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Page 16 from the original typescript of Alex Haley’s 1963 interview of Malcolm X for Playboy magazine, one 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] “Whatever I am that is good, it is through what I have been taught by Mr. Muhammad. I have never lost sight of that for one second. For one second, I have never lost sight of something I read in prison, about the boy named Icarus. His father made some wings that he attached to Icarus' back with wax, and he told Icarus never to fly but so high. But Icarus' flying got so good to him that he thought he was flying on his own merit. He ignored his father's advice and flew too close to the sun and the wax melted and Icarus came tumbling down. Whenever people start patting me on the back, even the sincere people, whenever people start giving me so much credit for the progress the Muslims are making, or for speeches I've made, I have never forgotten for a second that it was Mr. Muhammad who put the wings on me.
[Haley] Mr. Malcolm, there certainly can't be any more faithful and all-believing Black Muslim converts than you are yourself. Now, about your membership, isn't your membership really closer to ten thousand than the half-million some have said that you may have?
[Malcolm X] You pay me a compliment when you say I am faithful and loyal, sir. Mr. Muhammad has never said there is a half million members. He has never said there are ten thousand. All that is speculation. I don't know that he has ever said how many Muslims there are. I know he has never told me. I know the best part of the tree is the root, and most roots stay…” Malcolm X has written “Advocate” to the upper right and drawn a marginal line along the right margin. In very fine condition. Encapsulated and graded by PSA/DNA as “MINT 9.”
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.
The Marc and Mary Perkins Collection.
