Self-determination by any means necessary. The notorious sentiment is by Malcolm X, whose incongruous beginnings were in this conservative, white-bread city. Not where you'd expect a revolutionary to originate. Then again, his narrative would be incomplete if he didn't come from oppression. Born Malcolm Little, his family escaped persecution here when he was a child. His incendiary intellect and enlightenment were forged on a path from hustler to Muslim to militant to husband, father and humanist black power leader. As it does annually, the Omaha-based Malcolm X Memorial Foundation commemorates his birthday May 17-19. Thursday features a special Verbal Gumbo spoken word open mic at 7 p.m. hosted by Felicia Webster and Michelle Troxclair at the House of Loom. Things then move to the Malcolm X Center and birth site. Friday presents by the acclaimed spoken word artist and author Basheer Jones, plus The Wordsmiths, at 7 p.m. On Saturday the African Renaissance Festival unfolds noon to 5 p.m. with drummers, native attire, storytelling, face painting and Malcolm X reflections. Artifacts from the recently discovered Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis collection of Malcolm X materials will be displayed. The late musician was a friend and criminal partner of Little's before his conversion to Islam. It's a full weekend but hardly the kind of community-wide celebration, much less holiday, devoted to Martin Luther King Jr. "I tell people, you may still not like Malcolm X, you may have a problem with a revolutionary. Martin was a revolutionary and maybe you came to love him. But I do want you to know brother Malcolm's whole story and where he came from," says MXMF president Sharif Liwaru. "A big portion of what we do is about the legacy of Malcolm X. We go into communities, schools and other speaking environments and we educate people about Malcolm X, what he meant, what his impact was on society. Sometimes people walk away with a different level of respect for him. Sometimes they walk away having a better understanding." Using the tenets of Malcolm X, the foundation promotes civic engagement as a means foster social justice. Nearly a half-century since Malcolm X's 1965 assassination, he remains controversial. The Nebraska State Historical Society Commission has denied adding him to the Nebraska Hall of Fame despite petition campaigns nominating him. Few schools have curricula about the slain civil rights activist. From its 1971 start MXMF has struggled overcoming the rhetoric around its namesake. The late activist Rowena Moore founded the grassroots nonprofit as a labor of love. She secured the North O lot where the razed Little home stood and where she once lived. Fueled by her dream to build a cultural-community center, MXMF acquired property around the birthplace. The site totals some 11 acres. By the time she passed in 1998 the piecemeal effort had little to show save for a state historical marker. Later, a parking lot, walkway and plaza were added. Other than clearing the land of overgrowth and debris, the property was long on promise and short on fruition, awaiting funds to catch up with vision. Without a building of its own, MXMF events were held alfresco on-site from spring through fall and at rotating venues in the winter. "We felt a little homeless," says Liwaru. "We were very creative and did a whole lot without a building but we didn't have a place to showcase and share that." All those years of making do and staying the course have begun paying off. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in public-private grant monies have been awarded MXMF since 2009. Other support's come from the Douglas County Visitors Improvement Fund, the Iowa West Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Humanities Council. Most notably a $200,000 North Omaha Historical grant allowed MXMF to acquire its first permanent indoor facility, an adjacent former Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall at 3463 Evans Street, in 2010. Now renamed the Malcolm X Center, it hosts everything from lectures, films, plays, community forums, receptions and fundraisers to a weekly Zumba class to a twice monthly social-cultural-history class. Annual Juneteenth and Kwanzaa celebrations occur there.

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