A Word: The Ballot, the Bullet, and the Truth

Slate News

Slate Podcasts

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.6 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925, and he remains one of the most polarizing figures of the civil rights movement. An enduring myth from that era is that he and Martin Luther King Jr. were diametrically opposed politically. But the recent revelation that a quote where King condemned Malcolm X was false has prompted a wider reconsideration of his beliefs and legacy. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by historian Peniel Joseph, author of “The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.” Professor Joseph explains why the popular understanding of Malcolm X is so incomplete, and helps to give a more nuanced portrait of him as a man and a leader. Guest: Peniel Joseph, Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values at the University of Texas, LBJ School of Public Affairs Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. To many Americans, Malcolm X
0:08.1	and Martin Luther King Jr. stood on opposite sides of some of the most important questions
0:13.4	about civil rights. But historians say that was always an oversimplification. And new scholarship
0:19.3	proves it. We think of Malcolm X as this kind of reverse racist, angry black man. We think
0:24.8	of King is this kind of teddy bear because it serves our purposes of saying, look, America makes
0:30.8	mistakes, but we can correct it. Reexamining the myths about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
0:36.5	coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.
0:41.5	This episode is brought to you by Vonage. Your business needs more than an 800 number. With Vonage
0:46.3	Voice API, you can provide the call experience or customers expect and get the data your tea needs.
0:51.2	From call analytics and virtual assistance to automatic speech recognition and text to speech
0:56.0	in multiple languages, your customer service team can help more people in more places. And
1:00.6	within that voice, your customers can easily contact you the moment they have a question.
1:04.7	Take your calls to the next level with Vonage Voice API. Learn more at Vonage.com.
1:10.4	Welcome to a word of podcast about race and politics and everything else. I'm your host Jason
1:22.7	Johnson. Today, May 19th is the 98th anniversary of the birth of Malcolm Little, who came to be known
1:30.5	to the rest of us as Malcolm X. Malcolm X who later changed his name to El Hage Malik El Shabaz
1:37.2	converted to Islam in prison. It helped him transform himself from a petty criminal
1:41.7	to the most prominent spokesperson for the nation of Islam. And for a vision of Black liberation,
1:47.5	the put every tool on the table. We declare our reign on this earth to be a man, to be a human being,
1:55.6	to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society,
2:01.4	on this earth, in this state, which we intend to bring into existence by any means.
2:09.2	Species like that put Malcolm X in sharp contrast to the non-violence movement led by Dr.
	...

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