Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention [Hardcover]

Whether you're just getting to know this giant and enigmatic figure of the civil rights "movement" - or in Malcolm's case revolution - or you were on the street in the day, Manning Marable's biography is worth your valuable time. In addition to being a wide and deep examination of how Malcolm Little became Malcolm X and how Malcom X became a universal advocate for the oppressed, especially of African heritage, Marable fills in gaps with his singular access to records and sources, as well as his sustained effort over a decade in producing this biography. But, perhaps most importantly, the voice that Malcolm X raised in defense of those being oppressed carries a message especially important in our time. We should listen.

Marable examines Malcolm's life from many angles, in many contexts, which are necessary given that he manifested himself in appearances that ranged from hustler and angry voice from the ghetto to social activist and pragmatist willing to work within the American "system." And this broad appeal largely defines Malcolm X's appeal according to Marable: "Malcolm's journey of reinvention was in many ways centered on his lifelong quest to discern the meaning and substance of faith. As a prisoner, he embraced an antiwhite quasi-Islamic sect that nevertheless validated his fragmented sense of humanity and ethnic identity. But as he traveled across the world...Malcolm came to adopt true Islam's universalism, and its belief that all could find Allah's grace regardless of race." (p.12)

To black audiences, "what made him truly original was that he presented himself as the embodiment of the two central figures of African-American folk culture, simultaneously the hustler/trickster and the preacher/minister...the trickster is unpredictable and capable of outrageous transgressions; the minister saves souls, redeems shattered lives, and promises a new world." I might add that I suspect this appeal is not limited to just black audiences.

This journey involves doing time for small time crime, developing his thoughts and voice while incarcerated, taking Elijah Muhammad as a mentor, but perhaps the greatest advancement came as a result of Malcolm's haj, after which his thinking and voice, while still strongly advocating for the oppressed, became more inclusive and more compassionate. As noted in at least one other review here, Marable's work is distinguished for understanding how the experience of the haj profoundly advanced Malcolm's thinking and his voice. It may not be too strong to say that this experience liberated him.

Marable's book also stands out for filling in gaps around Malcolm's assassination. Complicity on the part of federal and state authorities, as well as the Nation of Islam, from which Malcolm broke about a year before his death, is indicated. Ultimately, though, a conclusive picture can not be drawn from the records to which he had access.

An especially valuable context is Marable's view of Malcolm in a larger context that includes Martin Luther King. "one great gift of such remarkable individuals is the ability to seize their time, to speak to their unique moment in history. Both Martin and Malcolm were such leaders, but they expressed their pragmatic visions in different ways. King embodied the historic struggles waged by generations of African Americans for full equality...King never pitted blacks against whites, or used the atrocities committed by white extremists as a justification for condemning all whites. By contrast, throughout most of his public career Malcolm sought to place whites on the defensive in their relationship with African Americans...His constant message was black pride, self-respect, and an awareness of one's heritage."

Malcolm's influence over Eldridge Cleaver and Black Power advocates was obvious. And while it scared the hell out of many, Marable presents Malcolm as an important voice in the chorus against racial oppression. Advocating force on behalf of those slammed away in ghettos has its place.

Malcolm's voice, according to the actor Ossie Davis and quoted by Marable, was that of a "black shining prince," in his eulogy. Prince, because Malcolm's assassination did not allow him to achieve the maturity of becoming a king. Following his death, Malcolm "was pilloried and sterotyped for his racial extremism," especially in the white community. In the black community, Malcolm, in death, was seen as "an icon of black encouragement, who fearlessly challenged racism wherever he found it."

Marable notes that "Malcolm's revolutionary vision also challenged white America to think and talk differently about race...Malcolm challenged whites to examine the policies and practices of racial discrimination."

Beyond being a wonderful biography, I hope that Marable's effort here acts to amplify Malcolm's voice to make aware those too young to remember Malcolm, to reaffirm those who sympathized with his struggle, and to expand the understanding of those who were with Malcolm in the day.

