Editing Louis Farrakhan (section)

==Early life and education==
Farrakhan, who is Black,<ref name="brit">{{Cite web |title=Louis Farrakhan {{!}} Biography, Nation of Islam, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Farrakhan |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> was born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933 in [[The Bronx]], [[New York City]].<ref name="Louis Farrakhan Fast Facts" /> He is the younger of two sons of Sarah Mae Manning (1900–1988) and Percival Clark, immigrants from the [[Anglo-Caribbean]] islands. His mother was born in [[Saint Kitts]], while his father was [[Jamaicans|Jamaican]]. The couple separated before their second son was born, and Walcott says he never knew his biological father.<ref name="matt">{{cite book|first=Mattias|last=Gardell|title=In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|location=Durham, North Carolina|date=1996|isbn=978-0822318453|page=119}}</ref> Walcott was named after Louis Walcott, a man with whom his mother had a relationship after becoming separated from Percival Clark.<ref name="Louis Farrakhan Fast Facts" /> In a 1996 interview with [[Henry Louis Gates Jr.]], Walcott speculated that Percival Clark, "a light-skinned man with straight hair from Jamaica", may have been [[History of the Jews in Jamaica|Jewish]].<ref name=JWeekly>{{cite news|url=https://www.jweekly.com/1996/04/26/farrakhan-claims-his-father-may-have-been-a-jew/|title=Farrakhan claims his father may have been a Jew|newspaper=[[The Jewish News of Northern California]]|date=April 26, 1996|accessdate=March 4, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=Henry Louis Jr. |last=Gates|author-link=Henry Louis Gates Jr. |title=The Charmer |date=April 29, 1996 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |pages=116–121 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/04/29/the-charmer |access-date=March 10, 2018}}</ref>

After Walcott's stepfather died in 1936, the Walcott family moved to [[Boston]], where they settled in the largely African-American neighborhood of [[Roxbury, Massachusetts|Roxbury]].<ref name="matt"/>

Walcott received his first violin at the age of five. By the time he was 12 years old, he had been on tour with the Boston College Orchestra.<ref name="matt"/><ref name="Holland">{{cite news|last=Holland|first=Bernard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/19/arts/sending-a-message-louis-farrakhan-plays-mendelssohn.html?pagewanted=all|title=Sending a Message, Louis Farrakhan Plays Mendelssohn|quote=Mr. Farrakhan acknowledged the symbolism in his playing of music by a European Jew. … Speaking in a quiet but insistent voice, he said he would "try to do with music what cannot be done with words and try to undo with music what words have done."|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 19, 1993|access-date=May 5, 2019}}</ref> A year later, he participated in national competitions and won them. In 1946, he was one of the first black performers to appear on the [[Ted Mack (television host)|Ted Mack]] ''[[Original Amateur Hour]]'',<ref name=Holland/> where he also won an award. Walcott and his family were active members of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] St. Cyprian's Church in Roxbury.<ref name="matt"/>

Walcott attended the [[Boston Latin School]], and later attended and graduated from the [[English High School of Boston|English High School]].<ref name="Judis">{{cite news|last=Judis|first=John B.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E4DC1531F93BA2575BC0A960958260|title=Maximum Leader|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 18, 1996|access-date=July 9, 2020}}</ref> He completed three years at [[Winston-Salem State University|Winston-Salem Teachers College]], where he had a track scholarship.<ref name="Holland" />

[[File:Louis Farrakahn and his lovely wife Khadijah Farrakhan (48591892891).jpg|thumb|Khadijah and Louis Farrakhan, 1996]]
In 1953, Walcott married Betsy Ross (later known as [[Khadijah Farrakhan]]) while he was in college.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|first=Clarence|last=Waldron|title=Minister Louis Farrakhan Talks About Miraculous Recovery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|date=March 5, 2007}}</ref> Due to complications from his new wife's first pregnancy, Walcott dropped out after completing his junior year of college to devote time to his wife and their child.<ref name="Louis Farrakhan Fast Facts"/><ref name="auto">{{cite web |last1=Bergeron |first1=Elena |title=Mustapha Farrakhan Jr. struggles to balance his name with his game |url=https://www.espn.com/espnmag/story?id=3644907 |website=ESPN |access-date=23 March 2021 |language=en |date=6 November 2006}}</ref>