Page 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 part: “What is your opinion of the general situation involving James Meredith at the University of Mississippi?…It took 15,000 troops and $3 millions—that’s what was spent—to get one Negro in. That $3 million could have been used more wisely by the federal government to elevate the living standards of all the Negroes in Mississippi…Did you begin to hate white people because your father was bludgeoned? I loved white people long after my father was lynched. Nothing made me see the white man as he is until one word from the honorable Elijah Muhammad opened my eyes overnight.” In fine condition.
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 of 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 Americans 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. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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