Manning Marable's book, Malcolm X, A Life of Reinvention, is an informative if unexciting read that adds important details to the story of the still-fascinating African-American revolutionary. Having read the famous Autobiography several times, I was still unaware, for example, at how much Malcolm travelled overseas, as well as his impact on foreign audiences. (Unfortunately, Mr. Marable's book plods exasperatingly in those chapters, as he includes far too much trivia. If you must know when Malcolm had a sandwich in Sussex or met 3 students at a Liberian airport, Marable has those details.) Information about Malcolm's rocky relationship with his powerful sister Ella, his troubled marriage and further details about the split with the Nation of Islam illuminate both the private and public figure. And the information about previous back to Africa groups is fascinating, as are the sections on Marcus Garvey and the formative days of the Nation of Islam. Marable is also insightful--if scathing, writing about Malcolm's co-author, Alex Haley. Marable's portrayal of Haley is a brutal picture of the free lancer as a sycophantic hustler.
Where Marable's runs into trouble is in his constant editorializing (he takes every opportunity to show exactly how much he disapproves of his subject's politics) and with some rather questionable lapses in logic and fact-gathering. I, for one, would have liked more information about the formation of the Nation of Islam's religious enforcement squads, the funding for Malcolm's foreign trips after the split with the NOI and what Marable was able to glean from police and government surveillance files. Marable makes some strong charges against those he feels were involved in the assassination and the charges are not always backed up with factual detail.
Finally, there is a remarkable dearth of photographs: none of Malcolm's wife and children and none of his family except his sister, Ella; none from the NOI temples he organized or the later MMI and OAAU groups; and only a scattershot few from his foreign travels. Considering the access Marable had and the years spent on research it's an odd, regrettable omission.
In the end, while not the definitive biography of Malcolm--it's too flawed for that designation, the research done by Marable and his team will make it valuable tool for the writer who steps forward without the religious and political biases that mar this effort.

I met Marable around 1999 when he spoke in Charleston SC. Very personable, even when we disagreed on the relevance of socialism (which be devoutly believed in at the time). So I eagerly awaited this and was filled with sorrow over Marable's death. The result is important, but with very disturbing implications.

Basically, in terms of Malcolmology, Marable picks up where Bruce Perry and Karl Evanzz left off. Marable does not get as deep into the armchair psychoanalysis of Malcolm as Bruce Perry did in his Malcolm bio, nor does he get as thick into the background of Elijah Muhammmad or Nation Of Islam founder Wallace Ford (aka W.D. Fard) as did Karl Evanzz. But Marable has the advantage of having Malcoolm's diary, actual papers, and interviews with previously untapped sources.

He somewhow managed to get Louis Farrakhan to be interviewed on Malcolm for this book. The former Calypso Gene does himself no favors. Farrakhan admits to some of the brutality of the old NOI, tells a cock-and-bull tale of a dream in which M/X supposedly spoke to him in 2007 (did he realize that no one outside of his following would believe such a convenient story?), and admits tattling the tale of Malcolm's spreading stories of Elijah Muhammad's adultery to Elijah himself, which began the downward sprial leading to M/X's murder. Farrakhan also surpringly claims that the reason M/X went buck wild over the story of Elijah's out of wedlock children was because one of Malcolm's former lovers was involved-and further alleges that M/X told him that he wanted to see this former lover behind his wife Betty's back! Given the penchant for secrecy in the NOI, why would Farrakhan publicly admit to something like this? Marable of course mentions Farrakhan's infamous statement on M/X in Dec. 1964 ("The die is set and Malcolm sould not escape-a man like Malcolm is worthy of death."). While Marable avoids further delving in the Farrakhan involvement (such as the Minister's horrifying 1993 admission "if we dealt with Malcolm like a nation deals with a traitor, what business is it of yours?"), Marable concludes that Farrakhan "had the most to gain from Malcolm's murder."

NOI leader Larry X Prescott makes a telling admission in all this-that the NOI was simply not for intellectually confident individuals who could think for themselves such as Malcolm. This is still true today!

The tale of Malcolm's supposed affair with Paul Lennon is handled in passing, and marable makes it clear that there is no evidence of this or any other such involvement happening after M/X's conversion (not mentioned are M/X's anti-gay slurs against Bayard Rustin in John Henrik Clarke's bio on M/X). However, Marable accuses Malcolm's wife Betty (who is not portrayed positively at all by her former associates in this book) of having an affair with one of M/X's henchmen and claims that M/X mentioned an affair with a Swiss woman while in Egypt in his diary (for M/X to record such a thing would make no sense).

Perhaps the most horrific exposure in the book is the biz about M/X allegedly having an affair with a teenage NOI member-the very thing that he broke with Elijah Muhammad over! Marable adds that this supposed paramour was sitting next to one of the actual assassins at the Audobon and deliberately fingered the wrong man-the actual assassin was also supposed to be this teenager's other lover! If this story is true, this needs major investigation!

This is all so disturbing (if it is true) because M/X has been held up for 40 years as proof that troubled ghetto youth-then and now-could overcome lurid temptation and could successfully transform themselves into useful citizens of moral authority as opposed to the other charlatans who have since posed as "Black leaders." Plus, this aspect is more toward the Kitty Kelly school of biography. However, what remains of Malcolm after this is the undeniable fact of, as his former honcho Benjamin 2x Karriem (one of the few people who escapes unscathed in this book), M/X's willingness to die for what he saw as truth, as well as the fact that an amoral pimp, drug dealer, and petty thug with an 8th grade education could grow up into someone who could speak intelligently and command respect at places such as Harvard and Oxford University, as well as with varying heads of state. So I will continue to share aspects of THAT Malcolm to the students that I teach.