Malcolm X As They Knew Him

by David Gallen

Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, James Farmer, Alex Haley, William Kunstler, Mike Wallace, Robert Penn Warren, and many others discuss the life and work of the African-American leader. Simultaneous.

Genres: History

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kaurmanxo]

Growing up, I only ever heard stories about Martin Luther King Jr. regarding the civil rights movement. Despite pushing a peaceful agenda, that was not the main reason that people of color finally got rights in the USA. It was scholars like Malcolm X that led us to that path.

I always thought it was odd that every other civil rights movement or uprising against colonial powers in the world all involved violence. But America's didn't? No, just like Sikhi, we are taught to defend ourselves, Malcolm X also pushed an agenda of self defense. It was never about "violence" or "revenge" really. He might have initially, but his eyes opened and his views changed once he visited Mecca.

As They Knew Him is a wonderful recap of Malcolm X's own idea, but also how other civil rights scholars of the time viewed him.

[Vincent]

I liked it but I went into reading this book to learn more about Malcolm X and I feel like I learned some but not much. It was more about what people thought of him and his actions than specifically on him.

[Ethan Aaronson]

Loved hearing the different perspectives on who the man most people only knew through his public appearances was in his private life.

[Arielle]

2019 Reading Challenge - A book told from multiple character POVs

[Amber]

Really powerful book - I absolutely loved it!