Malcolm X became traditionally literate through almost sheer willpower, by using all the free time prison provided him and using it to memorize words and practice handwriting first, and once his vocabulary was expanded he began reading traditional educational literature. This eventually gave him power in places he never had any, among people he hadn’t been able to reach and connect with before using only his slang and speech. He gained new power in the form of knowledge that allowed him to further his agenda by formulating new arguments based on new information he had gained as well as enabling him to improve his previous arguments and back them up with things he had learned from the texts he had read. Having all of the information, especially on history, from the books he had read gave him credibility among higher educated people and non-educated people alike.