Malcolm X

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Remi (00:08):
Welcome to Criminal Adaptations, the show where we
take a look at some of yourfavorite movies and the true
crime stories that inspired them.
I'm Remy.
I spent over a decade workingin the film and television
industry in Los Angeles,California.

Ashley (00:21):
And I'm Ashley.
I'm a clinical psychologist andforensic evaluator in the state
of Oregon.

Remi (00:27):
And welcome to our grand finale, everybody.
Season four is a wrap.
I can't believe we made it thisfar, and we are extremely
grateful to anyone who has beenlistening since the beginning or
just started somewhere alongthe way, or if this is your
first episode.
Either way.
If you could give us a like,comment or follow, or even just

(00:50):
tell a friend, that would betremendous in helping our
podcast grow for the followingseason, which will be debuting
on September 1st.
But I digress.
Today we will be discussing ahistoric civil rights leader
that goes by the name of MalcolmX.

Ashley (01:10):
But before we begin, we want to acknowledge something
important we're two white hoststalking about Malcolm X, a
figure whose life, legacy andimpact are deeply rooted in the
Black American experience andthe fight against systematic
racism.
We're not here to speak forMalcolm X or the Black community
.
Instead, our goal is toapproach this subject with

(01:32):
honesty, curiosity and deeprespect, highlighting his legacy
, correcting any misconceptionsand examining how his story has
been adapted and interpreted inmedia.
We know we may not always getit right, but we're committed to
listening, learning andpresenting this story
responsibly.
With that being said, remy,should we get into it?

Remi (01:53):
Yes, let's do it.
Had you been familiar withMalcolm X before we decided to
do this episode?

Ashley (02:00):
I'm kind of ashamed to say that I really didn't know a
lot about Malcolm X.
I knew he was around the sametime as Martin Luther King Jr
and was a prominent civil rightsleader and activist, but as far
as the impact he had on theblack community at the time, I
was uninformed.

Remi (02:20):
They didn't teach me about Malcolm X in school.
They didn't teach me aboutMalcolm X in school.
We did learn about MartinLuther King Jr, but Malcolm X
really wasn't touched upon.
However, I did become familiarwith him specifically because of
this film.
I remember when I was a littlekid my parents brought me to the
movie theater pretty regularlyand I remember seeing this big

(02:44):
black X poster all over theplace and that's all it was.
It was black with a big silverX in the middle of it, or it
might have been gray, but itdidn't show Denzel.
It didn't really give any otherinformation and for the longest
time I thought this movie wascalled X.
But just that poster was enoughto really pique my interest and

(03:05):
basically everything that Ilearned about him since was kind
of taken directly from thisfilm, even though I didn't
really sit down and fully payattention to the entire thing
until recently for this podcast.

Ashley (03:19):
I have actually never seen this movie, and I think
that's probably because I didn'treally see any Spike Lee movies
until we started dating.
You kind of introduced me tohis repertoire of work.

Remi (03:33):
This is the film that got me interested in Spike Lee.
Again.
I was very, very young and Ididn't see this in theaters, but
I did see his film Clockers intheaters at a extremely young
age and have sort of beenfollowing his career ever since.
I sort of was on the fenceabout Spike Lee for a really
long time and within the pastdecade or so I have grown to

(03:58):
immensely respect what he hasachieved and think he's been a
bit underrated as far as thefilm community goes.

Ashley (04:06):
This movie is also perfectly timed because he has a
new film coming out.
I'm not sure when it's supposedto debut, but it premiered at
the Cannes Film Festival and itis directed by Spike Lee
starring Denzel.
I think he has said that it'sprobably going to be their last
collaboration together has saidthat it's probably going to be
their last collaborationtogether.

Remi (04:27):
Directors usually have their actors whom they love to
work with.
I know Tarantino has SamJackson, scorsese had De Niro,
and then later on he hadDiCaprio, and Spike Lee's actor
has been Denzel.
They've done many projectstogether and, speaking of Denzel
Washington, I know you are afan, as am I.
Do you have any favoriteperformances off the top of your

(04:47):
head?

Ashley (04:48):
I am a big sucker for two of them.
The first is, of course,remember the Titans.
I love that movie and I lovehim in it, and then I also
really, really, really enjoyedFlight.
What about you?

Remi (05:07):
I do love the film Flight as well.
He was recently in Gladiator 2,which isn't a great movie, but
he was really having fun withthat character.
He was, of course, great inTraining Day, where he won the
Oscar.

Ashley (05:14):
Oh, and man on Fire with Dakota Fanning.

Remi (05:17):
And I have sort of a soft spot for at least the first
Equalizer movie, but this wasthe film that put him on the map
.
However, I won't be able totouch upon everything that
happened during this production,so we would like to recommend
another podcast if you areinterested in learning even more
details about this troubledproduction.

(05:37):
It is called what Went Wrongand they have a full episode
covering Malcolm X and theyreally get into anything that we
may have missed in this episode.
They go into detail in thatepisode.
So high recommend for thatepisode and for that show in
general.
But again I digress.
Should we dive into Spike Lee'sMalcolm X?

Ashley (05:59):
Yes, let's.
I do remember from that whatWent Wrong episode that it took
a lot to get this movie to thebig screen, but please refresh
my memory.
Well, let us hear from ourminister, Minister Malcolm X.

Remi (06:11):
Let us bring him on with a round of applause co-written by
Spike Lee, starring DenzelWashington, angela Bassett,
albert Hall, al Freeman Jr andDelroy Lindo, who is sort of

(06:32):
having a career resurgence atthe moment after his role in
Sinners.
In 1967, producer Marvin Wirthacquired the rights to the
Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Wirth had actually met Malcolmdecades prior, hanging around
the New York City jazz scene asteenagers, back when Malcolm was
only a weed-selling hustlerknown as Detroit Red.
Wirth, who was just 15 at thetime, recalled that even before

(06:55):
Malcolm had become a nationalfigure, he had always had the
kind of presence that wasimpossible to forget, describing
him as a sharply dressed greatdancer who turned heads wherever
he went, while beingastonishingly witty and
effortlessly charismatic.
In 1968, wirth commissioned ascreenplay from novelist James

(07:16):
Baldwin, who was later joined byscreenwriter Arnold Pearl, who
had previously been a victim ofMcCarthy-era blacklisting.
However, the developmentprocess took longer than
expected and Pearl ended uppassing away in 1971, before its
completion.
When reflecting back on hisexperience in 1976, baldwin

(07:38):
wrote I think that I wouldrather be horsewhipped or
incarcerated in Bellevue thanrepeat that adventure.

Ashley (07:46):
Wow, that is some harsh words.

Remi (07:47):
It sounds like a very unpleasant experience, but
Baldwin died in 1987, neverseeing the project fully
realized.
In 1972, marvin Wirth releaseda well-received documentary
called Malcolm X, earning him anAcademy Award nomination.
But the larger biopic remainedstalled due to struggles telling

(08:09):
Malcolm's full story, whichstill had many unanswered
questions surrounding hisassassination.
Over the years, several bignames were at one point or
another attached to the project,such as Richard Pryor, eddie
Murphy and director Sidney LeMay, but remained in development
limbo.
By the late 1980s, warnerBrothers officially greenlit the

(08:31):
project, causing sales of theautobiography of Malcolm X to
increase by over 300% in thethree years before the film's
eventual release.

Ashley (08:41):
And now's a good time to point out that this movie is
based on the autobiography ofMalcolm X that he wrote.
But for my research on this, Iread a newer book called the
Dead Are Rising the Life ofMalcolm X.
It was published in 2020 byTamara Payne, and she had
actually taken over the projectafter her father, Les Payne, had

(09:04):
started it many, many, many,many years ago, but died before
the book was published, and itis phenomenal.
So if you want to learn moreabout Malcolm X after listening
to this podcast, I highly highlyrecommend that book.
I'm pretty sure it made it onthe New York Times bestsellers
list sellers list.

Remi (09:27):
The studio's first choice to direct the film was an
Oscar-nominated white filmmakernamed Norman Jewison, who is
best known for his 1967 civilrights film In the Heat of the
Night.
However, controversy soonfollowed when backlash erupted
over the studio's decision tohave a white director helm the
story of Malcolm X.
Spike Lee, who was anup-and-coming filmmaker at the
time after the release of 1989'sDo the Right Thing, had long

(09:51):
dreamed of adapting theautobiography of Malcolm X and
was extremely vocal regardinghis belief that only a black
director could properly tellMalcolm's story

Spike Lee (10:02):
First of all, I think that 35 million African
Americans would have done a lotmore than I could have, that
they would have really gottenout that Norman Jewison was
directing that film, because Idon't feel that a Caucasian
director could do justice tothis project, to this film.
And I'm not saying that onlyblack people can direct black

(10:23):
projects and only whitedirectors can direct white
projects.
But in particular matters,specific cases called for.
No one can tell me that theGodfather was not enhanced by
Francois Coppola being anItalian-American.
He had nuances that nobody thatwasn't an Italian-American had
gotten.
The same thing with Scorsese,mean Streets, goodfellas and
Rage and Bull, and I think thisis along the same lines.

(10:45):
You need an African-American, acapable African-American
director.

Ashley (10:49):
I do think he makes very valid points, especially when
he says that in certainsituations, films can benefit
from having the person that'stelling the story have intimate
lived experiences that can thenbe translated on screen in a way
that people without thoseexperiences might overlook or
not fully understand.

Remi (11:11):
And I totally agree, especially with a story like
this.
I think some stories they needa specific type of filmmaker to
add the necessary insight to theproject itself, and I think
Spike Lee was the perfect personto bring this film to life.
Eventually, marvin Wirth wasforced to acknowledge the shift

(11:34):
in public sentiment, statingSpike Lee was then brought on to
replace Jewison as director andproceeded to make significant
revisions to the film's originalscript, stating I'm directing
this movie and I rewrote thescript, and I'm an artist.

(11:57):
This film about Malcolm X isgoing to be my vision of Malcolm
X, but it's not like I'msitting atop.
Several other writers had takena crack at the script over the
years, including David Mamet,david Bradley, charles Fuller

(12:20):
and Calder Willingham, but onceLee became involved, he rewrote
the Baldwin-Pearl draft tobetter fit his own unique vision
for the project.
Because of these changes,baldwin's family requested that
his name be removed from thefilm's credits.
As a result, the credits onlyfeature the names of Arnold
Pearl and Spike Lee asscreenwriters, and Malcolm X and

(12:44):
Alex Haley as the authors ofthe autobiography of Malcolm X.
Lee also faced criticism fromwithin the Black community,
including Black nationalists andmembers of the United Front to
Preserve the Legacy of Malcolm X.
Led by Amari Baraka, who voicedconcerns over how Lee would
depict Malcolm on screen,stating Based on the movies I've

(13:08):
seen, I'm horrified of seeingSpike Lee make Malcolm X.
I think Eddie Murphy's filmsare better.
Strong words by Baraka here.

Ashley (13:18):
And it doesn't really make sense, because Do the Right
Thing was a sensation.

Remi (13:24):
I think maybe her concern was that he was a very young
filmmaker and I think his filmswere I don't know if they would
be described as controversial,but they were very unique and
definitely had Spike Lee'sthoughts and opinions pretty
prominently on display and maybeshe was afraid that Malcolm's

(13:44):
would get lost in theresomewhere.
Baraka even organized a protest, attended by 200 people in
Harlem to bring the issue of MrLee's exploitation film to the
masses, and I read an interviewwhere Spike Lee is talking about
Baraka and he did not have alot of kind words to say about

(14:05):
this person.
Ironically, norman Jewison, theoriginal director, was the one
who originally cast DenzelWashington to play Malcolm X,
having previously worked withDenzel on A Soldier's Story in
1984.
Funnily enough, jewison hadalso offered the role of Alex
Haley to Eddie Murphy at onepoint as well, so maybe that

(14:28):
would have made Baraka a littlebit more happy.
Oliver Stone had expressedinterest in directing this
project as a follow-up to his1991 film JFK, with Denzel
Washington still being the firstchoice to play Malcolm X, so I
think it was just meant to be.
I don't know if anyone else atthis time could have played this

(14:48):
role like he did, althoughDenzel Washington had already
agreed to play Malcolm X underNorman Jewison's direction.
Spike Lee later said that henever imagined anyone else in
the role after seeing Denzel'spowerful off-Broadway
performance as Malcolm in thehit 1981 stage play when the
Chickens Came Home to Roost.

Ashley (15:10):
Interesting.
I didn't realize he played himon Broadway.
That's fascinating.

Remi (15:15):
The two had previously collaborated on Lee's 1990 film
Mo' Better Blues, which I havenot seen, and would go on to
make two more films together,including 1998's he Got Game,
which we both watched recentlyand loved, and 2006's Inside man
, as well as a new film calledHighest to Lowest, scheduled to

(15:39):
be released later this year.
Denzel Washington's casting didreceive some criticism, however
, primarily over concerns thatthe actor did not resemble the
real Malcolm X, with manycritics noting that Malcolm had
lighter skin and freckles, whichWashington does not.
Naysayers were also quick topoint out that Washington is

(16:01):
only 6'1", while Malcolm was6'4".
Apparently they had never heardof apple boxes or lifts and
shoes or anything like thatcamera trickery.
There's a lot of ways aroundthat, guys.

