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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
A teacher said 'be realistic'. So he taught himself the dictionary in a prison cell. Then he changed his mind about the world, twice. 📖
Who it's for
The book follows Malcolm through several whole selves: a boy whose family is broken by racist violence and state intervention, the hustler 'Detroit Red', the prisoner who teaches himself to read by copying the dictionary, the Nation of Islam minister, and fina.
Feelings it meets
What it is
An autobiography produced through Alex Haley's extensive interviews with Malcolm X between 1963 and 1965, published in 1965. It traces his childhood in Nebraska and Michigan, including his father's death and his mother's mental health decline, his young adulthood in crime in Boston and New York, and his years in prison.
Where to find it
In print (Ballantine / Penguin), widely in libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain. Spike Lee's 1992 film Malcolm X draws on it.
Before you start
Heads up: Racist violence and a father's violent death.
Age: Ages 14+
There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide;Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: First Series, “Self-Reliance”
