Not everyone is familiar with the intersection of race relations, history and politics that you need to understand to grasp what black nationalism is but I think we can all relate to the idea of a person who has been pushed and pushed and beaten down so much by something that they eventually stand back up and vow not to take it anymore. And that, in essence, birthed the visionary that was Malcolm X. There was a growing audience in the black community that was tired of 2nd class citizenship, police brutality and structural racism and that rejected Dr. King's philosophy/approach of nonviolence and turning the other cheek.
He was known by is mantra of 'by any means necessary' which had the heavy implication that violence was sometimes necessary or acceptable to combat oppression and move towards equality. But he spent a great deal of time uplifting and encouraging fellow black people to rethink their own internalized anti-blackness and self hate and to stop seeking approval from the white establishment. One of the biggest things he emphasized was that this is not "our" (black folks) country, that it was the white man's country and our "real" identity/heritage in Africa was stolen with the advent of slavery. The most controversial by far, was the demonization of white folks. Here he was, this handsome charismatic young black man riling up crowds of blacks and teaching them that they are above the white "devils" and oppressors and the masses just ate it up. Whites on the other hand were dumbfounded as they had never seen anything like it before, a person of color rising to prominence by attacking them and their standing.
His ideas are radical to some people now but imagine how he was received by the establishment in the 1950s and 60s when even Martin Luther King Jr. was considered radical and a revolutionary in the worst sense of the word.
The biggest turning point for him was his return from a voyage from Africa and the Middle East where he began to temper his views on race. First off, he completely changed his stance on interracial marriage, believing that it was no longer wrong and should be left up to the individual. Also he begun to denounce separatism which was that black people should have a separate country as many in his camp believed they shouldn't and can't coexist with whites.
In many ways he was moving towards the belief system of Dr. King which got him removed from the Nation of Islam (a Black Nationalist movement comprised of black Muslims that echoed Malcolm X's early on beliefs) led by the 'honorable' Elijah Muhammed, but the organization led everyone to believe that he was quitting of his own volition.
And then in the midst of giving a speech on February 21, 1965 in New York City he was assassinated at just 39 years old. But his legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of activists and black people in particular who have learned to have pride in themselves in a more meaningful way than ever before and empowered them to take matters into their own hands and never stop fighting for their truth and equality.
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