Page 14 from the original typescript of Alex Haley’s 1963 interview of Malcolm X for Playboy magazine, one onionskin page, 8.5 x 11, signed "Malcolm X" in the bottom margin (with a marginal line indicating his approval of the contents). In full: “[Malcolm X] Ten years ago a destroyer would have been sent to Cuba to quell a revolution. Ten years ago you couldn’t have paid a Southern Negro to defy Southern customs. The British Lion’s tail has been snatched off in Black Africa. The Indonesians have booted out the would-be imperialists such as the Dutch. The French who felt for a century that Algeria was theirs have had to run for their lives back to France. Sir, the point I make is that all over the world the old day of standing in fear and trembling of the almighty white man is gone. [Haley] Mr. Malcolm, let’s not stray abroad—we’re examining your organization right here. Here’s something many are wondering, wondering about you as a matter of fact. Suppose Elijah Muhammad left the scene? Would the mantle of leader with divine understanding then fall to you? [Malcolm X] Sir, in my opinion, no one can succeed the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. No one preceded him. His work is already done with the seed he has planted among black people. Sir, if Mr. Muhammad and every identifiable follower he has, certainly including myself, were removed from the scene tomorrow by some more of the white man’s brutality, there is one thing to be sure of. Mr. Muhammad’s teachings of the naked truth have fallen upon fertile soil among twenty million black men in this wilderness of North America. [Haley] But the specific question, Mr. Malcolm, was that if Elijah Muhammad were no longer around, and you were, and all the present followers were, would you then become the leader—the messenger?” In fine condition. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.
Playboy's May 1963 interview with Malcolm X was one of the most famous of Haley’s career and gave most readers their first in-depth look at Malcolm X’s teachings and personality. Supporters and critics viewed the Muslim minister in very different terms. Admirers saw him as a courageous advocate for the rights of African-Americans and condemned crimes against black Americans; detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, and violence. Nevertheless, he has been described as one of the greatest and most influential African-American leaders in history. Within a year of granting this interview, with America still gripped by ever-growing racial tension, the once-combative black nationalist Malcolm X had repudiated almost every stance in the interview. He had broken with the Nation of Islam movement, fallen out with its leader, Elijah Muhammad, renounced black supremacy, and embraced racial equality and human rights. He was assassinated in Harlem in 1965.
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