Ashley (16:15):
Haters are gonna hate.

Remi (16:17):
Despite this, denzel was fully committed to portraying
the historical figure asrespectfully and accurately as
possible, through extensiveresearch, absorbing hours of
historical footage and carefullystudying Malcolm's speeches.
Washington additionallyattended Fruit of Islam classes,
gave up pork, learned the LindyHop and even memorized exactly

(16:41):
which glasses Malcolm had wornon specific days.
So he took this incrediblyseriously, and it shows Denzel's
son, john David Washington, whowould later make a name for
himself with such mega-hits asTenet and the Spike Lee film.
Black Klansman makes hisbig-screen debut at just seven

(17:02):
years old in this film,portraying a young student in
one of the classroom scenes,while Denzel's mother, lennis
Washington, plays Laura'sgrandmother, Mrs Johnson.
So three generations ofWashingtons are in this film.

Ashley (17:16):
We had mentioned this a couple weeks ago, but how great
would it be if they casted JohnDavid Washington in an MLK
biopic.

Remi (17:26):
Yes, we were discussing how there really hasn't been a
definitive MLK movie.
I know Selma came out a fewyears ago, but that was more
about a specific event and wewere both wondering why there
hasn't been a film about MartinLuther King Jr's full legacy and
I do think that John DavidWashington would do a

(17:47):
magnificent job in that sort ofrole.
Malcolm X's widow, dr BettyShabazz, served as a consultant
on the film to help ensureauthenticity and respect for her
late husband's legacy.
The security wing of the Nationof Islam, known as the Fruit of
Islam, also played a key rolebehind the scenes by providing

(18:08):
protection throughout themovie's production.
At one point during theproduction, it was unclear
whether the filmmakers would begranted the rights to use
Malcolm X's actual speeches,which Spike Lee compared to
making an Elvis biopic withoutany Elvis songs, which I'm
pretty sure someone has tried todo.
I know I've seen a Kurt Cobainmovie without any Kurt Cobain

(18:29):
songs and a David Bowie moviewithout any David Bowie songs.
Luckily, lee was eventuallygiven permission to use
Malcolm's essential speeches totell Malcolm's story in his own
words.
As far as funding the film,spike Lee ran into major hurdles
while dealing with WarnerBrothers and the Bond Company,

(18:49):
with Lee insisting that theproject would need a budget of
$30 million to be done correctly, while the film's financers
disagreed and instead offeredLee $28 million.
And though it may seem small,it does make a difference,
especially with a film like this.
To get around this, lee took apage from director Francis Ford
Coppola's playbook and pulled amove Lee refers to as getting

(19:13):
the movie company pregnant,which is when a production is
pushed far enough along thatbacking out would prove to be
too difficult.
Eventually, the budget climbedto nearly $33 million, with Lee
personally putting in $2 millionfrom his own $3 million salary
to keep the film going.
Malcolm X made history as thefirst American film and the

(19:35):
first non-documentary to begranted permission to shoot in
Mecca, specifically within thesacred harem Sharif.
Of course, warner Brothersinitially refused to fund the
Mecca shoot and insteadsuggested New Jersey as a
stand-in for Mecca, which Idon't understand.
Where in New Jersey would youthink could pass for Mecca?
Seriously, I've been to NewJersey.

(19:57):
But thankfully, lee flat outrefused to shoot in New Jersey
and in the end, lee secured boththe funding and the rare access
needed to shoot on location.
But because non-Muslims likeSpike Lee aren't allowed inside
the Holy City.
A second unit crew was broughtin to handle filming.

(20:19):
So he did all this and hedidn't even get to be there.

Ashley (20:23):
That is so crazy.
They were even grantedpermission to shoot there to
begin with.

Remi (20:28):
From all of my research.
Spike Lee just kept bumpinginto obstacle after obstacle
after obstacle, and he wouldfind ways around it.
He wanted to make this film somuch.
This was his passion projectand he did everything he could
to get it made exactly how heenvisioned it, and my hat is off

(20:49):
to the man.
It is truly staggering what hewas able to achieve.
Unfortunately, this was not theend of Spike Lee's difficulties
completing the film, as moretensions later arose.
After the Completion, bondCompany, which took over
financial control in early 1992,refused to approve any more

(21:10):
spending on the project.
On top of that, both the studioand Bond Company insisted that
the final cut be no longer than2 hours and 15 minutes, which
later led to the film being shutdown during the post-production
process.
This is the type of film thatyou need the three hours, in my

(21:30):
opinion.
I'm not a fan of three-hourfilms, but to be done right, a
film like this needed the time.
These numerous negativeexperiences while dealing with
the studio led Lee and his crewto nickname Warner Brothers the
Plantation during the making ofMalcolm X.
The film was ultimately savedby a group of prominent black

(21:52):
celebrities, including BillCosby, oprah Winfrey, michael
Jordan, magic Johnson, janetJackson, prince Tracy Chapman
and Peggy Cooper Kofritz,founder of the Duke Ellington
School of the Arts, who allstepped in and made personal
donations to help complete thefilm.

Ashley (22:12):
Those are some big names right there.

Remi (22:16):
They knew how important this was, and, though I have
nothing positive to say aboutBill Cosby, I think that it is
truly amazing that all of theseother people stepped in and
ensured that it got done.
In Spike Lee's own words, theseare black folks with some money
who came to the rescue of themovie.

(22:36):
As a result, this film will bemy version, not the Bond
Company's version, not WarnerBrothers.
I will do the film the way itought to be, and it will be over
three hours.
Warner Brothers was reportedlyunhappy with how Spike Lee
secured outside funding from hisAfrican-American supporters to

(22:58):
finish Malcolm X.
Because of this, when Lee laterexpressed interest in helping
to develop Space Jam in 1996,warner Brothers completely shut
him out from making anycontributions to the project.

Ashley (23:13):
Yeah, I bet he was on their blacklist for a while.

Remi (23:16):
And I know he's really good friends with Michael Jordan
, and it would have been really,really interesting to see a
Spike Lee Space Jam film.
The film was made in the wakeof Nelson Mandela's 1990 release
from prison.
During the tense negotiationsto end apartheid in South Africa
, spike Lee saw a powerfulconnection between Malcolm X and

(23:39):
Mandela's message ofpan-Africanism and unity among
people of color message ofpan-Africanism and unity among
people of color.
The film closes with a messageof global solidarity delivered
by Mandela himself, takendirectly from one of Malcolm X's
most powerful quotes, beforethe camera cuts to real footage
of Malcolm finishing the line byany means necessary.

(24:00):
And with that should we getinto Spike Lee's film Malcolm X.

Ashley (24:06):
Yes, I got my popcorn ready, let's do it.

Remi (24:24):
Our story begins with a voiceover of Malcolm X
delivering one of his mostfamous speeches denouncing the
brutality and hypocrisy of theAmerican government, intercut
with actual footage of the 1991Rodney King beating at the hands
of the LAPD, which was alsomentioned in our episode two
weeks ago in American History X.

(24:46):
It was a very big story in theearly to mid-90s.
As the fiery speech intensifies, the camera shows an American
flag slowly burning into theunmistakable shape of a giant
letter X.

Ashley (25:01):
That is a powerful opening sequence.

Remi (25:05):
And then we cut to Boston in the 1940s, where it has a
very, very different tone thanthe intro we just watched.
A young Malcolm Little, playedby Denzel Washington, is
preparing for a night out on thetown with his friend Shorty,
played by the film's director,spike Lee.
Malcolm is in the middle ofgetting his hair conked, which

(25:28):
is an extremely painful hairstraightening process, which
causes Malcolm to scream forreprieve as the harsh chemicals
begin to burn his scalp.
It is a truly comedic scene.
So it's kind of jarring goingfrom the intro to something like
this.
That is definitely being playedfor comedy.
In fact, most of the scenesaround this time are

(25:51):
surprisingly prettylight-hearted and rather comedic
.
After the treatment, malcolmand his pal Shorty strut through
the streets of Boston in theirsnazziest zoot suits, ready to
hit the jazz club and find someladies.
We then suddenly flash back toMalcolm's childhood, where the

(26:12):
KKK has surrounded and sets fireto his family's home in Omaha,
nebraska, as a warning toMalcolm's father, reverend Earl
Little, to stop spreadingtrouble by preaching black pride
and self-reliance.
Not long after Malcolm's fatheris found dead with his body,
grotesquely mangled, splayedacross a set of train tracks,

(26:35):
despite Malcolm's mother, louiseLittle, insisting that her
husband had been murdered by awhite supremacist group known as
the Black Legion, along withsigns that Earl had been bashed
in the back of his head with ahammer.
His death is still labeled asuicide, negating Earl's
insurance policy.
After Earl's death, malcolm'smother struggles to support her

(26:58):
family and is often mistreatedand judged by both white social
workers and the black communitydue to her fair skin, which
Louise had inherited from thewhite man who raped her mother.
After being deemed unstable bysocial workers and state
officials, louise is forciblyseparated from her five children

(27:18):
, causing her to slowly unraveland eventually be
institutionalized.
Meanwhile, malcolm is sent to adetention home where he attends
school and is the only coloredstudent in class, often being
subjected to racial slurs andprejudice from the teachers and
other students.
In spite of this, malcolmremained a good student and was

(27:40):
even made class president.
Returning to the present,sharply contrasting the previous
flashback scenes, malcolm andShorty are now fully styled in
fresh new zoot suits,confidently moving through a
bustling black jazz clubcomplete with live music, lindy
Hop, dancing and cigarette smokecurling through the air.

(28:00):
Side note here Frankie Manningwas the consultant for these
dancing scenes and he isconsidered an ambassador of the
Lindy Hop, which is also knownas the Jitterbug.

Ashley (28:18):
There is so much jumping and swinging and flipping and
arm moving in that dance.
I am tired just watching them.

Remi (28:29):
I just showed Ashley a brief clip of the Lindy Hop and
yeah, it looks pretty exhausting, Despite the racial taboo of
the time.
A young white woman namedSophia, played by Kate Vernon,
catches Malcolm's attention fromacross the room.
Though Malcolm had originallyarrived with a younger black
woman named Laura, played byTeresa Randall, he soon ditches

(28:52):
her to spend the remainder ofhis evening with Sophia, parked
down by the shoreline making outas the sun comes up.
Malcolm was a bit of a cad inhis earlier days here.
He was popular with the ladies,malcolm and Sophia, continue
their relationship after thatnight, despite Sophia being
engaged and Malcolm still seeingLaura.

(29:14):
During this time, malcolm worksas a waiter on a first-class
locomotive, though he secretlyloathes having to cater to
wealthy white people.
Just to make ends meet, malcolmventures to Harlem, new York,
not long after, where hewitnesses the neighborhood
raucously celebrating the returnof local boxing legend Joe

(29:35):
Lewis, aka the Brown Bomber,following his recent victory.
Malcolm soon finds himself in ajazz bar where an altercation
with another patron escalatesafter the man insults Malcolm's
mother, resulting in Malcolmsmashing a bottle over the man's
head.
The commotion catches theattention of a sharply dressed,

(29:56):
intimidating man named WestIndian Archie, played by Delroy
Lindo, a well-known gangsterwhose reputation precedes him.
By Delroy Lindo, a well-knowngangster whose reputation
precedes him.
Malcolm expresses interest injoining Archie's operation, and
Archie agrees on one conditionthe flamboyant zoot suits have
got to go.

Ashley (30:15):
It does draw a lot of attention to you.

Remi (30:17):
That is exactly what he said.
Now, dressed like a propergangster in more understated
attire, Malcolm is gifted hisfirst concealed firearm by West
Indian Archie and begins workingas a numbers runner, collecting
bets and distributing receiptsfor Archie's illegal lottery
operation.
This so-called numbers game wasan underground lottery popular

(30:41):
in many black working-classneighborhoods during the early
to mid-20th century,particularly in Harlem.
Players would play small betson three-digit numbers, with the
winning combination often tiedto publicly available figures
like stock exchange totals orhorse racing results, giving the
illusion of fairness.

(31:02):
I don't fully understand howthis game worked.
It seems like you could justbet on random numbers anywhere.
I'm really not sure.
Archie oversaw and maintainedfull control of this operation
by managing the payouts andhandling all the money
personally.
Under Archie's influence,Malcolm adopts the street name

(31:22):
Red in reference to his reddishhair and becomes further
entrenched in Harlem'sunderworld by experimenting with
cocaine while indulging in thehedonistic lifestyle of the
people surrounding him.
Tensions eventually come to ahead between the two men after
Malcolm accuses Archie offorgetting a six-figure debt
owed to him from a numbers hit.

(31:44):
Archie, taking offense at theaccusation and viewing it as an
attack on his integrity, checksthe records, then accuses
Malcolm of lying in an attemptto cheat him.
Convinced that Malcolm istrying to swindle him, Archie
prepares to have him eliminated.
But before the hit can go down,Malcolm escapes by slipping out
of a bathroom window anddisappearing into the night.

Ashley (32:06):
With the lifestyle Malcolm X was leading.
At this point he was in Boston,slash Harlem, between the ages
of 15 to 20 years old.
It is crazy that he not onlywasn't killed but grew into and
became who he became.

