First published 2025
Malcolm X emerges from his early years shaped by violence and displacement. Kendi traces his transformation from Malcolm Little through his time as Detroit Red, his imprisonment, and his conversion to Islam under Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam. The biography follows Malcolm's rise as a fierce advocate for Black nationalism, his pilgrimage to Mecca that shifts his worldview, and his break from the Nation of Islam. Kendi places Malcolm's choices within the broader context of America's civil rights era, showing how social and political forces shaped both the man and his message. The author reveals Malcolm's evolution toward anti-racism as his true legacy. Short chapters combine with archival documents and photographs from the Schomburg Center to create an accessible portrait. Published a century after Malcolm's birth and created with the Malcolm X Estate, this biography captures how Malcolm's ideas continue to resonate today.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-american, 21st-century, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: accessible, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: evolution, transformation
Setting: Detroit, Mecca
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
400 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Content warnings: violence