Malcolm X Make It Plain
Writing by Uriel on Monday, 18 of August , 2008 at 12:43 pm
Political philosopher and visionary, husband and father, dynamic orator and militant minister. In his lifetime, Malcolm X was many men. Born Malcolm Little, he later became “Detroit Red” and “New York Red” — a hustler, drug pusher, pimp, con man and the head of a Boston robbery ring. After spending time in prison, he emerged as Minister Malcolm — Malcolm X, the fiery, eloquent spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Finally, he became El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, an internationally recognized leader and advocate for oppressed peoples. He was both loved and despised, revered and feared– until an assassin’s bullet cut him down at age 39.
American Experience marks the 40th anniversary of his death with “Malcolm X — Make It Plain.” This in-depth film portrait goes straight to the heart, mind and message of one of the modern era’s most complex figures. Actress Alfre Woodard narrates the special.
This film chronicles Malcolm X’s remarkable journey from his birth on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, to his assassination at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on February 21, 1965. His compelling story is told through the memories of people who had close personal and working relationships with him: prominent figures such as Maya Angelou, Ossie Davis and Alex Haley; Nation of Islam associates, including Wallace D. Muhammad, the son of Elijah Muhammad; and family members, including his wife, Betty Shabazz, and his oldest daughter, Attallah Shabazz. Included is extensive archival footage of Malcolm X, speaking in his own words at meetings and rallies, and in media interviews.
At a time when black civil rights leaders preached harmony and integration, Malcolm preached a militant gospel of self-defense and nationalism that terrified many whites and disturbed, yet also inspired, black Americans. After his travels to Africa and Mecca, he returned with a deeper understanding of Islam and a new willingness to accept white allies. “The white man and the black man have to be able to sit down at the same table,” he said in his last year. “Then they can bring the issues that are under the rug out on top of the table and take an intelligent approach to getting the problem solved.”
In 1965, under attack from the Nation of Islam and under surveillance by the FBI, Malcolm X was assassinated while delivering a speech. Who killed him and why remains a mystery to this day, 40 years after his assassination.
“An engaging and subtly detailed portrait.”
– Newsweek
“A first-rate piece of journalism.”
– Entertainment Weekly
- Debating African Americans’ future
Take the online poll regarding Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. During the 1960s, these two leaders offered competing visions of how to improve African Americans’ lives. Around the turn of the 20th century, two other prominent African American leaders, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, likewise had very different answers to this central question.
Divide the class into groups of two; assign half of the groups the debate between Washington and Du Bois, and the other half the debate between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Each team should learn about the two men it was assigned and then write the script of a face-to-face debate that might have occurred between them on the following question: What strategy should African Americans follow in their efforts to expand opportunities for themselves and their children?
When groups are finished, ask for volunteers to read their debates to the class. Then discuss as a class the similarities and differences between the two debates. Which issues changed in the years between the two debates? Which issues did not change?
- The year in civil rights
The 1950s and 1960s witnessed some of the highest and the lowest points in African Americans’ struggle for civil rights. Assign each student or small group of students a different year from 1954 through 1968. Each student or group should then prepare a poster illustrating major events related to civil rights that took place in that year, such as the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Montgomery bus boycott, the March on Washington, passage of major civil rights legislation, and the assassination of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Each poster should contain at least one photograph or a drawing and at least one primary-source quotation. Mount the posters in chronological order around the room and review them as a class: what story do they tell?
Please Login or Register to read the rest of this content.
Category: Biography, Documentary, History, Movies
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Meneame -
- Digg
No comments yet.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
![[Valid RSS]](http://www.aspenza.com/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