Remi (32:23):
Like Joe Pesci's character in Goodfellas.
I did not know the actual ageof what they were supposed to be
during these scenes.
Joe Pesci's character inGoodfellas is supposed to be in
his early 20s and Malcolm issupposed to be a teenager here,
but they're both being portrayedby much older actors, so at the
time I don't think I hadrealized he was supposed to be

(32:44):
just a teenager here.
Doing all this, malcolmretreats back to Boston to lay
low for a while and reuniteswith his old friend Shorty.
After successfully robbing thehome of a wealthy white family,
malcolm thinks he's back inbusiness until the police show
up during a hair-conking sessionand arrest both him and Shorty

(33:06):
for burglary.
Their white girlfriends, whohad also taken part in the heist
, are each sentenced to twoyears in a woman's reformatory.
Malcolm and Shorty aren't solucky, however, and are both
convicted on 14 counts ofburglary, with each count
carrying a sentence of 8 to 10years to be served concurrently.

(33:29):
Not understanding whatconcurrently means, shorty
faints in the courtroom,believing that he had just been
sentenced to over 100 years inprison, and I don't blame him.
I would faint too if I thoughtthat it just happened.
Malcolm is sent to CharlestownState Prison in February 1946
and is almost immediately throwninto solitary confinement after

(33:53):
forgetting his prison numberduring roll call.
Isolated and nearing hisbreaking point, malcolm is
eventually returned to generalpopulation where he meets a
composed and commanding inmatenamed Baines, played by Albert
Hall.
Sensing Malcolm's struggle withcocaine withdrawal, baines
concocts a makeshift remedy andbegins guiding Malcolm towards a

(34:15):
new path.
Baines challenges Malcolm touse his mind, stop trying to
assimilate into whiteness andintroduces him to the teachings
of Elijah Muhammad.
Though initially skeptical,Malcolm is intrigued by Baines'
intellect and fearsome demeanor.
Baines lays out the coreprinciples of the Nation of

(34:36):
Islam, which include no smoking,no drinking, no drugs, no white
women and no pork.
Baines also urges Malcolm toeducate himself, starting with
the books written by white men.
Ugh, I'd be like can we startwith anything other than the
dictionary?
It's actually a reallyinteresting scene that I almost

(35:04):
pulled a clip from.
He has Malcolm look up thedefinitions of the word white
and black, while also pointingout that Webster's Dictionary
was written by a white man andthe definition for white is
things like purity, honesty,innocence, things like that, and
the terms for black are dirty,darkness, negative words.

(35:28):
And Baines is pointing out thatstuff like this has a
subconscious psychologicaleffect on the black community.
Malcolm quickly becomes avoracious reader, devouring
texts and learning black historyunder Baines's mentorship.

Albert Hall (Baines) (35:44):
Devouring texts and learning black history
under Baines' mentorship.
Let me tell you about blackhistory.
We are the original man.
The first men on earth wereblack, they ruled and there
wasn't a white face anywhere.
But they teach us that we livedin caves and swung from trees.
That's a lie.
Black men never did that.
We were a race of kings whenthe white men crawled around on

(36:07):
all fours over the hills ofEurope.
Do they know who they are?
Do you know where you came from?
What's your name?
Malcolm Little?
No, that's the name of theslave masters who own your
family.

Remi (36:23):
You don't even know who you are.
As time passes, baines continuesto teach Malcolm the ways of
Allah and Elijah Muhammad, whileregularly reiterating and
reinforcing the belief thatwhite men are the devil.
Under Baines' guidance, malcolmfully commits himself to Islam,
vowing to pray five times a dayand renouncing all of his former

(36:47):
vices.
Not long after, malcolmreceives a personal letter from
Elijah Muhammad himself,inspiring him to dedicate his
life entirely to the cause.
Upon his release from prison,malcolm is introduced to Elijah
Muhammad in person, played by AlFreeman Jr, who encourages
Malcolm to stay on the path ofrighteousness and continue his

(37:09):
work with the Nation of Islam.
Back in Harlem, malcolm beginspreaching Elijah Muhammad's
message on the streets, tryingto recruit new followers and
spread the doctrine.
Side note, here Reverend AlSharpton makes a brief cameo in
this scene as one of the streetpreachers, alongside Bobby Seale
, co-founder of the BlackPanther Party.

(37:31):
Over time, malcolm gains agrowing following and is
eventually given his own templeto lead, showcasing his
commanding public speakingskills and the radical
transformation from the man heonce was and to whatchamacallit,
we didn't land on Plymouth Rock.

Denzel Washington (Mal (37:48):
Plymouth Rock landed on us, landed right
on top of us.

Ashley (38:10):
I watched a lot of clips of Malcolm X speaking, both in
lectures like these and duringTV interviews, and he is an
incredibly engaging speaker.

Remi (38:25):
I watched a few of those interviews with you and I
wholeheartedly agree.
His command over wordage andhis charisma was undeniable.
Malcolm eventually makes peacewith his former mentor, West
Indian Archie, who is now livingin squalor and has physically

(38:48):
deteriorated into a shadow ofhis former self.
Likewise, Malcolm's old crew,including Shorty, have all ended
up in worse circumstances thanwhen he left them, including
Laura, his former flame, who hastragically fallen into
prostitution.

Ashley (39:02):
I mean statistically speaking.
Malcolm should have been amongthem.
Our country is not set up forpeople who experience adversity
to overcome that.
Unfortunately, it's set up tokeep the down down.

Remi (39:18):
Though I do not endorse Elijah Muhammad on any level and
we will get to why in just abit I do think that if Malcolm
had stayed on the path he was on, he would have ended up in very
similar circumstances to all ofhis old friends Back in Harlem.
Malcolm's sermons begin drawinglarger and larger crowds as his

(39:41):
impassioned preachingselectrify audiences in the name
of the Nation of Islam.
During this time, he isintroduced to Betty Shabazz,
played by Angela Bassett, adevoted Muslim who teaches women
about proper hygiene and dietand we are both huge Angela
Bassett fans.

Ashley (39:59):
She is everything.

Remi (40:02):
Betty invites Malcolm to speak at one of her classes, and
the chemistry between them isinstantaneous and undeniable.
They go out to lunch together,then stroll through the National
History Museum, where theirconversation slowly shifts from
religion to personal connections.
Over ice cream sundaes theybegin to genuinely get to know

(40:24):
one another.
But their conversation is cutshort when Malcolm receives
urgent news of a police assaulton a fellow Muslim named Brother
Johnson, who has been arrestedand was reportedly beaten by the
police.

Ashley (40:37):
What a sad ending to such a wholesome date.

Remi (40:41):
Seriously, there was like a cute PG level of innocence to
their day.
Just going to all theselocations and you could see that
they didn't agree on everything, but they were open to hearing
what the other person had to sayabout it and it was truly a
connection that was beyond thephysical.
Malcolm rushes to the policestation accompanied by other

(41:02):
members of the Nation of Islam,demanding to see Brother Johnson
to ensure that he receivesproper medical attention.
Upon witnessing Johnson'sbrutal injuries, Malcolm
commands that an ambulance becalled immediately.
As Johnson is rushed to the ER,Malcolm leads the nation
through the streets of Harlem ina disciplined, silent march to

(41:24):
the hospital, where they aresoon followed by a steadily
growing crowd of supportersdemanding justice.
When the police try to clearthe streets, the crowd holds
their ground, only dispersingwhen Malcolm gives the order.
Personally and I gotta say it'sa truly badass scene the crowd

(41:44):
grows silent when Malcolm putshis hands up and they only
disperse when he gives thesignal, just showcasing that
they are going to listen to himand they are not going to listen
to the police.
At Malcolm's urging, BrotherJohnson later files a
million-dollar lawsuit againstthe officers who beat him into
insensibility In the wake ofthis demonstration of public

(42:08):
leadership, Elijah Muhammadappoints Malcolm X as his
national minister, tasking himwith expanding the Nation of
Islam by building new templesacross the country.
That same night, Malcolmproposes to Betty over the phone
from Detroit, and the two aremarried.
Soon after, Despite Malcolm'sgrowing responsibilities and

(42:28):
constant travel, he and Bettybuild a family together,
eventually having four daughters.
As Malcolm's national profileskyrockets, so does his
following with his speeches,drawing massive crowds
captivated by Malcolm'simpassioned words and charisma.

Denzel Washington (Malcolm (42:47):
Now we in America, son.
So I have to stand here todayas what I was when I was born a
black man.
Before there was any such thingas a Republican or a Democrat,
we were black.
Before there was any such thingas a Republican or a Democrat,
we were black.
Before there was any such thingas a Mason or an elk.
We were black.

(43:07):
Before there was any such thingas a Jew or a Christian, we
were black people.
In fact, before there was anysuch place as America, we were
black.
And after America has longpassed from the scene, there
will still be black people.

Remi (43:29):
But with Malcolm's meteoric rise comes increasing
criticism, not just from whiteAmerica, but also from fellow
civil rights leaders, many ofwhom accuse Malcolm of promoting
black supremacy and creatingdivision within the movement.
During a controversial talkshow appearance, Malcolm
explains the meaning behind hisname, recounting how enslaved
Africans were stripped of theiridentities and given the

(43:51):
surnames of their enslavers,Something that I was completely
unaware of until looking intothis and this is 100% true.

Ashley (44:02):
That's why people in the Nation of Islam had their name
followed by the letter X torepresent that stolen African
name.

Remi (44:10):
And as a mathematical symbol of the rejection of his
slave name Lil.
After the interview, jealousyand suspicion continue to grow
within the Nation of Islam.
Several ministers begin toresent the spotlight Malcolm is
receiving, feeling that themedia has become more focused on
Malcolm than on Elijah Muhammador the Nation itself, and that

(44:34):
Malcolm's true intentions may bedriven more by ego and ambition
than service to the faithdriven more by ego and ambition
than service to the faith.

Ashley (44:44):
People just became jealous of him because he had
the qualities that so manylacked.
He had this ability to justdraw people in with a single
word, and the attention hereceived also put him in
prominent favor of ElijahMuhammad and the other ministers
just couldn't measure up towhat Malcolm had.
I don't think anything he didwas for ego at all.

Remi (45:07):
I totally agree.
I feel like what he said hisintentions were is what they
truly were.
I don't think he was trying tomanipulate this situation at all
, which brings us to one of themost unexpectedly humorous
moments of the film, whereMalcolm is approached on the
streets by a well-meaning youngwhite woman on his way to a

(45:28):
college lecture.

White Lady (45:30):
Excuse me, mr X.
Hi, I've read some of yourspeeches and I honestly believe
that a lot of what you have tosay is true and I'm a good
person, in spite of what myancestors did.
I just I wanted to ask you whatcan a white person like myself,
who isn't prejudiced, what canI do to help you and further
your cause?

(45:51):
Nothing.

Remi (45:55):
Despite his success, malcolm begins noticing signs
that not all may be what itseems with the Nation of Islam.
One evening, betty confrontsMalcolm with news that Elijah
Muhammad was recently servedwith two paternity suits, along
with concerning media reportsclaiming that the Nation of
Islam is secretly a cult.

(46:16):
Betty believes Elijah is usingMalcolm for personal gain,
sparking a heated argument overMalcolm's unwavering loyalty to
the nation.
Side note here this scene waslargely fictionalized for
dramatic effect.
In reality, betty Shabazzstated that she and Malcolm

(46:36):
never argued or even raisedtheir voices at each other, and
it actually took quite a bit ofconvincing by Spike Lee for
Shabazz to allow this scene tobe in the film.
Determined to learn the truth,malcolm visits one of the women,
elijah allegedly impregnated,who has been quietly placed into
isolation.
Seeing her and her childfirsthand confirms Malcolm's

(47:01):
worst fears, leading to aconfrontation between him and
Elijah, who justifies hisactions by claiming that he is
fulfilling a prophecy byplanting his seed to ensure the
future.

Ashley (47:13):
Gross.

Remi (47:14):
That is definitely some cult leader type logic right
there.

Ashley (47:19):
Also this isolation that he mentions.
It's basically consists ofMuhammad ejecting someone from
the nation and they are justkind of kept alone and not
allowed to communicate withanyone from the nation for a set
period of time.

Remi (47:37):
Yeah, she was in a house completely cut off from everyone
, and she was ordered not tospeak to anyone and just stay in
the house raising her andElijah's child together,
completely alone.

Ashley (47:49):
I think in the end it came out that there were at
least eight women that wentthrough this treatment from
Elijah Muhammad went throughthis treatment from Elijah
Muhammad, though Malcolm triesto rationalize Elijah's behavior
, the betrayal, is too great toignore, shattering Malcolm's
faith after 12 years of loyaldevotion.

Remi (48:12):
Around this same time, President John F Kennedy is
assassinated and against ElijahMuhammad's direct orders for
nation ministers to remainsilent, malcolm publicly states
that he feels no sympathy forthe slain president.
Due to public backlash, arapidly ailing Elijah issues a

(48:33):
90-day ban on Malcolm,forbidding him from speaking to
the press or at any of thenation's temples from speaking
to the press or at any of thenation's temples.
With the other ministers nowcalling Malcolm a traitor, the
threat to his life becomesundeniable.
Tensions reach a breaking pointwhen one of Malcolm's fellow
brothers from the nationconfesses that he was ordered to
rig an explosive device toMalcolm's car.

