Video: Malcolm X, In His Own Words

In the January issue of History Today, Peter Ling writes about Malcolm X and argues that he was no civil rights leader, nor was he a victim of the mass media; in fact, he was very much its beneficiary, in life and death. It's an argument well supported by looking at the many examples of him speaking and being interviewed. Below are a few of the more salient ones.

His way of handling the media is brilliantly summed up in this clip, in which he calls out a reporter over the way that the press distorts and manipulates coverage:

The video below dates from 1964, and shows Malcolm being interviewed after his return from the hajj to Mecca, at which point he'd adopted the name El Hajj Malik El Shabazz.

In the video above, dating from March 1964, Malcolm speaks about his interpretation of black nationalism.

Finally, a short clip of Malcolm making a speech in which he utters the phrase 'By Any Means Necessary', which (though not one of his own devising) came to be associated with him.

The Media Made Malcolm will be published in the Janaury issue of History Today, out December 22nd.