Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X

by Rodnell P. Collins, A. Peter Bailey

A uniquely intimate portrait of Malcolm X not just as a revolutionary leader, but as a complex family man, told through personal stories, memories, and rare family photos from his sister and nephew.

AN INSIDER'S STUDY OF AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN ICON


No other book about Malcolm X offers such enlightenment on the man who was not just a great leader, but a beloved brother, cousin, nephew, uncle, father, husband, and friend. As politically relevant today as he was during his lifetime, Malcolm X also remains a controversial figure alternately mythologized and misunderstood.

Ella Little Collins saw her brother Malcolm through some of the most significant times of his life, and knew him better than anyone else. Here she shares her poignant, vivid memories of him. Told to her son, Rodnell, to whom Malcolm was a much-loved uncle and mentor, Seventh Child contains haunting, bitter, as well as joyful recollections, and deeply personal insights.

Seventh Child also provides remarkable details about Malcolm's family genealogy previously unavailable to the general public, and rare family photos—including one of Rodnell with Malcolm the night before his assassination. As informative as it is intimate, Seventh Child adds immeasurably to our knowledge of this complex and extraordinary figure.

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

Reviews

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book lives up to the promise made by Malcolm's nephew, who wrote the book: you will learn things about Malcolm in this book that are not in any other written about him, including his autobiography.

You definitely understand Malcolm in the full spectrum of his person-hood. He was a father, a nephew, a brother, a cousin, a friend. He was much beloved by many and had a smile that lit up a room.

He was a also a very deeply and well-connected national and international political activist. And he was assassinated for it. We think that he was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam, but his sister, Ella, one of his closest confidantes (and one of only four women he trusted in his entire life) shared that Malcolm knew it was the CIA.

Shortly before his death, he was building steam in bringing charges against the U.S. Government before the World Court for violating the human rights of, at that time, some 22 million African Americans. He had a long list of all the lynchings and murders and other brutalities committed against African Americans with no charges against the white terrorists committing the crimes.

He made plain the connection between white supremacy here in the U.S. and colonialsim in Africa and Asia.

I even learned that he was murdered before he finished writing his autobiography with Malcolm X and that Alex Hailey left out five chapters that Malcolm wrote on his political, social, and economic views (which thankfully are outlined in the Organization of Afro-American Unity -- OAAU).

If you really want to see the human side of Malcolm, this is a book you need to read. I think I will go back now and read his autobiography, as certain things were made clear in this book about things Malcolm wrote about in his book.

Excellent read.

[Madie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book about the impactful human rights leader Malcolm X. I really enjoyed the truthful information in this book about the kinda man Malcolm truly was & how he was represented as well as more information about things that weren’t thoroughly covered in ‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X’..

3.5/5.⭐️
Due to the writing of this book to be so poor. I was disappointed with all the grammarical errors in this book & usually I am not someone to make a fuss on stuff that but this one had too many errors to ignore.

[Thomas Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one pays attention to the literature that is put forth on Malcolm X, one must pay careful attention to motives, as best one can make them out. As a long-time reader of information about Malcolm, I am usually on guard as to what I think motivates the person, because in this exercise, I have uncovered what I believe to have been some really messed up motives in some of the literature. I can't begin to tell you how many times this has been a problem. The main thing that I will say about this book by Rodnell Collins, the nephew of Malcolm X, is that I don't see, nor intuit, any messed up motives for him writing this book. His motives are genuine and pure. He says that he has written it, in part, to get his Mother's “take” out about Malcolm. Rodnell's Mother is Ms. Ella Collins, a very close sister to Malcolm, one of the closest females to him during his time on Earth.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it wasn't a fantastic read and the writing was poor, it was very interesting to read a *very* pro-Malcolm X book. It presented a lot of new information and new viewpoints to which I had not previously been exposed. I think as far as recommending it, I would probably be more likely to recommend it to someone who is specifically interested in Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam, the Civil/Human Rights movement, etc. than to someone who's looking for a good biography. Glad Angie recommended it to me and that I got to read it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always been intrigued about Malcolm X and his role in society, I am glad that I read a family Memoir. He was a man that stood up for what he believed in, despite the prejudice and the hypocrisy in his nation, he had the audacity to endure the hardships. I learned a lot about his view on Christianity and the moral lessons he was taught while in prison. I do want to read more books by him, he was not only an intelligent man, but he was wise beyond his years.

[Cosimo Ranieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's a wonderful and well-written book! It's a good source to know a wealthy of things about the extraordinary Malcolm X's life that other books don't talk about.

[Sam Mansourou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written by the son of his sister. She would finance his trips to Africa and the Middle East.