The Afterlife of Malcolm X: An Outcast Turned Icon's Enduring Impact on America

The first major study of Malcolm X’s influence in the sixty years since his assassination, exploring his enduring impact on culture, politics, and civil rights.

Malcolm X is as iconic an American leader as Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, or Martin Luther King. Espousing views that were often controversial, he lived his life and embraced his values in a way that left no one neutral. White America found him alienating, mainstream African Americans found him radical while the strivers, particularly young African Americans, found him inspiring. And though Ossie Davis famously eulogized Malcom X as “our own Black shining prince,” Malcolm never received the mainstream acceptance he believed his evolving views merited. Yet rather than diminish in reputation and reach after his death, his legacy has coalesced into one that is almost universally admired, and one that has left an imprint on a number of quintessentially American spheres.

With impeccable research and original interviews, veteran journalist Mark Whitaker, tells the story of Malcolm’s impact on the cultural landscape of the country. Founders of the Black Power Movement such as Stokely Carmichael and Huey Newton lay claim to Malcolm’s influence as do hip hop pioneers like Public Enemy and Tupac Shakur.

Leaders of the Black Arts and Free Jazz movements such as August Wilson, Amiri Baraka, and John Coltrane, credit their political awakening to Malcolm, as do some of the most influential athletes of our time, Mohammed Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and beyond. Even contemporary artists such as Spike Lee whose biopic introduced Malcolm to a new generation, regard him as key to their political awakening.

He was an inspiration for the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Barack Obama has said he found in Malcolm, a man of “self-respect, daring, and discipline” while Clarence Thomas was drawn to Malcolm’s messages of self-improvement and economic self-reliance.

Deftly interweaving biography with investigative reporting into who really killed Malcolm X alongside analysis of how Malcolm’s legacy has been blossomed, The Afterlife of Malcolm X is essential reading for anyone interested in American politics, culture, and history.