Spike Lee called The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which he read as a Morehouse film student in Atlanta, the most important book he had ever read. So it was poetic justice that the fledgling college filmmaker would one day make the epic film about a transcendent, polarizing, brilliant and misunderstood genius that was Malcolm X.
Malcolm X, the story about one of the most captivating speakers and thinkers this country has ever produced, came to the big screen under much controversy because many were concerned how director Spike Lee would portray the militant civil rights leader with the unapologetically razor-sharp tongue who advocated self-defense, an eye-for-an-eye and separation from their oppressor, very much in contrast to what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr advocated.
In the end, the movie elevated the martyred Muslim leader in the eyes of the public — and the historic epic movie elevated the principle players in the film to another level.
Let’s take a look at the movie and where the actors and filmmakers who contributed to the success of the film and where they are now. Malcolm X 20 years later.