(48:56):
Malcolm calls a pressconference shortly after,
publicly announcing hisseparation from the Nation of
Islam and declaring that fromthis point forward he will be
speaking for himself.
He also announces the foundingof a new mosque, known as Muslim
Mosque Incorporated, based inNew York City, and even

(49:16):
expresses reluctant openness tothe concept of racial unity
further in the future.
In the months that follow,malcolm embarks on his holy
pilgrimage to Mecca to performthe Hajj, a sacred journey all
Muslims are required to make atleast once, if able.
While in the Middle East.
He visits the pyramids, iswarmly welcomed by Muslims of

(49:40):
many cultures and shares prayerswith people of all races,
including whites, something hehad never experienced previously
in segregated America.
While traveling, malcolmsuspects that he's being
followed and recorded by twowhite men he believes are
working for the FBI, but remainsfocused on the primary purpose

(50:01):
of his journey.

Ashley (50:03):
I will get into this a little bit more in my part, but
this is true.
The FBI had been followingMalcolm X since at least 1957,
under the guidance of our goodold friend J Edgar Hoover.

Remi (50:19):
You will never let me live it down for not doing that
episode.

Ashley (50:22):
Yes, if anyone would be interested in learning about the
formation of the FBI andwatching a movie called J Edgar
Hoover or I think, just J Edgarlet us know, because Remy shot
me down hard and I'm not goingto let him live it down until we
cover it.
And I'm not going to let himlive it down until we cover it.

Remi (50:40):
It's not technically a crime, but if we get enough
requests, sure we will put JEdgar on the schedule sometime
in the future.
Witnessing true Islam's messageof equality and brotherhood,
malcolm has a profoundrealization that not all white
people are evil.
Malcolm shares these newrevelations with Betty in the

(51:04):
following heartfelt letter Oncebefore in prison, the truth came
and blinded me.

Letter from Mecca (51:12):
Well, it has happened again In the past.
I've made sweeping indictmentsof all white people and these
generalizations have causedinjuries to some white folks who
did not deserve it.
Because of the spiritual rebirthwhich I was blessed to undergo
as a result of my pilgrimage tothe holy city of Mecca, I no

(51:36):
longer subscribe to sweepingindictments of one race.
I intend to be very careful notto sentence anyone who has not?
Been proven guilty.
I am not a racist and I do notsubscribe to any of the tenets
of racism.
In all honesty and sincerity,it can be stated that I wish

(51:58):
nothing but freedom, justice andequality.

Remi (52:03):
Malcolm takes the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz during
his pilgrimage, but for clarityand my own sanity, I will just
continue to refer to him asMalcolm.

Ashley (52:16):
And I do the same in my part as well.

Remi (52:18):
Upon returning to America, Malcolm holds a press
conference to announce that hisfight for black liberation would
now be expanding into a globalhuman rights movement embracing
solidarity with oppressed peopleof all backgrounds, regardless
of race or nationality.
This shift, unsurprisingly, doesnot sit well with the Nation of

(52:42):
Islam.
That night, Malcolm stands athis window holding an M1 carbine
, peering cautiously through thecurtains on high alert.
And quick side note here, thisis a direct visual recreation of
an iconic photo of the realMalcolm X which appeared in Life
magazine that same evening.

(53:04):
Two Molotov cocktails arethrown through their window,
nearly burning Malcolm and hisfamily alive, in an act echoing
the KKK's arson attack onMalcolm's childhood home when he
was just a boy.
In fear for his life, Malcolmchecks into the New York Hilton
Hotel, hoping to isolate himselfand focus on preparing for his

(53:27):
upcoming speech.
The following day, On February21st 1965, Malcolm X takes the
stage at the Audubon Ballroom tospeak at a rally for the
Organization of Afro-AmericanUnity.
He is greeted by cheers andapplause from the attending
audience, including Betty andtheir daughters, who are all

(53:49):
seated in the crowd.

Ashley (53:51):
It is heartbreaking that she and their children
witnessed what is about tounfold.

Remi (53:58):
Suddenly, a disturbance breaks out as someone shouts get
your hand out of my pocket, andthe room turns in confusion
while another man chargesforward, shooting Malcolm with a
blast from a shotgun.
Malcolm falls to the ground astwo more assailants reveal
themselves, shooting Malcolmseveral more times as he lay

(54:19):
there, dying Screams fill theballroom and the room quickly
descends into chaos as one ofthe shooters is tackled and
beaten by the other members ofthe crowd.
The screen then fades toarchival footage of real people
reacting to Malcolm'sassassination at the time,
intercut with speeches deliveredby the man himself in his own

(54:41):
powerful words.
Side note, after Malcolm'sassassination, all remaining
footage in the film is of thereal Malcolm X, presented
primarily in black and white.
In a final symbolic moment,nelson Mandela appears on screen
quoting Malcolm to a SouthAfrican classroom.

Nelson Mandela (55:01):
We declare our right on this earth to be a man,
to be a human being, to berespected as a human being in

(55:27):
this society, on this earth, inthis day which we intended to
bring into existence.

Malcolm X (55:40):
By any means necessary.

Remi (55:44):
And that was Spike Lee's Malcolm X.
Do you have any initialthoughts, Ashley?

Ashley (55:51):
I have two initial thoughts.
The first is that, not onlylistening to this and watching
scenes from the movie, but alsothrough my own research and
watching scenes from the movie,but also through my own research
, it just got me so sad that heis not more prominently featured
in American history classes.
He had a huge impact on so manypeople and he's just not taught

(56:15):
in most schools.
I never learned about Malcolm Xin school ever.

Remi (56:20):
I would probably blame that on some of his more
controversial statements towardswhite people in his earlier
days, but I think the message ofsomeone learning that unity
isn't a bad thing is evenstronger than someone who was
preaching unity from day one.

(56:41):
I think Malcolm's speeches arephenomenal.
I watched news footage with youand he truly had a commanding
presence on screen and abrilliant way of speaking.
So, yes, I agree, I think it isa tragedy that this is not a
civil rights leader.
That is usually taught inschools.

(57:02):
Maybe that has changed.
I haven't been in school in avery long time, but yeah, this
was completely glossed overduring my education.

Ashley (57:13):
The second that I had, which really isn't going to make
much sense until we get to theverdict portion of the podcast,
is that I do kind of wish I didread his autobiography, just for
comparison purposes.
There are things that arechanged and omitted and I don't
necessarily think that it'schanges Spike Lee made.

(57:34):
I think it's how certainelements of Malcolm's life were
portrayed in the autobiographyor certain things that were
omitted, which just put a pin in.
That it'll make more senselater.

Remi (57:48):
And the film is fully based on the autobiography of
Malcolm X, and the book you readcame out many years later but
does include a lot more detailsthat were excluded from the
autobiography.

Ashley (58:03):
And for the Dead Are Rising.
I said this earlier the authorsspent decades writing this book
and they interviewed all of hissurviving family members, along
with other people that werearound and knew Malcolm
intimately.
So it is a very, verywell-researched and backed-up
book.

Remi (58:24):
Well, shall we get into the film's release now then?

Ashley (58:28):
Yeah, denzel wins the Oscar right.

Remi (58:31):
I got some bad news for you, but we'll get to that in
just a minute.
A month before Malcolm X wasreleased, director Spike Lee
specifically requested thatmedia outlets send black
journalists to interview him,which was considered
controversial at the time.
While it wasn't unusual forcelebrities to select

(58:53):
sympathetic interviewers, thismarked one of the first times
that race was cited as aqualifying factor.
One of the first times thatrace was cited as a qualifying
factor, lee clarified that hewasn't barring white journalists
from covering the film, butfelt that, given the subject
matter, black writers would havemore insight about Malcolm than

(59:13):
white writers.

Ashley (59:15):
I bet Warner Brothers was so pissed.

Remi (59:18):
Oh, I'm sure Warner Brothers loathed Spike Lee by
this point.
The Los Angeles Times declinedthe request, citing a policy
against allowing subjects toapprove or request specific
writers.
However, several other outlets,including Premiere, vogue,
interview and Rolling Stone, allagreed with the editor of

(59:42):
Premiere, later acknowledgingthat Lee's request prompted a
meaningful internal discussionthat resulted in changes being
made at the magazine.
Spike Lee also urged studentsto skip school to see the film,
stating that Malcolm X was aseducational, if not more so,
than what they were learning inthe classroom.

(01:00:04):
Malcolm X was released in NorthAmerica on November 18, 1992,
grossing $9.9 million during itsopening weekend and finishing
third behind Home Alone 2, lostin New York and Bram Stoker's
Dracula A wide variety of filmsthere.
The film ultimately grossed$41.8 million domestically, but

(01:00:29):
despite strong box officereturns, warner Brothers still
claim that the film somehow lostover $30 million due to its
large budget and high marketingcosts.

Ashley (01:00:42):
Probably mostly marketing.

Remi (01:00:44):
Well, internationally, the film earned an additional $24.9
million, bringing its worldwidetotal to $73.1 million, and in
this case, I find it hard tobelieve that they didn't make
any money on the movie.
I think they just hated SpikeLee.
Believe that they didn't makeany money on the movie?
I think they just hated SpikeLee.

(01:01:05):
The film currently holds anapproval rating of 89% on Rotten
Tomatoes, with a criticalconsensus that reads anchored by
a powerful performance fromDenzel Washington.
Spike Lee's biopic of thelegendary civil rights leader
brings his autobiography to lifewith an epic sweep and a
nuanced message.
Denzel Washington's performanceas Malcolm X was widely

(01:01:28):
acclaimed, earning him anAcademy Award nomination for
Best Actor.
He ultimately lost to Al Pacinofor Scent of a Woman, a
decision that many, includingSpike Lee himself, have publicly
criticized.

Spike Lee (01:01:43):
There's a thing called makeup call, and makeup
calls, particularly inbasketball, is when a ref makes
a terrible call.
Everybody knows it.
So next time down the court hemakes another call to even it.
So we had many Academy AwardsMakeup call.
So we had many Academy AwardsMakeup call.
So we go to 1992.

(01:02:04):
Denzel was nominated.
Al Pacino was nominated forStint of a Woman.
So Mr Pacino, great actor, agreat actor, he now won for
Godfather 1, godfather 2,serpico.
Do the Right Thing.
Dog Day Afternoon.

(01:02:27):
Hey, they fucked over him fivetimes.
Denzel already won an Oscar forGlory Best Born Actor, so they
give it Pacino.
Alright, denzel, you'll be back, so makeup call training day,
yeah.

Ashley (01:02:48):
I think Spike Lee just read the Academy.
I think his consensus on notonly Al Pacino's win in 1992 for
Scent of a Woman but Denzel'sfor training Day is exactly what
happened Makeup calls from theAcademy for shafting them years
prior.

Remi (01:03:07):
And they have done that many times.
They did that with Leo DiCaprioin the Revenant.
He should have been nominatedand won for a lot of other
things, but they did a makeupthing for him, so he got it for
the film where he barely spokeand he nearly froze to death and
ate a bison liver.
The film was nominated for onlytwo Academy Awards for Best

(01:03:29):
Actor and Best Costume Design,neither of which it won.

Ashley (01:03:39):
I am so shocked Spike Lee wasn't nominated for Best
Director.
It must have been because ofall of his unconventional pre
and post marketing interviews.

Remi (01:03:46):
I bet Warner Brothers was not pushing for this film to get
a lot of nominations.
I don't think Warner Brotherswanted this film to be a success
because they did not want SpikeLee to be a success.
If this film came out today, Ifirmly believe Spike Lee would
have been nominated and the filmwould have been nominated
because it deserved it.

(01:04:06):
Malcolm X marked Washington'sfirst nomination in the Best
Leading Actor category,following an earlier win for
Best Supporting Actor in the1989 film Glory.
As Spike Lee previously stated,denzel did finally get his
statue for portraying theviolent, morally corrupt,

(01:04:27):
manipulative narcotics officerAlonzo Harris in the 2001 film
Training Day A very, very, verydifferent character than this
one.
Very different character thanthis one.
In a strange twist of real-lifeirony, denzel Washington would
later portray boxer ReubenHurricane Carter in the film the

(01:04:48):
Hurricane, which we will becovering one day on our podcast.
A woman named Carolyn Kelly,who played a key role in helping
get Carter out of prison andlater accused him of assault,
had previously been married toWilliam X Bradley, the man
widely believed to be theshotgun-wielding assassin who

(01:05:08):
delivered the fatal shot thatkilled Malcolm X.

Ashley (01:05:12):
That is ironic.

Remi (01:05:15):
And finally, in 2010, malcolm X was selected for
preservation in the UnitedStates National Film Registry by
the Library of Congress, whichrecognized the film as
culturally, historically oraesthetically significant.

Ashley (01:05:32):
And rightfully so.

Remi (01:05:33):
And that was Spike Lee's Malcolm X.
The story of a civil rightsleader that is not known well
enough in my opinion, and thefilmmaker who had to give it his
all to get this film made.
It is a brilliant piece ofcinema and it is a travesty that

(01:05:54):
it did not win any awards orget nominated in the director or
best picture category, but thisis just part of the story.
At least this is the Spike Leeversion of things.
Ashley, is it time for you totell me the true story of
Malcolm X?

Ashley (01:06:12):
If you're ready, I'm game.

Letter from Mecca (01:06:17):
What's it about baby.
You asked why the blues had togo and pick you.

