Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention




Manning Marable’s Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention purports to look at Malcolm the man, and not the legend that developed around him in the years following his death.  Much of this legend was fostered by the Autobiography of Malcolm X, and Spike Lee’s movie.  Here, Manning presents the many sides of this complicated man.

People were angry when this book was first released.  I find that odd but expected.  When historians begin to work on a legendary figure, elements of the legend or myth are shown to be false, inflated, or at least not completely based on truth.  Why would Malcolm X be different?  He is still one of the most influential and important Americans of the twentieth century.  History or legend will do not change this unalterable fact.

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