A discussion of chapters 7-9 of Marable's biography with Bill Fletcher

Yesterday I had the pleasure of discussing chapters 7, 8, and 9 of Manning Marable's biography of Malcolm X. In the studio with me were two readers of the book, Abdul-Aliy Muhammad and Christopher D. Weaver. We discussed the changes in Malcolm and the changes happening to Malcolm throughout 1961, the year of the Freedom Rides. These three chapters chronicle Malcolm's life from January 1961 to November 1963. We talked about Malcolm's effort to have an interfaith dialogue with African American Christians. And we discussed his Malcolm's serious issues with Elijah Muhammad's orders not to retaliate against the LAPD for their 1962 murder of Rodney X Stokes.

In the second hour of this discussion, we talked with labor activist Bill Fletcher Jr., author of SOLIDARITY DIVIDED and former editor of the BlackCommentator.com. He wrote what I thought was THE BEST review of Manning Marable's biography at the following link:

http://www.blackcommentator.com/434/434_aw_marable_malcolm_controversy_share.html#.ThWRMGyQSlk.facebook

We discussed how a lot of the controversy with Marable is based in the fact that Marable in his extensive research tampered with the icon of Malcolm X. What was most refreshing in Professor Fletcher's review and discussion yesterday, was that more than anything, Marable shows Malcolm as a man for whom answers were not black and white but included some grey. Fletcher's review is as important as Marable's biography. Both are a must read. To hear our conversation, click the play arrow below.