Malcolm X (1925–1965) was a black nationalist leader of the Nation of Islam during the civil rights era. Born Malcolm Little, he became involved in the Nation of Islam after being released from prison in 1952. He took the name Malcolm X and became a minister and organizer for the Nation under Elijah Muhammad. In 1957, he was named national representative of the Nation of Islam and subsequently helped to greatly increase its membership. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Malcolm X was critical of the mainstream Civil Rights Movement and the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm promoted militancy over non-violence. In 1963–1964 a dispute between Malcolm and Elijah Muhammad prompted Malcolm to leave the Nation of Islam. In 1964 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca and began to turn toward a more orthodox practice of Islam. He also renounced the separatism of the Nation of Islam and formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). In February 1965, as he looked toward unifying African Americans in the struggle for civil and human rights, Malcolm X was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam during a lecture in Harlem.