AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, THE: MALCOLM X: MAKE IT PLAIN {TAPE 2 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series. Part two 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 concluding part examines the following topics and events: Malcolm's April 1964 trip to Saudi Arabia to study orthodox Islam; how his pilgrimage to Mecca changed his separatist view on race relations; the media focus on Malcolm upon his return to the New York -- attention the Nation of Islam (NOI) countered by filing eviction papers to force him from his home; Malcolm's appearance in court to challenge the eviction and his public revelations about Elijah Muhammad's private affairs; Malcolm's acknowledgment to the press that he now considers himself a dead man; his formation of a new political group called the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), which appealed to people interested in working with Malcolm without becoming Muslims; his travels in Africa, which included meeting with eleven heads of state and discussion of African misgivings about American foreign policy; his return to the U.S. in November 1964 and his ongoing collaboration with Alex Haley on his autobiography; his removal of his mother from the mental hospital at which she resided for many years; Malcolm's debate appearance at Oxford University in England, in which he states he will work with anyone of any color to combat oppression; Malcolm's work in early 1965 to help unify black leadership, including a speech in Alabama -- his first trip south to work with the black civil rights movement -- in which he supports Martin Luther King; the February 1965 firebombing of Malcolm's home which his entire family survived; daily threats to his family; Malcolm tells an audience that Elijah Muhammad ordered the firebombing; New York Police Department infiltration of the OAAU; Malcolm's awareness of his impending death and his plan to list the names of those involved in the bombing incident at an upcoming meeting of the OAAU at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City; a detailed account by witnesses, family and friends of Malcolm X's February 1965 assassination at the Audubon Ballroom -- the evening he was to have named names; the arrest and conviction of three NOI members in the shooting and the larger unaswered question of conspiracy; NOI reaction to Malcolm's death at the annual Savior's Day Convention in Chicago the night before the funeral; Malcolm's funeral, and his impact on a generation of followers and beyond. Includes interviews with and/or footage of the following individuals: Prince Mohmaed Al-Faysal of Saudi Arabia; Dartmouth College student Ahmed Osman; James Shabazz of Muslim Mosque, Inc.; journalist Peter Goldman; The Honorable Elijah Muhammad; Elijah Muhammad's son, Wallace D. Muhammad; Harlem resident/OAAU member Peter Bailey; Malcolm X's friend, historian John Henrik Clarke; his daughter Attallah Shabazz; youngest sister, Yvonne Little; Malcolm X biographer Alex Haley; actor Ossie Davis; Malcolm's wife Betty Shabazz; brother Philbert X (Philbert Little); Yusuf Shah (Captain Joseph X) of the Harlem Fruit of Islam; Harlem activist Sonia Sanchez; half-sister Ella Collins; eldest brother Wilfred X (Wilfred Little); Sharon 10X, NOI. (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 9:43 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:42:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:38107
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Blacks - History; She Made It Collection (Judy Crichton); She Made It Collection (Margaret Drain); 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
- Susan Mottau … Coordinating Producer
- Margaret Drain … Senior 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
- Taku Hirano … Instrumentalist, Percussionist
- Adonis Rose … Instrumentalist, Drummer
- David McCullough … Host
- Alfre Woodard … Narrator
- Michele Marie McKenzie … Photo Researcher
- 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
- Mohmaed Al-Faysal
- Peter Bailey
- John Henrik Clarke
- Ella Collins
- Ossie Davis
- Peter Goldman
- Alex Haley
- Louise Little
- Little, Philbert (Philbert X)
- Little, Wilfred (Wilfred X)
- Yvonne Little
- Malcolm X (Malcolm Little; El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz)
- Muhammad, Elijah (Elijah Poole)
- Wallace D. Muhammad
- Ahmed Osman
- Sonia Sanchez
- Attallah Shabazz
- Betty Shabazz
- James Shabazz
- Shah, Yusuf (Joseph X)
- Sharon 10X