Malcolm X's Boston home under renovation, will house graduate students
BOSTON - Malcolm X was a leader during the civil rights movement, advocating the African American community and working among leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, but before all that, he lived on an unassuming street in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood.
"Malcolm X used to live here," said Roxbury native Marius, who walks in the home's shadow daily. He is proud of its presence on Dale Street, but discouraged by what he sees.
"It should be taken way better care than this. Malcolm X was a very powerful Black person," Marius said. "We should be taking care of his things he left. "
The road to renovating the boyhood home of Malcolm X hasn't been easy, but now the property owners are full steam ahead, restoring where Malcolm X spent some of his most formative years.
"He was a tween in Roxbury when he came here. He lived here on the top floor," said Rodnell Collins, the nephew of Malcolm X. "This is a three-story building, the two windows up there."
Collins' mother Ella lived here too. In the 90's the place was nearly sold, saved in part by Mayor Tom Menino who turned it into a national landmark. Now there is a new plan.
"It's the people's house. It's everybody's house," said Collins.
Collins plans to turn it into a fully functioning home for graduate students to live and learn inside the same walls Malcolm X did.
$4.5 million project
Right now, there's a $4.5 million capital campaign. The family is looking to collect that sum of money in order to complete this project by the end of 2025. When the doors open it will be the first time the public will be able to step foot inside Malcolm X's childhood home. But there's a long way to go.
"The interior and exterior. Myself, my wife, and her family have helped contribute some funds to do what is required to bring this house back up to speed," said Collins.
The Collins family, with help from community donations, and federal and state grants, are fixing the roof, garage and even ensuring the place is environmentally friendly.
"It's something Malcolm was about, conservation of the environment," said Collins.
Despite the heavy lifting, Collins, who is in charge of the project, says the work is worth doing. "It makes me think of my uncle. He believed in the possibilities," said Collins.