What book are you reading right now?
I’m currently re-reading The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne.
Anyone familiar with the life of Muslim minister and Black human-rights activist Malcolm X knows his powerful stance on race, justice, and self-determination during the Civil Rights era — as well as the lasting impact of his words and actions.
Most people who’ve sought to understand his life have read the influential classic The Autobiography of Malcolm X, written in collaboration with Alex Haley (best known for Roots). That book became so widely known that it was later adapted into Spike Lee’s 1992 film, introducing Malcolm X to an even broader audience.
While researching comparisons between the book and the film, I discovered that key aspects of Malcolm X’s life were either omitted or left unclear in both. I explored this further in my earlier blog post, “Malcolm X: 20 Things the Movie Got Wrong (Or Neglected to Clarify).”
One of the most striking omissions involves Malcolm X’s secret meeting with members of the Ku Klux Klan, where discussions centered on facilitating racial segregation. While there was no friendship or goodwill between the parties, they shared a disturbing ideological overlap: complete racial separation.
The Dead Are Arising sheds new light on the coordination behind those meetings and presents perspectives on Malcolm’s life as told by others — including several of his siblings — offering a broader, more nuanced view of the man beyond his public image.
My intention is to gather insights from this book, along with additional manuscripts, to provide a deeper and more comprehensive discussion when I revisit Malcolm X during African American History Month this February.
For anyone considering this book, trust me when I say: there is far more to Malcolm X’s story than most of us were ever taught.
I highly recommend giving this one a read.
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