Malcolm X remembered
Forty years ago today black activist and civil rights campaigner, Malcolm X was assassinated at a rally in a Harlem ballroom, by rival black Muslims. Born Malcolm Little, he took on the surname X as a way to discard what he called his “slave name”. A convert to Islam, Malcolm X was a controversial figure at the time of his death. He argued against integration, calling instead for black separatism, black pride, and the use of violence for self-protection. However, today he is celebrated as one of the pioneers of the civil rights movement. Charles Hobson, the founder of Vanguard documentaries in the US, covered stories on Malcolm X whilst working as a radio reporter in the 1960s. He later went on to make several documentaries on the man. Here he recalls his first encounters with the story of Malcolm X.