What does Malcolm X tell his teacher he wants to be when he grows up?

Malcolm X told his junior high school English teacher that he wanted to be a lawyer. His teacher responded by telling Malcolm that this was an unrealistic goal. He tells Malcolm that he should think about becoming a carpenter instead. In his autobiography, Malcolm X describes this encounter as a turning point in his childhood. He dropped out of school the next year at the age of fifteen, having received the message that there was...

Malcolm X told his junior high school English teacher that he wanted to be a lawyer. His teacher responded by telling Malcolm that this was an unrealistic goal. He tells Malcolm that he should think about becoming a carpenter instead. In his autobiography, Malcolm X describes this encounter as a turning point in his childhood. He dropped out of school the next year at the age of fifteen, having received the message that there was no point in a black man pursuing his education.

Malcolm was the only black student at his junior high school and he felt that he was smarter than most of his white classmates. Although his teachers supported the aspirations of his white peers, they did not give Malcolm the same hope.