Ashley (01:06:32):
Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 19,
1925.
He was the fourth child born toEarl and Louise Little,
although Earl had three olderchildren from a previous
marriage who lived outside thehome.
Earl and Louise were activelyinvolved in the Universal Negro
Improvement Association, whichI'm going to call the UNIA from

(01:06:54):
here on out.
They established their ownchapter in Omaha and each place
they subsequently lived.
The UNIA was a global blackmovement founded by Marcus
Garvey in 1914.
It aimed to promote racialpride, unity and economic
independence for people ofAfrican descent.
Earl and Louise's connection tothe UNIA and their demands for

(01:07:16):
equal treatment for their familyresulted in them being openly
harassed by the Ku Klux Klan andbranded as troublemakers by
white residents.
After two Klan candidates wonlocal elections in 1926, the
Littles settled in Lansing,Michigan.
Earl initially found work as arepairman, but as word of his
involvement with the UNIA spread, his bosses forced him out of

(01:07:39):
the company, causing him to turnto contracting jobs where he
was paid under the table.
To supplement their income,Louis sold homemade clothing.
Following the birth of two morechildren, the Littles purchased
a comfortable home just outsidethe city, despite Michigan law
prohibiting Blacks from livingin the house.
Their neighbors successfullyfiled suit and convinced a judge

(01:08:01):
to initiate evictionproceedings in August 1929.

Remi (01:08:05):
Just because they were black, they were being evicted.

Ashley (01:08:08):
Yeah, the law was blacks could own the home, but they
couldn't actually live there.

Remi (01:08:13):
How does that make any fucking sense?

Ashley (01:08:16):
It doesn't.
Three months later, while thesuit was still pending, the
Littles' family house explodedaround 3.30 in the morning.
While no one was hurt, thefamily lost nearly all their
belongings.
Since the fire departmentrefused to respond to the call
Without any evidence to supportthis theory, law enforcement

(01:08:37):
accused Earl of torching his ownhome and arrested him.
The case was dismissed inFebruary 1930, but the ordeal
irreparably destroyed hisreputation.
The Littles moved on to asix-acre lot in December 1929.
The family was hit hard by theGreat Depression and the
financial burden resulted infrequent discord between Luis

(01:08:58):
and Earl.
Following the birth of anotherson in 1931, earl ironed out a
crop-sharing agreement to bringin extra cash for the large
family.
Since his contracting jobs andfrequent UNIA meetings often
pulled him away from the farm.
The children were expected torise early to work the fields.
Every day they collected fruitand vegetables, gathered eggs

(01:09:22):
from the chicken coop and milkedthe goats and cows.
These products were then storedfor consumption or sold
roadside After morning.
Farm paths were finished, thekids walked two miles to school,
where they were the only Blackstudents in their classes.
Weekends were just as strenuous, as the children were expected
to study UNIA lessons anddrilled on Black history.

(01:09:44):
As time allowed, earl broughtMalcolm with him on
proselytizing trips and UNIAmeetings.
This was what life was like forthe little family until
disaster struck on September 28,1931.
After dinner that evening, earlunexpectedly announced that he
was going into town, despiteLouise begging him to stay

(01:10:06):
because she had a bad feeling.
Around midnight a police carpulled into the driveway and
told her Earl was at thehospital with life-threatening
injuries.
The account of what happenedcame from Earl himself and
several bystanders.
The count of what happened camefrom Earl himself and several
bystanders.
After finishing up in town, hemissed the last trolley by

(01:10:28):
seconds and started running tocatch it.
He jumped up to board, slippedand was pulled beneath the
wheels, causing catastrophicinjuries.
His left leg was completelysevered and most of his left
side was crushed.
He died shortly after Luis madeit to the hospital.
He was 41 and Malcolm was 6.
Despite Earl and severalbystanders providing clear

(01:10:49):
accounts of what happened,rumors about his death swirled
around town.
Some speculated he committedsuicide, while others believed
he was murdered by the KKK.
The latter theory is whatMalcolm believed for the rest of
his life, despite no evidenceto confirm this and no group or
individual acceptingresponsibility.

Remi (01:11:08):
What do you believe happened?

Ashley (01:11:11):
I think the account of him falling and slipping beneath
the tracks, based on what I'veread, is what happened.
There's also no evidence thatLuis believed the rumors about
the KKK and in fact they arereally what contributed to her
mental decline.
And the author of the book Iread points out that if the KKK

(01:11:32):
was responsible, it wouldn'texplain why, by all accounts,
Earl himself at the scene gavethe same report of him slipping
beneath the tracks and why noone ever accepted responsibility
for the murder, when the KKK isa group that doesn't shy away
from announcing the violencethat they've inflicted.

Remi (01:11:53):
So Earl himself verified that this is what happened to
him before dying.

Ashley (01:11:59):
Per the book I read.
Yes, and none of Malcolm'sbrothers that the author spoke
to believed that the KKK wasinvolved.

Remi (01:12:11):
It was really just Malcolm X and the family who adopted
that theory, and there was nosign that he had been bashed in
the back of the head or anythinglike that.

Ashley (01:12:17):
No.
Although Earl had a $10,000life insurance policy, louise
didn't see a single dime sincethe insurance company decided he
committed suicide.
As a single mother of sevenwithout a stable source of
income, the ever-cheerful Louisecracked under the pressure Over
time.
The farm lost all its animalsand the crops withered away.

(01:12:39):
The farm lost all its animalsand the crops withered away,
forcing the family to rely onedible weeds, roots, berries,
herbs and dandelion greens fortheir meals, with little other
choice.
Luis reluctantly signed up forgovernment aid after FDR enacted
a public assistance reliefprogram in 1935.
Enrollment in the program alsomeant the state assigned a

(01:13:00):
social worker to monitor andrandomly drop in on the family.
This level of scrutiny causedLouise to become paranoid that
the government and her friendswere scheming to take her land.
As Louise's mental healthdeteriorated, malcolm's oldest
brother, wilfred, moved toBoston for work and mailed home
most of his earnings each week,most of which never made it into

(01:13:22):
Louise's pocket.
You see, with little structureand supervision, malcolm and his
brother Philbert began actingout by violating curfew,
skipping school and stealingthose weekly payments from their
brother, all while Louisebecame increasingly despondent.
In December 1938, she wasdeclared legally insane and

(01:13:42):
committed to Kalamazoo StateHospital.
She remained in institutionsfor 25 years before she was
finally released to the care ofher family.
The tragic decline of thefamily's matriarch was an
incredibly touchy subject forMalcolm.

(01:14:03):
He stopped visiting his motherin 1952 and rarely spoke about
her to anyone.
18-year-old Wilfred and17-year-old Hilda tried to carry
on as best they could, butsocial service agencies decided
the youngest children neededadult care.
The four youngest were sent tofoster homes, but Malcolm and
Fulbert were allowed to remainat home for now, since they were

(01:14:26):
still essentially on their own.
They started stealing whateverthey could and befriended some
local immigrants from Mexico whosold them marijuana seeds to
plant on their homestead.
Malcolm's exploits drewattention from local authorities
and resulted in him beingdeclared a ward of the state in
August 1939.
He would go on to have threesets of foster parents, with the

(01:14:48):
first being a white couple bythe name of Jim and Lois Swirlin
.
Although nearly all of hisinteractions with white America
were negative up until thispoint, malcolm formed a bond
with the Swirlands.
They genuinely cared about himbut engaged in regular
microaggressions that surelyreminded Malcolm of their racial

(01:15:10):
differences.
Nonetheless, his time with theSwirlands did wonders for his
adolescent development.
He responded well to thestructure, was hired at several
places around town and excelledin school, both socially and
academically.
He even started to think abouthis future and confided in a
white English teacher about hisdream of becoming a lawyer.
Instead of encouraging theblossoming student's ambitions,

(01:15:34):
the trusted adult chastised himfor having unrealistic
expectations.

Remi (01:15:39):
This scene is in the film.

Ashley (01:15:42):
It sounded like this was a very, very big blow to him.
Looking for a change of scenery, 15-year-old Malcolm convinced
his oldest half-sister, ella, tolet him stay with her in Boston
during the summer of 1940.
He was fascinated by the hustleand bustle of the big city, as
it was the first time he sawpeople who looked like him, with

(01:16:02):
money, fancy cars and expensiveclothes.
Shortly after the summer tripcame to an end, ella
successfully petitioned thecourt for guardianship.
Malcolm's arrival in Bostonwasn't exactly the fresh start
Ella hoped for.
She tried to steer him towardsrespectable paths, but he
gravitated to Boston's nightlife, the pool halls, jazz club and

(01:16:24):
places hustlers thrived.
Now, if you've read theautobiography of Malcolm X or
seen the movie, you for sureremember his friend Shorty,
portrayed by Spike Lee in thefilm.

Remi (01:16:36):
This is the character I had questions about, because I
did not know if this was a realperson or a combination of real
people into one person, becauseall he's listed, as is Shorty.

Ashley (01:16:48):
Well, in reality, shorty wasn't just one person, but a
composite character based mostlyon a man named Malcolm Jarvis,
a jazz trumpeter who became oneof Malcolm's closest friends.
A jazz trumpeter who became oneof Malcolm's closest friends.
Alongside Jarvis were his olderhalf-brother, earl Little Jr,
and Ella's husband, kennethCollins.
Side note here all three ofthese men were in their 20s, so

(01:17:10):
they were significantly olderthan Malcolm was at the time.

Remi (01:17:14):
How old was Malcolm at the time?

Ashley (01:17:18):
no-transcript.
With their influence, he landeda shoeshine job at the Roseland
Ballroom, a whites-only dancevenue where black workers were
allowed at the back.
In between shines, malcolmdeveloped a side hustle of
connecting white patrons toblack sex workers, essentially
acting as a surrogate pimp andearning a reputation in the

(01:17:39):
city's illicit circuits.
Malcolm started bouncingbetween the menial jobs he left
Michigan to avoid and hustlingat night.
He lied about his age and gotwork on the New Haven Railroad,
which gave him the opportunityto explore Washington DC and New
York City.
He fell hard for Harlem, drawnby its 90% Black population,

(01:18:03):
nightlife and music culture.
During the next two years hemoved between Harlem and Boston,
occasionally laying low inMichigan when things got too hot
in the city thanks to hishustle as a quasi-pimp, petty
thief and cocaine and marijuanadealer.
After he was fired from therailroad in the fall of 1942, he
was hired as a waiter at adance club where he was

(01:18:26):
introduced to gambling andstarted to meet big-name pimps
who taught him how to scope outwomen at the club who may be
interested in sex work.
His extracurricular exploitsresulted in him being fired.
After he offered an undercovermilitary police officer the
services of one of his femaleacquaintances.
Malcolm got his draft noticeshortly after his 18th birthday.

(01:18:50):
To avoid deployment, he loudlyannounced his desire to join the
Japanese army, along with hisfull name and order number
whenever he spotted anyone hesuspected was an undercover
military officer.
While speaking to apsychiatrist during his medical
examination seven weeks later,he went on and on about how he

(01:19:13):
hoped he would be stationed inthe South so he could organize
black soldiers, steal an arsenalof weapons and kill as many
white people as he could.

Remi (01:19:22):
Was he trying to get kicked out of the?

Ashley (01:19:24):
military.
He was trying to getdisqualified from having to join
, and his tactics paid off.
He was formally rejected fromthe army in October 1943 due to
quote psychopathic personalityand sexual perversion.
I don't know where the sexualperversion part comes into play

(01:19:46):
here.
Back in Boston, malcolm livedwith Jarvis and increasingly
relied on his long-termgirlfriend, beatrice Cargillan,
known as Sophia in the film andhis autobiography.
They dated for about four years, even after she married and
despite the exploitative andsometimes violent nature of

(01:20:08):
their relationship.

Remi (01:20:09):
The film mentions that she was engaged and then there's
kind of no follow-up from there.
So I just assumed she wasn'tever married.
But she got married andcontinued the relationship.

Ashley (01:20:21):
Malcolm had a lot of overlapping girlfriends during
this time in his life, butBeatrice was one that persisted
throughout pretty much theentire time he was in Boston and
during this time he continuedto make occasional trips to
Harlem to stock up on drugs andattend Billie Holiday concerts,
as the two met years prior anddeveloped a friendship, which is

(01:20:43):
why we included a Billy Holidaysong as my intro.

Remi (01:20:48):
She was his favorite artist, by all accounts.

Ashley (01:20:51):
In the fall of 1945, malcolm organized a crew to
carry out his latest venture, aburglary ring.
The group consisted of Jarvis,three other men with contacts in
wealthy communities, beatrice,her sister and another woman To
execute their burglary plan.
The girls served as scouts bycasing out the rich targets by

(01:21:15):
posing as pollsters orsaleswomen.
They reported back anyvaluables they spotted and the
men did the actual breaking andentering.
The loot was stored in Jarvis'apartment and another residence
rented by Beatrice served as theoperation's home base.
The crew committed close to adozen burglaries in under two

(01:21:35):
weeks, all of which went offwithout a hitch.
Short on cash.
One day Malcolm pawned a weddingring, not realizing it was
reported as stolen.
He and his accomplices werearrested after he went back to
retrieve it.
The case resulted in two trialsin February and April 1946.
The three women testifiedagainst Malcolm and Jarvis,

(01:21:58):
claiming they were forced toparticipate.
They were all sentenced toprobation, while Malcolm and
Jarvis were hit with 8-10 yearswith parole eligibility in 5 and
a half, I think Beatrice gotlike 9 months, but the other two
got probation.
20-year-old Malcolm was bookedinto Charleston State Prison on
February 27, 1946.

