Book Review: The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X

I am not a stranger to Malcolm X. After all, one of my favorite books of all time happens to be his Autobiography, from 1965. In the Autobiography, he talks about his childhood, how rowdy and rough he was in the streets, and how much of a trouble maker he was, which is something that occupied him up until his teenage years, where, upon moving to Boston with his sister, he started to meet some new people, and got into the street life of drugs, alcohol, and robbery. Moreover, we learn how certain events in life can lead to bigger things. In a transformative point in his life, Malcolm went to prison, but it was not something he came to regret, but he was rather glad had happened because it was in prison that he started delving into books, educating himself, and it is where he converted to Islam. Malcolm’s life after prison was one of constant activism for the rights of his African American brothers and sisters. He would give the most incredible, eloquent, well-articulated speeches. It is what got masses and masses of people to rally behind him.

Malcolm’s life is a remark of how a person can change so much through hardship, perseverance, and knowledge. He went from a teenage kid striving to be a lawyer to a “thug” gang member, a convict, and at last an inspiration to millions of oppressed people around the world.

This new book on Malcolm X’s life is an attempt to demystify and bring to the fore some of the instances, ideas, and experiences of Malcolm’s life that we never had the privilege of knowing. This book is a collection of research and interviews, with people who surrounded Malcolm X throughout his life, that seek to reach conclusions that have for so long remained a mystery, for example who is the real murderer of Malcolm X? Researched and written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Les Payne, this intensive work on the life of Malcolm X truly shows the remarkable life he has led, where other works on his life might have not given as much credit.

What we learn from this book are those incredibly impactful accounts from those who were closest to him throughout his life, and things that we would not even know of, and things that actually tell you a lot about the reason for who he came to be and be known for.

This book is so well researched, well thought out, and written that it does not miss a point of what led Malcolm X to get to where he got to be. For example, it goes into way beyond his birth and upbringing and into his parents lives, and how they were part of the civil rights movement, right there with Marcus Garvey. It takes us back to the days of the civil rights movement to show us how African Americans had to deal with segregation across the United States, and how that affected the psyche of African Americans, which caused them to turn away from Christianity because many African Americans saw Christianity as a white man’s religion because of the slavery and oppression that they had to go through under what white people claimed are religious rights. Because of that African Americans turn to newly introduced religious movements, such as the Nation of Islam, which operated more as a cult rather than as a religion, and it targeted African Americans as a way to liberate themselves and distinguish themselves from white people.

What I found interesting as well is that it goes really deep into the history of the Nation of Islam and how it became a large movement in the United States, especially in the 1950s & 1960s, at the peak of the civil rights movement. The history of the Nation of Islam, not only its founding history, but the history of its founders illuminates quite a lot about the early influences of the civil rights movement, such as the return to Africa, the embracing of the African identity, and breaking away from Christian traditions that are deemed white.

This book is quite extensive in its research and can be quite informative and of a lot of value to people in various fields. I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in American History, the American Civil Rights Movement, and Social Science.

You can find this book on Amazon or Kinokuniya