Final answer:
Malcolm X was a prominent black leader and a minister in the Nation of Islam who later advocated for African American empowerment, and his assassination in 1965 significantly impacted the civil rights movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, was a radical black leader and minister in the Nation of Islam (NOI). Having faced discrimination and influences from the civil rights organizations of his father, he underwent a transformation while in prison after discovering the Nation of Islam's teachings. In his later years after leaving the NOI, he advocated for African American empowerment and the use of violence in self-defense, shifting the course of the civil rights movement towards Black Nationalism and paving the way for the Black Power movement. Tragically, his life was cut short when he was assassinated by some members of the NOI in 1965.