Another significant event in Malcolm's life was when his friend, Shorty, conked his hair. The black people did this because they wanted to be just like the white people so this straightened their hair to look like the white peoples hair. After Shorty was finished with Malcolm's hair, Malcolm said,"How ridiculous I was! Stupid enough to stand here simply lost in admiration of my hair now looking 'white,' reflected in the mirror in Shorty's room. I vowed that I'd never again be without a conk, and i never was for many years" (56). This expresses how at first, Malcolm was ashamed with himself because he was just like every other black man who was trying to look white. But after this, Malcolm liked the way that he looked and didn't care if he tried to look white.