AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, THE: MALCOLM X: MAKE IT PLAIN {TAPE 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series. Part one of two in this documentary program about the life of militant black leader Malcolm X. This program mixes rare original film and television footage with current interviews with family, friends, followers and opponents to create a complex portrait of the man born Malcolm Little in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. This part examines the following topics: the enduring influence of Malcolm's parents Earl and Louise Little, who were active followers of Marcus Garvey, a black nationalist leader of the 1920s; the tragic turning points of Malcolm's youth, including his father's murder by the Klu Klux Klan and his mother's descent into mental illness and years of institutionalization; Malcolm's subsequent shift from straight-A student to a small-time hustler in Boston and New York; his arrest, at age twenty, for a burglary; his seven-year incarceration in state prison; his self-education in jail and spiritual and political awakening to the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black Muslim group led by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad; his acceptance into the NOI in 1952 upon his release from prison; his charisma, oratorical gifts, and fast ascent to the position of minister of Harlem's Temple No. 7, the most important post on the east coast; a look at the rules, training, and structure of the NOI at that time, which included an elite corps called the Fruit of Islam, trained in hand-to-hand combat; Malcolm's incredible productivity, drive and dedication, leading, among other things, to the creation of the "Muhammad Speaks" newspaper; his marriage, at age thirty-two, to Betty X, a member of Temple No. 7; his celebrated sense of humor and less well-known shyness; Elijah Muhammad as a replacement father for Malcolm; Malcolm's role in winning the largest police brutality suit in New York City history, for brutality of officers of the twenty-eighth precinct toward a Muslim brother in 1957; fear of and opposition to Malcolm's militancy and racism, by whites and blacks; the peak of the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s, by which time the group had become a series of interlocking corporations, reputed to be the largest black-owned business empire in the U.S.; police tensions caused by the growing presence of the Fruit of Islam corps in the U.S.; the 1962 confrontation in Los Angeles in which a police stop-and-search of Muslim men escalated into a full-scale assault on the Muslim temple and seven Muslims and one officer were shot; the growing differences between Malcolm and Elijah, which became highlighted as Malcolm strove for justice in the courts and Elijah believed that such matters were in the hands of Allah; Malcolm's rude awakening regarding the details of Elijah's private life, which allegedly included his fathering illegitimate children with several teen-age secretaries; Malcolm's criticism of President John F. Kennedy in the wake of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Alabama, in which four black girls were killed; increasing rumblings and tension in Elijah's family over Malcolm's eclipse of Elijah in the public eye and his increasingly nationalistic agenda; Malcolm's suspension from public speaking by the NOI when he made anti-U.S. government remarks about Kennedy's assassination; the role of the FBI in feeding stories to the press, which predicted a rift between Elijah and Malcolm; Malcolm's trip to Miami to help boxer Cassius Clay prepare mentally for his heavyweight bout with Sonny Liston; Malcolm's snubbing by the NOI when Cassius Clay was made a member -- and renamed Muhammad Ali -- and Malcolm was not invited to speak at the event; the rise of Malcolm's' former protegŽ Louis X (Louis Farrakhan) as a leader within the NOI; Malcolm's growing suspicions that Nation money was being diverted for the private use of its officials; his announcement, in March, 1964, that he was leaving the NOI; his founding of a new organization, The Muslim Mosque, Inc.; the impact of Elijah's rejection on Malcolm; the enduring loyalty of the Harlem community to Malcolm; denouncements of Malcolm by Farrakhan and other ministers of the NOI; and the impending sense that Malcolm was marked for death. Includes interviews with and/or footage of the following individuals: actor Ossie Davis; Harlem activist Elder Lewis Michaux; New York City policeman William DeFossett; author Maya Angelou; Harlem resident Peter Bailey; journalist Peter Goldman; Harlem activist Sonia Sanchez; Malcolm X biographer Alex Haley; eldest brother Wilfred X (Wilfred Little); childhood friend Cyril McGuire; brother Philbert X (Philbert Little); youngest sister Yvonne Little; friend Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis; half-sister Ella Collins; The Hon. Elijah Muhammad; Elijah Muhammad's son, Wallace D. Muhammad; Joseph X, Captain, Harlem Fruit of Islam; friend and historian John Henrik Clarke; "Life" photographer Gordon Parks; wife Betty Shabazz; Deputy Commissioner, New York City Police, Robert Mangum; journalist Mike Wallace; Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP; Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty; Benjamin 2X of the NOI; author/activist James Baldwin; Sharon 10X of the NOA; Kenneth Clarke; civil rights leader Gloria Richardson; John Ali, National Secretary of the NOI; Malcoln's daughter, Attallah Shabazz; and Harlem activist Mary Kochimaya. Continues with part two, T:38107. (This program is a 1994 Peabody winner.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: January 26, 1994 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:42:39
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:38105
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Blacks - History; Boxing; She Made It Collection (Judy Crichton); She Made It Collection (Margaret Drain); Sports; U S - Civil Rights; African-American Collection - News/Talk
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1988-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Judy Crichton … Executive Producer
- Henry Hampton … Executive Producer
- Margaret Drain … Senior Producer
- Susan Mottau … Coordinating Producer
- Orlando Bagwell … Producer, Director, Writer
- Judy Richardson … Co-Producer
- Denise A. Greene … Associate Producer
- Judith Quain … Staff Producer
- Meredith Woods … Line Producer
- Steve Fayer … Writer
- Camara Kambon … Music by
- Charles Kuskin … Theme Music by
- Billy Pierce … Instrumentalist, Soprano, Tenor Saxophonist
- Charles Craig … Instrumentalist, Pianist
- Reuben Rogers … Instrumentalist, Bassist
- Adonis Rose … Instrumentalist, Drummer
- Taku Hirano … Instrumentalist, Percussionist
- David McCullough … Host
- Alfre Woodard … Narrator
- John Grybowski … Film Researcher
- Julia Browne Figuereo … Film Researcher
- Sabita Kumari-Dass … Film Researcher
- Robin Espinola … Researcher
- Rachel Harding … Researcher
- Melissane Parm … Researcher
- Saundra Sharp … Researcher
- John Ali
- Maya Angelou
- Peter Bailey
- James Baldwin
- Benjamin 2X
- John Henrik Clarke
- Kenneth Clarke
- Clay, Cassius (See also: Ali, Muhammad)
- Ella Collins
- Ossie Davis
- William DeFossett
- Marcus Garvey
- Peter Goldman
- Alex Haley
- Jarvis, Malcolm "Shorty"
- John F. Kennedy
- Mary Kochiyama
- Earl Little
- Louise Little
- Little, Philbert (Philbert X)
- Little, Wilfred (Wilfred X)
- Yvonne Little
- Louis X (See also: Farrakhan, Louis)
- Malcolm X (Malcolm Little; El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz)
- Robert Mangum
- Cyril McGuire
- Elder Lewis Michaux
- Muhammad, Elijah (Elijah Poole)
- Wallace D. Muhammad
- Gordon Parks
- Gloria Richardson
- Sonia Sanchez
- Attallah Shabazz
- Betty Shabazz
- Shah, Yusuf (Joseph X)
- Sharon 10X
- Mike Wallace
- Roy Wilkins