In 1965, King was much more humble and uncertain about Malcolm than the magazine made it appear. He remained critical of the Nation of Islam, but more open-minded with regard to Malcolm X. King and Malcolm had discovered common ground in their attacks on racism and inequality. In death, Malcolm would become a “cultural folk hero,” as the historian Peniel E. Joseph put it, a symbol of defiance. “But his greatest impact,” Joseph writes, “may have been on Martin Luther King Jr.”