(01:22:20):
He immediately startedsmuggling pills, cigarettes and
marijuana and staged sit-ins inprison workshops whenever
something upset him.
It wasn't until he met JohnBrembe, referred to as Bambi in
his autobiography, that hestarted to settle down a bit.
Brembe inspired Malcolm topursue his education and read

(01:22:41):
everything he could get hishands on.

Remi (01:22:43):
So this would be the character of Baines in the film.

Ashley (01:22:46):
Yes, that's what I took it as, but, as we're about to
see, baines had a little lessinfluence on Malcolm's draw to
the Nation of Islam than it isportrayed in the film.
Along with Bembe, malcolm met aMuslim man from India through
Jarvis.
Although he wasn't immediatelydrawn to the religion, his

(01:23:08):
desire to improve hisrelationship with his family
would soon set him down the pathtowards enlightenment.
Earl and Louise's involvementin the UNIA introduced the
little children to secularteachings, but it was Wilfred
who stumbled upon the Nation ofIslam, which I'm going to refer
to as the NOI from here on out.
While working as a deliverydriver in 1946, an employee

(01:23:33):
asked Wilfred if he was Muslimbecause he didn't smoke or drink
and encouraged blacks to notaccept mistreatment from the
white community.
Interested in learning moreabout Islam, he stumbled upon
the NOI and attended his firstmeeting in Detroit soon after.
The Nation of Islam is anIslamic and Black nationalist
movement founded in Detroit byWallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.

(01:23:57):
It differs significantly frommainstream Islamic beliefs and
many Muslims don't consider itto be an offshoot of the
religion.
In essence, the NOI advocatesfor the social, economic and
political independence ofAfrican Americans.
Through the Uplift program,black Americans were encouraged

(01:24:17):
to fight for justice byrejecting white society and
seeking their own separate state.
They were also discouraged fromvoting, attending public school
and serving in the military.
At the time, the NOI viewedwhites as a biologically
inferior, satanic race ofblue-eyed devils and opposed

(01:24:37):
racial integration.
Similar to Islam, members areexpected to live disciplined
lives by adhering to strictdress codes, dietary
requirements and patriarchalgender roles.
After Fard Muhammad disappearedin 1934, elijah Muhammad
assumed leadership, expanded theNOI's teachings and built the

(01:24:59):
group's business empire.

Remi (01:25:01):
Was Elijah related to him?

Ashley (01:25:04):
I don't think they were related.

Remi (01:25:06):
So he was just a protege or something like that.

Ashley (01:25:09):
Yeah, that was my takeaway and I'm not really
going to mention Fard Muhammadfrom here on out.
So when I'm just sayingMuhammad, I'm talking about
Elijah.
If I'm talking about Fard, I'llsay his first name.
After he took over, elijah,muhammad also declared that Fard
Muhammad was the latest Allah,meaning Elijah himself was

(01:25:30):
Allah's messenger.
Fun fact Muhammad Ali wasanother high profile member of
the NOI in the 60s and 70s.
There's actually a shortdescription in the book which is
really sad.
It was when Malcolm, yearsafter he left the NOI, I think
he was traveling back from Meccaand he's in the airport and he

(01:25:52):
sees Muhammad Ali and they kneweach other and he said hi and
Muhammad Ali completely ignoredhim and Malcolm X was
assassinated within the year,and it's something that Muhammad
Ali deeply regretted.
After attending a few NOImeetings in Detroit, wilfred was
invited to Chicago and metElijah Muhammad.

(01:26:13):
Impressed by the man and hisprogram, he set out to help the
group attract more members.
As he became more involved, hebrought his brothers into the
organization and eventuallybecame the minister of Detroit
Temple no 1, which is thefounding temple of the Nation of
Islam.
Malcolm was slowly introducedto the NOI through letters from

(01:26:34):
his younger brother Reginald,Initially wanting to impress him
.
He gave up smoking and pork andgrew out his beard.
He gave up smoking and pork andgrew out his beard.
He started receiving printedmaterials from his siblings
about Muhammad and his teachings, leading him to begin
advocating for Muslim rights inprison, such as food that met
dietary restrictions and cellsfacing east to facilitate prayer

(01:26:57):
.
He also continued his quest forknowledge and even joined a
debate team that faced offagainst students from MIT,
harvard and Yale.
His advocacy was unwelcome toprison officials and drew
attention from the FBI after hewrote a letter to President
Truman opposing the Korean Warin June 1950.

(01:27:18):
He signed the letter.
Malcolm X Little Malcolm movedto Detroit after he was paroled
in August 1952.
He regularly accompaniedWilfred to Chicago to hear
Muhammad preach and became theassistant minister at the
founding temple in Detroit ayear later.
The public speaking and debateskills he learned in prison drew

(01:27:40):
people to his every word.
After he started working forthe NOI full time, he was
assigned to revive temples inBoston, philadelphia and finally
Harlem.
His regional temples were thefastest growing and biggest
money makers for the nation,which impressed Muhammad but
left other ministers green withenvy.

(01:28:02):
The dramatic growth of the NOIalso alarmed the FBI director, j
Edgar Hoover, who viewed thenation as a hate group and set
his sights on infiltration anddisruption by at least 1957,.
He regularly surveilled Malcolm, developed sources inside the
temples and even had undercoveragents join so he could keep

(01:28:26):
close tabs on the group MalcolmX and other prominent civil
rights leaders of the time.

Remi (01:28:32):
J Edgar was having so many random people trailed at the
time.
I know Ernest Hemingway wastrailed by J Edgar Hoover's FBI
agents and nobody believed himat the time.

Ashley (01:28:45):
From what I've heard about J Edgar.
I don't know a lot about him,but it sounds like he was just
so afraid of anyone who couldpotentially disrupt or cause
unrest in America and put hissights on silencing anyone,
really no matter who they were.

Remi (01:29:06):
He was known as a very paranoid person in general.

Ashley (01:29:10):
Come 1955, malcolm's success in the NOI resulted in
him setting his sights onopening his own temple in
Hartford, connecticut, andexpanding the one he had in
Harlem.
One approach he took doessomewhat resemble cult-like
indoctrination In Harlem.
He rented out floors ofapartment buildings and

(01:29:31):
persuaded single male members tolive under a semi-communal
system.
Members were instructed towithdraw from non-Muslim life
after work hours and adhere tostrict standards of diet, dress
and socialization.
They were expected to policetheir brothers, pray five times
a day, study the Quran together,abstain from smoking and

(01:29:54):
drinking and only eat a singlemeal, primarily consisting of
fish, rice, beans and milk.
Remy, that sounds like yournightmare.

Remi (01:30:04):
The diet portion I would not be able to handle this no.

Ashley (01:30:09):
During his frequent unannounced visits, malcolm
discussed Black history, slaveryand the early life of Muhammad.
During his lectures andspeaking appearances, he called
for resistance to racism,segregation and integration.
He often pointed his followersto statistics and historical
data on job, educational andhousing disparities, while

(01:30:32):
arguing that there was never atime when whites were anything
other than evil to those ofAfrican descent.
He rebuked nonviolentpro-integration civil rights
groups, instead arguing that thesolution to segregation wasn't
to integrate with white culture,but to separate and
counter-reject it.
Doing so would reverse theingrained sense of racial

(01:30:54):
inferiority and self-loathingMalcolm believed was instilled
in his community by whiteAmerica his community by white
America.

Malcolm X (01:31:10):
We are oppressed, we are exploited, we are
downtrodden.
We are denied not only civilrights but even human rights.
So the only way we're going toget some of this oppression and
exploitation away from us oraside from us is come together
against a common enemy.
Who taught you to hate thetexture of your hair?
Who taught you to hate thecolor of your skin to such

(01:31:33):
extent that you bleach to getlike the white man?
Who taught you to hate theshape of your nose and the shape
of your lips?
Who taught you to hate yourselffrom the top of your head to
the soles of your nose and theshape of your lips?
Who taught you to hate yourselffrom the top of your head to
the soles of your feet?
Who taught you to hate your ownkind?
Who taught you to hate the racethat you belong to, so much so

(01:31:54):
that you don't want to be aroundeach other?

Ashley (01:31:57):
While Malcolm didn't advocate for violence per se, he
left it on the table by sayingthe Quran allowed for
self-defense when it came todefending yourself.
Your left it on the table bysaying the Quran allowed for
self-defense when it came todefending yourself, your family
and the Muslim religion.
By the end of 1956, the NOI had49 temples in 21 states and
1,500 followers, largely due toMalcolm's organizing efforts in

(01:32:20):
the East and Jeremiah X'sleadership in the South.

Malcolm X (01:32:24):
As I previously stated, people were drawn to him
because he was such aconvincing speaker and many left
his lecturers feeling proud tobe Black for the first time in
their lives, and it will neverbe stopped until we stop it
ourselves.
They attacked the victim andthen the criminal who attacked

(01:32:50):
the victim accuses the victim ofattacking him.
This is American justice, thisis American democracy, and those
of you who are familiar with itknow that in America, democracy
is hypocrisy.
Now, if I'm wrong, put me injail, but if you can't prove
that a democracy is nothypocrisy, then don't put your

(01:33:14):
hands on me.

Remi (01:33:15):
Whenever he's doing any of these speeches to rooms full of
people, it's as if he's talkingto a person one-on-one.
It is remarkable.
He is a brilliant publicspeaker.

Ashley (01:33:29):
I think it really is, because by all accounts he was a
very charismatic andcaptivating person throughout
his entire life, even as a child.
And then also, there's no waythe debating skills that he
practiced in prison didn't havean influence on his ability to
just deliver public speecheswith such ease.

(01:33:49):
Although only men were allowedto reside in temple communal
living spaces, women flocked tohear the charismatic speaker,
including Betty Dean Sanders.
She grew up in Detroit andmoved to New York to study
nursing.
After graduating from Alabama'sTuskegee Institute, she was
drawn to NOI teachings afterexperiencing racism in the

(01:34:12):
workplace.
As she noticed, black nurseswere given less attractive
assignments and treated worse bypatients compared to their
white counterparts.
After meeting Malcolm a fewtimes, she started attending all
of his lectures and formallyconverted in mid-1956.
Although Betty suspectedMalcolm was interested in
marriage, their courtship wasfar from conventional Because

(01:34:36):
one-on-one dating was contraryto NOI teachings.
All their dates were sharedwith dozens of other members.
Per his brother, malcolm showedWilfred two pictures of women
he was thinking about marryingin January 1958.
That same day he called Betty,proposed, and the two were
married on January 14th.

(01:34:56):
They would go on to have sixdaughters, including a set of
twins born seven months afterhis assassination, daughters,
including a set of twins, bornseven months after his
assassination.
In the fall of 1960, malcolmtraveled to Georgia to record a
lecture for Mr Muhammad Speaks,a half-hour weekly radio show
airing in several cities acrossthe South.

(01:35:16):
Attendance at this meetingquadrupled thanks to his
appearance.
Soon after Jeremiah X, theleader of the Atlanta Temple,
received a telegram from the KKKrequesting a meeting between
the two groups.
Since they had a lot in common.
Muhammad summoned Malcolm andJeremiah to Chicago to discuss
the proposal.

(01:35:37):
He viewed the telegram as anolive branch and thought the two
groups could work together, asthey both opposed the civil
rights quest towards integration.
And thought the two groups couldwork together as they both
opposed the civil rights questtowards integration, he
instructed the men to pitch tothe Klan that white America owed
blacks an allotment of land aspartial payment for centuries of
slavery and Jim Crowexploitation.
Although both groups believedwhites and blacks weren't meant

(01:36:00):
to coexist, malcolm was taskedwith stressing that the NOI
wanted separation, notsegregation, and convincing the
KKK to help them acquire land.
If this couldn't be done,muhammad wanted the Klan to at
least promise that they wouldn'tstop the NOI from purchasing
land through other means andbargain for safe movement in the

(01:36:21):
South.
Although Malcolm agreed toco-head this meeting, he did so
reluctantly, since he stillbelieved the Klan murdered his
father and viewed any pact as anunholy alliance.

Remi (01:36:33):
Yeah, don't ever make an agreement with the KKK.

Ashley (01:36:37):
A 10-car brigade with dozens of Klan members pulled
into Jeremiah X's driveway onJanuary 28, 1961.
The two-hour meeting kicked offwith Malcolm summarizing the
nation's doctrine, emphasizingtheir quest for complete
separation of blacks and whites,implying that a race war was

(01:36:58):
imminent if a plot of landwasn't acquired and requesting
the clan's help to gain a countyto build their empire.
Ws Fellows was the clan'sspokesman.
During the meeting.
He praised the NOI forrealizing the quote evils of
race mixing and suggested thegroup operate as something akin

(01:37:18):
to a black franchise of thebroader clan movement so they
could work together to stopintegration.
Unable to help himself, malcolmtaunted Fellows by asking if
NOI members would get their ownset of robes and got him to
agree to use the code 666 forfuture contacts.
Towards the end of the meeting,he asked why the Klan sent the

(01:37:41):
telegram in the first place andthe answer dramatically shifted
the atmosphere in the room.
Fellow's rage was palpable ashe spoke about Martin Luther
King Jr's growing influence inthe South and asked Malcolm to
help them track his movements.
Wrongfully believing, malcolmalso viewed the civil rights

(01:38:01):
leader as an enemy.

