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Why Manning Marable’s Book On Malcolm X is a Million Times Better Than Alex Haley’s Version
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Malcolm X is one of my greatest heroes.
And I do believe that this is worth repeating several times over.
Given the global and intense (no exaggeration) fascination with this extraordinarily gifted and intelligent individual, our hero was incredibly prescient in working with a prominent Black journalist in charting his story from a high school drop out to a street hustler, a Muslim and ultimately the most powerful voice of his generation.
The autobiography of Malcolm X was indubitably a great read.
And it was the basis of the Spike Lee film, which set Denzel Washington’s career on a completely different trajectory, given the profound gravitas of the exceptional actor’s performance.
Anyone who has read the book — and I have — will readily recognize that the the movie didn’t do any justice to Haley’s book.
Seriously?
Yes, seriously.
In the book, mileage was given to John Elton Bembry —also known as Bimbi — and his role in getting Malcolm X, to see himself differently, something which kickstarted the reinvention of the man whom the world came to know.