MALCOLM LIVES!

Scholar and award-winning author Kendi offers a thoroughly researched biography that examines the life of the activist, intellectual, and Muslim minister.

Born Malcolm Little in Nebraska in 1925, he grew up in a household that openly defied white supremacy. In 1931, his dad died in an incident the police ruled accidental; his mom, however, believed her husband was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan offshoot called the Black Legion. Traumatized, Malcolm engaged in criminal behavior and developed a deep mistrust of white people. At 20, after being sentenced to prison for burglary, he was exposed to the teachings of the Nation of Islam. When he was released, 27-year-old Malcolm had been transformed. But over time, Malcolm began to reconsider his beliefs, eventually exposing the moral hypocrisy of leader Elijah Muhammad. By the end of his life, Malcolm had traveled extensively, including an enlightening trip to Mecca, gaining a global perspective. Meanwhile, Elijah sowed the discord that led to Malcolm’s assassination in 1965. Using archival documents and photographs, Kendi frames the revolutionary’s story as a “chronology of changes,” offering enough historical background to orient readers without making the narrative excessively complex. Kendi traces Malcolm’s journey from troubled but brilliant youth to divisive Black nationalist to human rights trailblazer. The short, accessible chapters compellingly contextualize global issues, speaking directly to readers and breathing new life into a critically relevant historical figure.

A humanizing, resoundingly effective portrait showcasing history as a blueprint for radical change.