Remi (01:38:03):
So they wanted to use him to get to MLK.

Ashley (01:38:07):
Yeah, that's what they implied.
As this meeting with the Klanis not mentioned in Malcolm's
autobiography, which explainswhy it was not in the film, the
whole ordeal likely caused himgreat shame and embarrassment.
Caused him great shame andembarrassment.
Muhammad also seemed to pick upon his apprehension, as

(01:38:27):
Jeremiah X was tasked with allfuture Klan correspondence.
The Klan meeting openedMalcolm's eyes into who Muhammad
really was.
He started to secretly doubthis leader, the man he viewed as
a surrogate father and as closeto divine as someone could be.
Realizing that, muhammad waswilling to overlook the mounting

(01:38:51):
terror the KKK was inflictingon the Black population, he
distanced himself from theleader's inner circle, something
that didn't go unnoticed.
Muhammad banned Malcolm fromstepping foot in the South and
instructed high-profile members,including Jeremiah X, to break
off all contact.
Despite the growing riftbetween the two, malcolm
continued his work for the NOI,as he was essentially the face

(01:39:13):
of the group and a highlysought-out speaker, although he
was often compared to MLK.
He routinely lambastedprominent civil rights leaders,
as well as black celebritieswith white spouses, by calling
them race traitors whose adviceshould be ignored.
Despite their servicedifferences, mlk and Malcolm X
were similar in the ways thatmattered their advocacy for

(01:39:36):
equal treatment between theraces.

Remi (01:39:38):
Did the two ever meet?

Ashley (01:39:40):
There's photos of them.
Yeah, they did.
And once Malcolm leaves thenation, he starts attending
civil rights rallies whereMartin Luther King Jr would have
also been in attendance.
While King dedicated his lifeto ending white's false sense of
authority, malcolm worked tohelp blacks overcome their false
sense of inferiority.
Their differing viewpointsmeant each Black American found

(01:40:04):
something they connected withand wanted to fight for.
His wife, betty, furthersummarized his message in a 1992
interview.

Betty Shabazz (01:40:13):
His message to a lot of people who had lost hope
was nationalistic, and he didn'twant them to stay there but to
be jarred into the realizationthat they had a past before
slavery, that they had aresponsibility now and that no

(01:40:36):
one was going to give themanything, even freedom.
They had to fight for it andthey had to struggle for it
anything, even freedom.

Ashley (01:40:44):
They had to fight for it and they had to struggle for it
.
The secret Klan meeting was thefirst major event to draw
Malcolm away from the NOI, butit wasn't the deciding factor.
In mid-1962, two LA policeofficers were determined to have
committed justifiable homicidein the shooting of several NOI
members, which resulted in thedeath of one of Malcolm's
friends.
He begged Muhammad to directaction to the officers by

(01:41:10):
obtaining their addresses andtracking their movements.
Muhammad responded to thisrequest by ordering Malcolm to
refrain from anything that wouldgive off the aura of
retaliation, a move Malcolmviewed as indifferent and
cowardly.
The following year, muhammadannounced that his son, wallace,
was selected to succeed him asleader of the NOI when the time
came.

(01:41:30):
This was an interesting choice,since Wallace had not embraced
his father's teachings.
In February 1963, malcolm metwith Wallace to seek answers
about rumors about Muhammad'sphilandering ways, including
speculation that he slept withmultiple secretaries and sent

(01:41:50):
them to isolation when theybecame pregnant.
Wallace confirmed these rumorsand went further by saying
something Malcolm had begun tosuspect Muhammad wasn't a
messenger of God at all and FardMuhammad was not Allah.
The final straw came afterMalcolm was issued a three-month
suspension from the NOI when heviolated Muhammad's orders by

(01:42:14):
speaking about JFK'sassassination, he publicly
announced his departure in March1964.
Within days of the split,malcolm and some of his loyal
followers established a newgroup called Muslim Mosque,
incorporated and made plans fora second called the Organization
of Afro-American Unity, whichI'm going to refer to as OAU.

(01:42:37):
The goal of the OAU was tounite Black Americans and
Africans and reframe racialinequality as not just a US
civil rights issue but aviolation of international human
rights.
During his three monthssuspension from the NOI, malcolm
attended Friday prayer sessionsat the Islamic Cultural Center

(01:43:00):
Mosque in Manhattan.
While there, he was introducedto Sunni Islam, the predominant
form of the religion nationwide.
With the encouragement ofOrthodox Muslims and his sister
Ella, who converted to Islamafter she left the NOI in 1959,
he decided to visit Mecca inApril 1964.

(01:43:20):
In Mecca, malcolm metlight-skinned Muslims and
started to realize that perhapsall white people weren't the
blue-eyed devils Muhammadclaimed them to be.
Through continued interactionsand teachings from Muslim
leaders, he decided to givewhite America a chance to show
him that perhaps it was possiblefor blacks and whites to live

(01:43:43):
in unity.

Malcolm X (01:43:50):
When I went to Mecca, I was faced with this decision.
I was faced with the decisionof believing what Elijah
Muhammad had taught me and usingthe criteria of judgment the
color of the skin, or I had toaccept Islam as it was taught in
the Muslim world, which doesn'tuse color of the skin, or I had
to accept Islam as it wastaught in the Muslim world,
which doesn't use color of theskin as the criteria.

(01:44:11):
Rather, in the Muslim world, inthe religion of Islam, you
judge a man by his behavior, byhis conscious behavior, by his
intentions.

Ashley (01:44:18):
Following several weeks in Mecca, Malcolm flew to Ghana
to speak about plans for hisorganizations and what he
learned during his holy journey.
During the week he was home inMay 1964, he spoke publicly
about his split from the NOI forthe first time, Although he was
previously hesitant to speakagainst the organization.

(01:44:39):
He started unloading his qualmsabout Muhammad's philandering
and fraudulent ways during everyspeech and media appearance,
causing his relationship withthe leader to reach a boiling
point same God that I believedin.

Malcolm X (01:44:52):
I believed in Elijah Muhammad stronger than he
believed in himself.
I believed in his God more thanhe did, and I was not aware of
this until I found he wasconfronted with a crisis in his
own personal moral life and hedid not stand up as a man.

(01:45:15):
Anybody can make a moralmistake, but when they have to
lie about it and will be willingto see that murder is committed
to cover up their mistake, notonly are they not divine,
they're not even a man.

Ashley (01:45:28):
From July to November 1964, Malcolm traveled to the
Middle East and Africa with twogoals in mind.
The first was to strengthen hiscredentials as an Orthodox
American Muslim, and the secondwas to lobby national leaders in
his effort to get the UnitedNations to charge the United
States with human rightsviolations.

(01:45:48):
After returning from Africa forthe last time in November 1964,
he kept up a heavy speakingschedule around the United
States that included appearancesat civil rights protests.

Malcolm X (01:46:02):
One of the first things that the independent
African nations did was to forman organization called the
Organization of African Unity.
The purpose of our organizationof Afro-American Unity, which
has the same aim and objectiveto fight whoever gets in our way
, to bring about the completeindependence of people of

(01:46:34):
African descent here in theWestern Hemisphere, and first
here in the United States, andbring about the freedom of these
people by any means necessary.

Ashley (01:46:49):
Malcolm's busy travel schedule had its downsides.
His group started to fracturewith the lack of leadership, but
the main concern was for hissafety.
Harassment from the NOI beganas soon as he announced he was
leaving.
Captain Joseph, a prominentmember of the Harlem Temple,
ordered a team of men to harassMalcolm and his wife through

(01:47:10):
non-stop threatening phone calls.

Remi (01:47:12):
This was also depicted in the film.

Ashley (01:47:15):
They also drove by OAU gatherings in an attempt to
intimidate Malcolm's followersto leave the emerging
organization.
When these subtle tacticsproved unsuccessful, captain
Joseph ordered one of hisfollowers to rig Malcolm's car
with explosives.
After berating Captain Josephfor his failed attempts to

(01:47:36):
silence Malcolm, muhammad turnedto a secret weapon, james
Shabazz, the minister of theNewark Temple.
James had always envied Malcolmbecause he lacked the charisma
that came naturally to Malcolmand was outshined by Malcolm's
efforts to grow the NOI.
Years prior, newark was alreadyknown for being an

(01:47:58):
ultra-violent temple and, underMuhammad's orders, once Malcolm
became more vocal about what heknew about the NOI, shabazz
began stockpiling even moreweapons and sent out his trusted
disciples to kill the traitor.
Several attempts were made onMalcolm's life from November
1964 to January 1965, but he wasable to get away with the help

(01:48:22):
of security, a heavy policepresence or his own evasive
actions.
These thwarted attempts ledMuhammad to set an absolute
deadline for the assassinationFebruary 26, 1965.
This day had personalsignificance, as it is Savior's
Day, a celebration tocommemorate the birth of founder

(01:48:44):
Wallace Fard Muhammad.
Malcolm had two speakingarrangements at the Audubon
Ballroom in February 1965.
On February 14th, the nightbefore his first talk, captain
Joseph sent two arsonists tothrow Molotov cocktails through
the windows of his home inQueens, something he didn't

(01:49:05):
admit to doing until his deathin 1993.
Aware of the constant danger,he was, in Malcolm's inner
circle, pleaded with him to stepup security, but he vehemently
opposed the suggestion.
He prohibited his minimalsecurity staff from carrying
weapons and conducting bodysearches, as he thought those

(01:49:25):
tactics too closely resembledthe harassment Black Americans
faced for years, would turn awaythe younger Muslim crowd and
created an atmosphere of danger.
Instead, he hoped refusing toopenly fight the NOI would be
enough to diffuse the situation.

Remi (01:49:43):
He also does this in the film as well.

Ashley (01:49:46):
Even though his house was bombed the night before.
Malcolm spoke at the Audubon asscheduled.
In his speech, he accused theNOI of using KKK tactics to
prevent him from exposing whoMuhammad really was and the
relationship Muhammad developedwith the Klan.
He detailed how the NOI wasviolent towards Black Americans

(01:50:06):
and avoided involvement with thecivil rights movement,
insinuating they wouldn't doanything to harm white societal
interests.
He also shared details aboutthe previous attempts on his
life and how Muhammad waswilling to do anything to
silence him.
He ended with a promise toprovide more information about
what he knew, includingrevealing names of the worst NOI

(01:50:29):
perpetrators, during hissubsequent speech.

Malcolm X (01:50:33):
The only thing that I regret in all of this is that
two black groups have to fightand kill each other off.
Elijah Muhammad could stop thewhole thing tomorrow just by
raising his hand.
Really he could.
He could stop the whole thingby raising his hand, but he
won't.
He doesn't love black people.

(01:50:55):
He doesn't even love his ownfollowers, proof of which
they're killing each other.
They killed one in the browns,they shot another one in the
browns.
They tried to get six of usSunday morning and the pattern
has developed across the country.

Ashley (01:51:11):
The man has gone insane 500 people and only six security
guards attended this event.
One of the guards wasundercover New York City police
officer, gene Roberts Robertsjoined the force after he was
discharged from the Navy and wasimmediately assigned to Harlem
to infiltrate Malcolm'sorganizations.

