From the NYT obituary:
Ella Collins died Aug, 1996 at the age of 82. At the time of her death, she was survived by her son [mentioned below], three brothers, a sister, and two grandchildren.
She was the half-sister and surrogate mother (legal guardian) of Malcolm X during formative years (age 14-21). Malcolm X said of her, ‘’No physical move in my life has been more pivotal or profound in its repercussions.’’
Her husband, Kenneth Collins, “grew [up with] and attended the same school with Malcolm and his sibling in Lansing, Michigan.”
“In the 1950’s, Mrs. Collins was recruited by Malcolm X into the Nation of Islam, then called the Temple of Islam and often known as the Black Muslims...She broke away in 1959 [and] became an orthodox Sunni Muslim....”
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/06/us/ella-collins-82-relative-who-aided-malcolm-x.html
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Notes of interest from the Ella Collins Institute’s web page-—http://ellacollinsinstitute.org/about/ellacollins/
She moved from her birthplace in Georgia “to Harlem, New York where she became secretary to congressman Adam Clayton Powell.”
“At the event of Malcolm’s death [Feb 1965], Ella described that his assassins “took something from me, something I put a lot into.”After Malcolm’s death, Ella became president of the Organization of African American Unity [founded by MX in 1964] in the hope of bettering the human condition for all people in the United States.
Malcolm had also secured 35 scholarships from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt and from the University of Ghana to send students of knowledge overseas. Ella took on this duty after his death and continued her investment and support of students seeking knowledge.”
Throughout Malcolm X’s life it was Ella who supported and defended him. It was Ella who gave [MX] and several others including her son Rodnell Collins [Yusuf A. Hamid], “carte blanche” for their Hajj to Mecca.
On top of being an excellent wife and mother, Ella was a self made business woman involved in real estate in Boston and New York City.
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Below is the entire biography on the Institute’s website, which was written by her son Rodnell
Ella Lee Little-Collins
4 December 1913 – 6 August 1996
Parents: Earl Little & Daisy Mason-Little
Grandparents: John (Big Pa 6’5”) Lee Little & Ella Gray-Little
Siblings: Earl Lee Jr, Mary, Wilfred, Philbert, Hilda, Reginald, Malcolm, Wesley, Evonne
Long before Malcolm X became a household name in American history, Ella Little-Collins was a self-made businesswoman, passionate civil rights activist and nurturing mentor to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
From Butler, Georgia where she was born; to Harlem, New York where she became secretary to congressman Adam Clayton Powell; and to Boston, Massachusetts where she continued her extensive work on civil rights, Ella Little-Collins lived a life that is a compelling testament to faith, determination and the American dream.
Ella was born in Georgia in 1913. She completed most of her formal education at Fort Valley Institute, which is now the University of Georgia in Fort Valley. She accepted Islam in the mid 1950’s.
Ella and her husband Kenneth Jack Collins were the legal guardians of Malcolm X/ El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz from age 14-21 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Kenneth Collins grew and attended the same school with Malcolm and his sibling in Lansing, Michigan.
Throughout Malcolm X’s life it was Ella who supported and defended him. It was Ella who gave and several others including her son Rodnell Collins, “carte blanche” for their Hajj to Mecca. On top of being an excellent wife and mother, Ella was a self made business woman involved in real estate in Boston and New York City.
Most important to Ella was family, extended family and community. As Malcolm mentions in his autobiography, Ella fought for human rights and social justice. She also collaborated with others who sought to better the human condition, among those others were: Adam Clayton Powell (Chairman of Committee for U.S. Dept of Health/Education &Welfare), activist Cesar Chavez and U.S. Presidential Candidate Shirley Chisholm.
Ella supported black and ethnic studies programs in universities all across the United States. She founded the Sarah A. Little School of Preparatory Arts in Boston
At the event of Malcolm’s death, Ella described that his assassins “took something from me, something I put a lot into.”After Malcolm’s death, Ella became president of the Organization of African American Unity in the hope of bettering the human condition for all people in the United States. Malcolm had also secured 35 scholarships from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt and from the University of Ghana to send students of knowledge overseas. Ella took on this duty after his death and continued her investment and support of students seeking knowledge.
She tirelessly continued her struggle for civil rights until 1988, when she suffered the amputation of both her legs from gangrene infection.
Malcolm X’s faith in his sister Ella is perhaps best described in the words he spoke to his nephew Rodnell Collins, two weeks prior to his assassination, “Uncle Malcolm had called me aside one day while visiting us at home in Boston. Ma’ (Ella) was in the kitchen with her pots and pans and Uncle Malcolm sitting in my favorite lounge chair, and took my hand to express his concern for my future. With the press of his palm to mine, a stern look and a twinkle in his eyes he said, ‘Rodnell I want you to promise me something, you will always listen to your mother, I wish I had, if you do you’ll do alright Rodnell.’”
It was Ella, who upon Malcolm’s death, paid for all his funeral and business expenses and tried to carry on Malcolm’s good works. More woman than you will ever get and more man than I’ll ever be.
-Rodnell Collins, son
Yusuf A. Hamid
