm find employment during his adolescent years, Ella constantly encouraged her younger brother to be self-sufficient and to honourably work for a living. Ella herself, was an industrious hardworking woman who owned a number of properties and financially supported many of her family members, including Malcolm.
Although she was his elder sister, Ella was like a second mother to Malcolm, as she looked after him whilst he came to live with her as a teenager. In addition to acting as a guardian, she advised her brother to date black women and disapproved of his illicit relationship with a white married woman, whom he ended up committing crimes with.
Ella was one of few people who was faithful to Malcolm throughout the various stages of his life. Even when he got caught up in the criminal underworld and was sentenced to 8-10 years imprisonment, she still supported him. Going to his trial and visiting him in prison, she also helped to get him transferred to a rehabilitation jail.
After Malcolm’s Death
Ella paid for her brother’s funeral and business expenses after his assassination, and took over the leadership of Organisation of Afro-American Unity, the organisation Malcolm set up. She also took over his project of providing scholarships from the Al-Azhar University in Egypt and the University of Ghana to students wishing to study overseas.
She also supported black and ethnic studies programs in universities across the United States and founded the Sarah A. Little School of Preparatory Arts in Boston, before her death in 1996.
Ella Collins was an American human rights activist and the half-sister of Malcolm X. Ella was an independent and proud dark-skinned black woman who played a very significant role throughout the various stages of Malcolm’s life. She was his guardian, trusted adviser and firm supporter of his various causes. Despite playing such a crucial role in Malcolm’s development, Ella is conspicuously absent from Spike Lee’s acclaimed film Malcolm X (1992), and she rarely gets a mention in discussions about notable black and Muslim figures in recent history. In an attempt to raise awareness of Ella Collins’ important contributions to Malcolm’s life and her human rights activism, below are some facts from this inspiring but often forgotten woman’s life;
Proud Black and Muslim Woman
Malcolm speaks about the significance that his older sister had on his black consciousness in his autobiography;
“I think the major impact of Ella's arrival, at least upon me, was that she was the first really proud black woman I had ever seen in my life. She was plainly proud of her very dark skin. This was unheard of among Negroes in those days, especially in Lansing.”
Arguably the first person to instil a pride of blackness in Malcolm, Ella was not only pro-black but she was a proud Muslim who embraced Islam after leaving the Nation of Islam movement. She also funded Malcolm’s life-changing trip to Mecca after he left the Nation and used her wealth to teach people about Islam, as Malcolm narrates:
“Then, there was my sister Ella herself. I couldn't get over what she had done. I've said before, this is a strong big, black, Georgia-born woman. Her domineering ways had gotten her put out of the Nation of Islam's Boston Mosque Eleven; they took her back, then she left on her own. Ella had started studying under Boston orthodox Muslims, then she founded a school where Arabic was taught! She couldn't speak it, she hired teachers who did. That's Ella! She deals in real estate, and she was saving up to make the pilgrimage. Nearly all night, we talked in her living room. She told me there was no question about it; it was more important that I go. I thought about Ella the whole flight back to New York. A strong woman. She had broken the spirits of three husbands, more driving and dynamic than all of them combined. She had played a very significant role in my life. No other woman ever was strong enough to point me in directions; I pointed women in directions. I had brought Ella into Islam, and now she was financing me to Mecca”
Loyal Sister
A self-assured woman who helped Malcolm find employment during his adolescent years, Ella constantly encouraged her younger brother to be self-sufficient and to honourably work for a living. Ella herself, was an industrious hardworking woman who owned a number of properties and financially supported many of her family members, including Malcolm.
Although she was his elder sister, Ella was like a second mother to Malcolm, as she looked after him whilst he came to live with her as a teenager. In addition to acting as a guardian, she advised her brother to date black women and disapproved of his illicit relationship with a white married woman, whom he ended up committing crimes with.
Ella was one of few people who was faithful to Malcolm throughout the various stages of his life. Even when he got caught up in the criminal underworld and was sentenced to 8-10 years imprisonment, she still supported him. Going to his trial and visiting him in prison, she also helped to get him transferred to a rehabilitation jail.
After Malcolm’s Death
Ella paid for her brother’s funeral and business expenses after his assassination, and took over the leadership of Organisation of Afro-American Unity, the organisation Malcolm set up. She also took over his project of providing scholarships from the Al-Azhar University in Egypt and the University of Ghana to students wishing to study overseas.
She also supported black and ethnic studies programs in universities across the United States and founded the Sarah A. Little School of Preparatory Arts in Boston, before her death in 1996.