(01:51:31):
His unit officer reporteddirectly to Hoover, who had
become more interested inMalcolm since his split with the
NOI.
Since Hoover had undercovereyes within the nation, he was
well aware of the danger Malcolmfaced.
In fact, immediately afterMalcolm's talk on February 15th,
roberts told his commanderabout an odd interaction

(01:51:54):
involving two men he was surewere NOI members.
He was concerned the briefdisruption was a dress rehearsal
for something more sinister.
The NYPD responded by reducingthe uniformed police presence
outside of the Audubon.
The following week Malcolm,along with the pregnant Betty
and their four daughters,arrived at the Audubon shortly

(01:52:16):
before his talk was scheduled tostart at 2 o'clock on February
21, 1965.
Carefully situated throughoutthe theater were three armed men
with the NOI Newark Temple,along with several others tasked
with creating a distraction.
As soon as Malcolm took thestage and greeted the audience,
two men four rows back stood upand began yelling at each other,

(01:52:40):
while another threw a smokebomb in the back to draw
security away from the stage.
While Malcolm was trying toencourage the arguing duo to
take their seats, williamBradley charged the stage and
fired 7-10 rounds from asawed-off shotgun straight into
Malcolm's chest.
Travis Heyer and Leon Davis,both armed with pistols, jumped

(01:53:00):
on stage and shot him severalmore times in the leg.
As planned, the gunmen droppedtheir weapons and used the crowd
and chaos to make their getaway, but Hare, the youngest and
least experienced assassin, wasseparated from the group after
Robert shot him before he rushedto the stage to render CPR to a
barely breathing Malcolm.
After realizing Hare was one ofthe gunmen, malcolm's

(01:53:24):
supporters surrounded him,leading to his apprehension.
The other men successfullyescaped Chicago.
The hit on Malcolm X wasn'tmentioned again until 1998, when
Jeremiah X confirmed thatMohammed ordered it.
Emergency responders took asuspiciously long time to arrive
at the ballroom to transfer39-year-old Malcolm to Columbia

(01:53:47):
Presbyterian Hospital, where heultimately succumbed to his
injuries.
More than 20,000 people filedpast his casket to pay their
respects before he was laid torest on February 27th.
The investigation into hismurder was left up to the
agencies who despised him.
The task was furthercomplicated by the long-standing

(01:54:08):
secret of the FBI's illegalsurveillance of him, including
the fact that they had knowledgeof the unfolding plot thanks to
undercover sources.
Ultimately, three men weretried and convicted of the
murder of Malcolm X Thomas Hareand two members of the Harlan
Temple who harassed him but werenot involved in his

(01:54:28):
assassination Norman Butler andThomas Johnson.
Gene Roberts, the undercoversecurity guard, wasn't called to
testify, even though he had keyinformation about the crime,
including his ability topositively identify Hare and
clear Butler and Johnson.
Instead, he was chastised forgiving Malcolm CPR at the scene,

(01:54:51):
but did continue his career asan undercover spy for other
Black nationalist groups in NewYork, including the Black
Panthers.
Despite the three suspectsbeing sentenced to life in
prison, hare was the only personwith direct involvement who
ever faced prosecution.
All three were released in themid-1980s, but it wasn't until

(01:55:12):
2021 when Butler and Johnsonwere formally exonerated after
it was determined that the FBIand NYPD withheld key evidence
during their trials.
Malcolm's half-sister, ella,assumed control of the OAU after
Malcolm's death, but theorganization soon disbanded
without his leadership.
Betty gave birth to twin girlsseven months after her husband's

(01:55:36):
murder, with the help offriends and allies.
The single mother of six earnedher PhD in educational
administration from theUniversity of Massachusetts,
amherst, and worked as anadministrator at Medgar Evers
College.
That is insanely impressive.
I can't imagine going throughgrad school with one kid, much

(01:55:57):
less six.
She continued her advocacythroughout the 70s and 80s by
serving on the AmericanRevolution Bicentennial Council
and the Advisory Committee forthe US Department of Health and
Human Services.
She also became active in theNAACP.
She took in her 10-year-oldgrandson, malcolm, after her
daughter Kubela was arrested in1995 for allegedly conspiring to

(01:56:22):
murder Louis Fargon, the thenleader of the NOI.
She accepted a plea bargaininvolving mandated counseling
and substance use treatment.
On June 1, 1997, betty'sgrandson set fire to her home.
She had five skin graftsurgeries to treat the
third-degree burns that covered80% of her body, but sadly died

(01:56:50):
three weeks later at the age of63.
She is buried next to Malcolmat Ferncliff Cemetery in
Hartsfield, new York.
Her grandson was sentenced to18 months in juvenile detention
for manslaughter and arson.

Remi (01:56:58):
What a truly tragic end for Betty, a truly tragic end
for Betty.

Ashley (01:57:04):
The Nation of Islam continued under Muhammad's
leadership until he died in 1975at the age of 72.
As promised, leadership passedto his son, wallace, who over
the next few years transformedthe organization into Orthodox
Sunni Islamic Group, later namedthe American Society of Muslims
.
He spoke against his father'steachings, rejected the idea

(01:57:27):
that Fard Muhammad was Allah andhis father a prophet, invited
whites to join and honoredMalcolm by turning Harlem Temple
no 7 into the Malcolm ShabazzMosque.
Malcolm X is described as oneof the most influential African
Americans in history.
Malcolm X is described as oneof the most influential African
Americans in history.
He is credited with rising theself-esteem of Black Americans

(01:57:50):
and reconnecting them to theirAfrican heritage.
After his death, many Blackactivists based their
organizations on his teachings.
The Black Power Movement andBlack Arts Movement directly
traced their roots to Malcolm X.
His message has also beenadopted by youth groups fighting
their own struggles across theworld, like the Arab European
League in Belgium and thenatives of the Republic Party in

(01:58:10):
France.
His first childhood home inOmaha and the residence he
shared with Ella in Boston areon the National Register of
Historic Places.
Cities across the country havededicated memorials, educational
centers and charter schools tohis and Betty's memory.
Some cities even declared hisbirthday Malcolm X Day.

(01:58:30):
His influence has also seepedinto popular culture, thanks
largely to Spike Lee's film andhip-hop artists, who adopted him
as a cultural icon in the early90s.
Marvel comic writer ChrisClaremont has confirmed that
Malcolm X was the inspirationbehind Magneto and MLK, for
Professor X in X-Men.

(01:58:51):
He was also the inspiration forEric Killmonger, michael B
Jordan's character in BlackPanther, and that is the true
story of Spike Lee's Malcolm X.

Remi (01:59:02):
Wow, what a truly fascinating, tragic, remarkable
story of this civil rightsleader's life.
I just want to point out againthat the film is based on his
autobiography, but thesimilarities between the film
and his real life are reallyundeniable and again, I'll save

(01:59:25):
a lot of this for my verdictsection.
But I do think a lot of thiswas very accurately depicted in
the film.

Ashley (01:59:32):
I think something that really stuck out to me reading
the last, third or fourth ofthis book is when I did the math
he was assassinated less thanone year after he left the
Nation of Islam.
He formally announced hisdeparture in March 1964 and was
killed by the end of February1965.

(01:59:54):
He achieved so much in such ashort amount of time.
I can't even begin to fathomwhat his life would have been
like if it wasn't cut short far,far, far too soon.

Remi (02:00:06):
How old was he when he was assassinated?
39.
You can't help but wonder whathe would have done from that
point forward.
It seems like he really didstart thinking differently
towards the end, and it wouldhave been interesting to see
where he would have gone in lifefrom that point forward well,

(02:00:27):
with that keeping an eye on time, let's just dive right into our
objection of the week, shall we?
Your honor.
I object.
And why is that miscreant?
because it's devastating to mycase overruled good call I will
kick things off this week withour season finale objection.
Just reiterating our objectionis based on the most superfluous

(02:00:52):
change made from true story tocinematic adaptation, and I had
a few this week.
One might not qualify becauseit had to do with his siblings.
It seems like Malcolm'ssiblings had a greater influence
on him than the film depicted.
In the film they are separatedonce Malcolm is sent to the

(02:01:16):
foster home and they're neverreally mentioned again.
However, in real life hisbrother influenced his interest
in the nation of Islam to beginwith, and his sister was one of
the reasons that he traveled toMecca in real life.
However, I think that might betoo big for this specific
category.

Ashley (02:01:37):
Two things I do agree it's too big and Ella not only
influenced him going to Mecca,she financed that trip.

Remi (02:01:44):
So to qualify within the grounds of the most meaningless
change, I'm going with the factthat when Malcolm met Betty in
the film she was teaching Muslimwomen hygiene and proper diet,
while in reality she had been anurse who converted to the
nation due to Malcolm'sinfluence.

(02:02:06):
So I'm going with that one shewas a nurse as opposed to a
teacher.

Ashley (02:02:12):
That's a good one too, and that's kind of a change.
I really don't understand whyit was made it kind of like
downgrades her a bit.

Remi (02:02:21):
It fits perfectly into this category.
Why change that?
It really doesn't make anysense in my mind.

Ashley (02:02:28):
What I picked was I believe you said earlier that
Louise Little had five kids whenshe was hospitalized.
In reality, she had eight.

Remi (02:02:37):
This is a common change though, so I don't know I might
fight you on this one, because alot of movies downplay the
amount of children that peoplereally have and even if they
show that they have children,they're really in the background
and, honestly, the focus ofthis film was not at all on the
kids and they were primarily inthe background.
So I don't know, I think that'skind of a cheap victory, but

(02:03:01):
I'll give it to you, why not?

Ashley (02:03:03):
Well, another one I had dealing with, betty, was the
fact that they depicted themgoing on one-on-one dates when
in reality that was banned inthe nation, so all their dates
were with other people.

Remi (02:03:15):
I think mine wins in this.
I'm debating you.
I think that the changes toBetty and Malcolm's original
meeting qualifies for this.
I think the children thingthat's done in so many movies.
I'm going with the Betty one.

Ashley (02:03:29):
I'm going to disagree.
So, listeners, let us know whoyou think wins the objection.

Remi (02:03:36):
And that brings us to the final portion of our season
finale, our verdict.

Narrator (02:03:43):
At the conclusion of each episode, our hosts will
deliver a verdict based on thefilm's accuracy.
If the film is an honestportrayal of the events, then it
will earn a not guilty verdict.
If the adaptation is mostlyfactual but creative liberties
were taken for the sake ofentertainment, the film will be
declared a mistrial.
But if the film ultimatelystrays too far from the truth,
then film will be declared amistrial.

(02:04:03):
But if the film ultimatelystrays too far from the truth,
then it will be condemned asguilty and sentenced to a life
behind bars.

Ashley (02:04:11):
Okay, since you went first with the objection, that
means I'm up first for theverdict and I'm going to preface
this by saying the movie isbased on the autobiography of
Malcolm X.
So I am going to and I believe,remy, you're taking the same
approach we're going to compareit to not only the story I just
told, but I did mention whenthere were changes from the

(02:04:34):
autobiography to what the Payneswrote in their latest book, the
big one, obviously, being theKKK meeting meeting and also how
it's depicted of the KKKkilling Malcolm's father,
because those were, one, what hebelieved at the time and two,
obviously, something he wasashamed about, which I'm sure

(02:04:54):
we'll get into that more in asecond.
But with that being said, I havevacillated between not guilty
and mistrial.
I think the biggest change issomething you pointed out, which
was that it was really hisbrothers who introduced him to
the NOI, not an inmate in prison.
But other than that, all of thechanges that I heard were

(02:05:15):
pretty minimal.
Like Malcolm and Betty didn'thave one-on-one dates, malcolm
really wasn't bullied in school,he was actually very popular
and well liked, and just littlethings like that.
So, with the biggest changesbeing so minor, with the
exception of one or two of them.
I guess I'm going to give SpikeLee a not guilty.

Remi (02:05:37):
And I am right there with you.
It's nice to have two notguilty verdicts for our season
four finale.
The changes made from the truestory to the film, in my opinion
, were made to streamlineeverything.
Malcolm dealt with a lot ofdifferent people and a lot of
different situations.
He traveled a lot, so a lot ofit I can understand for economic

(02:06:02):
purposes and, as you mentionedpreviously, the film is based on
Malcolm's autobiography and heclearly changed certain aspects
or omitted certain things,especially the KKK situation,
which is completelyunderstandable.
I think it's a situation thatMalcolm is ashamed he even did

(02:06:23):
in the first place.
I think it's a situation thatMalcolm is ashamed he even did
in the first place.
I think it's something he didunder duress.
He did not seem like someonewho would ever want to be in a
discussion with members of theKKK, so it is understandable why
that would not be included inhis autobiography.
It's something he was ashamedof.

Ashley (02:06:42):
And I don't want listeners to get the message
that I'm saying Malcolm X'sautobiography is false and
fabricated.
It's really not, really.
The only two changes that werementioned in the book I read was
the omission of the KKK meetingand framing his father's death
as a K clan attack, which iswhat he truly believed, and I

(02:07:06):
agree with you.
I think he left out the factthat he was involved with that
clan meeting because it wassomething that went against his
core values and something thathe deeply felt ashamed of for
doing.

Remi (02:07:19):
He was a man of principles and I think in that situation
he compromised his valuesbecause Elijah Muhammad wanted
him to do so and he trustedElijah and I do believe he was a
fully devoted, 100% supporter,believer in this cause and he
just slowly realized that thisman he was following was a

(02:07:42):
charlatan.
I can point out two otherrandom differences, again the
omission of the siblingsthroughout the story.
But primarily, it seems likeany change made was for
streamlined purposes and becauseit was based on Malcolm's own
autobiography.
So I too give Spike Lee'sMalcolm X a not guilty verdict.

Ashley (02:08:04):
Well, that concludes season four of Criminal
Adaptations.
I rest my case.
You rest your case what?

Spike Lee (02:08:12):
Oh no, I thought that was just a figure of speech.
Case closed.

Remi (02:08:25):
I am so happy that we ended on a not guilty verdict,
because this season we had sofew of them.
It has been a wild ride.
We have covered such a widevariety of movies and true
stories this season, but nextseason we are going full force.
Still, we are covering aLeonardo DiCaprio movie.
Catch Me If you Can.
We are also covering our veryfirst foreign film from the
director of Parasite, as well asa lot of other films.

Ashley (02:08:48):
Including our first Meryl Streep movie, which I'm so
stoked for.

Remi (02:08:52):
So please join us next season.
Again, we will be returning onSeptember 1st.
That gives us enough time to doenough research and we are
currently in the process ofplanning a wedding and also
trying to fit in all of ourpodcast stuff in between that
stuff as well, and we love doingit and we are super

(02:09:14):
appreciative of anyone out therelistening.
If you listen this far, pleasesend a like, leave a comment,
say that you enjoyed it or tella friend.
Anything like that really helps.

Ashley (02:09:26):
And until then, court is adjourned until September 1st.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Ruthie's Table 4

The Joe Rogan Experience

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Malcolm X

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Ruthie's Table 4

The Joe Rogan Experience

All Episodes

Malcolm X

On Purpose with Jay Shetty