The Autobiography of Malcolm X

A 1965 autobiography of Malcolm X, based on interviews with Alex Haley and published after Malcolm X’s death. It recounts Malcolm’s transformation from childhood and prison through the Nation of Islam and his final years.

Alex Haley: An American writer and journalist who co-authored The Autobiography of Malcolm X through interviews with Malcolm X. Haley recorded and shaped the interviews that became the book.
Nation of Islam: An African American religious and political movement founded in Detroit in 1930. Malcolm’s leadership in the movement occupies a central part of the autobiography.
Oral history: The collection and interpretation of historical evidence through recorded interviews with people who witnessed or experienced events. The autobiography grew from recorded conversations rather than a conventional manuscript drafted by Malcolm.
Black Power: A political movement and slogan advocating Black self-determination, racial pride, and community control. The book helped circulate ideas that resonated with Black Power activists.
Malcolm X: An African American Muslim minister and human-rights activist who advocated Black liberation and self-determination. The book presents his life and ideas in his own first-person voice.
Elijah Muhammad: The leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. Malcolm’s relationship with Muhammad shapes his years in the Nation of Islam.
First-person narrative: A form of storytelling in which a narrator recounts events using a first-person point of view. Malcolm’s first-person voice gives the book its personal account of political and spiritual change.
Black Arts Movement: A cultural movement of the 1960s and 1970s that developed alongside Black Power and emphasized Black artistic expression. The autobiography became a major influence within a period of expanding Black cultural expression.
Doubleday: An American publishing house founded in 1897 and later part of Penguin Random House. Doubleday published the autobiography in 1965.
Hajj: The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, required once in a lifetime for Muslims able to undertake it. Malcolm’s pilgrimage marks a major religious and political turning point in the book.

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