It was for his half-sister Ella that Malcolm moved to Boston when he was 15 years old. Ella had offered him to stay at her house and he happily accepted. It now is the only existing house in Boston young Malcolm X lived in.

Malcolm X and Ella Little-Collins house

The plaque in front of the house

Poster with information hanging from the lawn

The Malcolm X and Ella house on the far right, view along Dale Street

View along Dale Street, opposite the Malcolm X and Ella house

To move to Boston was a life-changing step for Malcolm. Until then he had lived with white foster parents in white society. In Boston he experienced a proud black community in Roxbury. He felt comfortable in the down town area, but not in Ella’s neighbourhood called “the hill”. The “hill people” he described as people putting on airs and imitating white folks. Ella wished him to date the hill girls, just Malcolm fled the neighbourhood whenever he could.

How to get there:

Address: 72 Dale Street, Boston, MA 02119
Subway station: Jackson Square (Orange Line)

From the station it is a very quiet 20-minute walk. On a Sunday morning hardly anyone is on the street and the neighbourhood seems rather empty.

As it states on the poster there are plans to establish a community centre.

Sources:

Malcolm X and Alex Haley: The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley, 1965

Further reading: The National Trust for Historic Preservation wants to save the house.