Today, honoring the legacies of two civil rights leaders

mrtin luther king jr smiles and looks to the sidemalcolm x smilingt

On this day in 1968, 43 years ago, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., was murdered at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. He was just 39.

Also today, the new Malcolm X biography is being released. Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, has caused quite a stir, and even moreso after the death of the author and Columbia University professor Manning Marable, who considered redefining the legacy of Malcolm X to be his life’s work. His biography seems to be poised to do just that: it contains claims that would drastically change our historical understanding of the man, including the claim that two of his assassins are alive and well (though at least one man has already come forward to deny these allegations), and that some other aspects of Alex Haley’s famed autobiography are bunk. Notably, the new book also claims that Malcolm had an early homosexual relationship with a white businessman, a fact that most media coverage has glossed over completely.

For my part, I feel it’s fitting that the legacies and ideologies of these two civil rights leaders be considered in tandem today. I feel that their images are often times oversimplified, with King being depicted as a nonviolent saint and Malcolm X as the opposite: a radical, sometimes violent, “by any means necessary” rabble rouser. But the truth is that both men were incredibly complex, and much of their complexity has been lost to the broad stroke of history books. Some are trying to reclaim that history now. Our own Rose has written eloquently in the past about her personal experience of remembering Malcolm, and Exec Editor Samhita has asked “Where would we be without Malcolm?“. Kai Wright has written for the American Prospect on King’s forgotten radical politics, and Cornel West has referenced the “Santa Clausification” of King and his legacy.

It is my hope that today, with the overlap of two important dates for each of these men’s legacies, we can all try to resist the temptation to classify and categorize, and instead allow the words, stories, and actions of these men be considered in all of their rich complexities.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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