From the dead level: Malcolm X and me,

by Hakim A. Jamal

Genres: Politics

Paperback

First published July 22, 1971

About the author

Hakim Abdullah Jamal (March 28, 1931 – May 1, 1973) was the name adopted by American activist Allen Donaldson, who was a cousin of Malcolm X and later became an associate of Michael X. Jamal wrote From the Dead Level, a memoir of his life and memories of Malcolm X.

Jamal was romantically involved with several high-profile women, notably Jean Seberg, Diana Athill (his editor, who later wrote a book abouth him), and Gale Benson, who was killed by Michael Abdul Malik, also known as Michael X in 1972.

On May 1, 1973, Jamal was killed when four men burst into his apartment in Boston and shot him repeatedly. Police attributed the crime to a factional dispute, linked to Jamal's attacks on Elijah Muhammad.

Reviews

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reread for me after maybe 15-20 years or so. I didn’t remember much of the first part of this book, which deals with the author’s tales of drinking and drugging and just the mention of Malcolm on the periphery. He was just one of many of the brothers hanging out in Boston who you would see in the street from time to time smoking, drinking, hanging in bars and clubs, etc.

The second part of this book is where the magic happens. By this time Malcolm is in prison, and to his old street friends they thought, well this “Malcolm dude wasn’t so sharp after all.” You see Malcolm had developed a reputation as being a sharp smart street hustler that had all the answers.

You wanted reefer, see Malcolm, where could you get heroin? ask Malcolm. So, as Malcolm was transforming himself from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X, the streets were totally unaware until they started hearing about the Black Muslims of Boston who were cleaning up former winos and heroin addicts, and making these former “bums” look down right respectable.

So Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the so-called Black Muslims is coming to Boston to give a talk, and all of Black Boston is a-buzz. So many of the street dudes were in attendance and Elijah had to leave early to catch a plane, so Minister Malcolm X, spoke after Muhammad’s departure and absolutely mesmerized the crowd. This initiated Hakim Jamal’s metamorphosis from dope fiend drunkard to a life of clean living.

And this is where the book really starts to shine. Hakim Jamal provides the reader with insight as to what made Malcolm such a valuable character. He started going to the mosque regularly but still couldn’t kick his former habits. He and two friends all decided a change of scenery would benefit them all, so they made their way out to Los Angeles, CA and once there started going to the mosque in LA.

Malcolm was there at the time, so of course Hakim was delighted to see him again, although Malcolm didn’t quite recall him from Boston, this bothered Hakim somewhat but he stayed cool. Eventually, he had the opportunity to spend meaningful time with Malcolm, which only deepened his admiration for the man. Hakim recounts this story with such passion that you can sense the love and impact Malcolm had on those around him.

If you want to understand why Malcolm was special, this is the book that will lead you to that point of conclusion.
It belongs on your shelf right next to The Autobiography of Malcolm X!