The Dead Are Arising. Les Payne & Tamara Payne. 2020. Liveright. 601 pages. [Source: Public Library.]
But people are always speculating-why am I as I am? To understand that of any person, his whole life, from birth, must be reviewed. All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.
Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
I first heard of The Dead Are Arising when it was awarded the 2020 National Book Award for Nonfiction. The book represents over three decades of research to portray a clearer picture of who Malcolm X was, shedding light on aspects of his life that hadn’t been made public previously. I was captivated by the intensive labor started by the late Les Payne in the 1990s and concluded by his daughter Tamara Payne after his death in 2018. The result is truly an epic read that emcompasses not only Malcolm’s story but that of those closest to him.
Like many who are familiar with Malcolm X, I was introduced to much of his life story through The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Yet, where the autobiography serves as Malcolm’s distillation of his experiences, The Dead Are Arising takes a deeper and less biased look at these experiences. Moreover, the book provides the necessary context to understand not just Malcolm’s actions in response to his environment, but also what realities created that environment itself. Through exhaustive research of historical records and interviews with people who had first-hand interactions with Malcolm and his family, the book provides a close and at times critical examination of the man who came to be known as Malcolm X.
Told in four parts, The Dead Are Arising breaks Malcolm’s life into prominent eras – his childhood, his years engaging in criminal activity/incarceration, his early years with the Nation of Islam, and his later career, thereby providing a chronology of Malcolm’s life with new depth. I found it fascinating to learn more about Earl and Louise Little, particularly their religious and political foundations as they were critical for Malcolm’s development. Interviews with Malcolm’s siblings and others from this time also shed light on his role in his family and how he ended up on the path that eventually led to his incarceration. Leaning on information gleaned from a wealth of primary sources, the Paynes dispel some misconceptions about key events of his upbringing while giving insight about the signficance of others.
No discussion of Malcolm’s life would be complete without also considering the Nation of Islam’s role. The Payne’s provide an analysis of the Nation and its preceding organizations that shed light on the growth of the organization, its place in the socio-political landscape of the Civil Rights Movement, and Malcolm’s ascension and departure. Coupled with contempary revelations about those convicted of Malcolm’s murder, The Dead Are Arising gives perhaps the clearest look into the NOI and its central role in Malcolm’s death.
As is often noted, Malcolm experienced shifts in his political and racial idealogy, especially in the years leading up to his death. The Paynes follow this as well, examining his activism both domestically and internationally, both during and after his departure from the Nation of Islam. They provide evidence of the shift in his faith generally and in Elijah Muhammad specifically, and how this impacted his evolution from a support of segregation to a more open-minded approach.
A constant theme throughout the book is that of clearing up confusion and misperceptions that have persisted for decades. The bibliography and notes represent a wide range of sources that cut through the rumors, half-rememberings, and (frankly) mythology that surrounded Malcolm’s life and death. To that end, I appreciate the scrutiny the Paynes used in separating fact from fiction and bringing to the front new information. At times, this new info felt like they were challenging the story put forth in The Autobiography of Malcolm X; if the new info was counter to what was previously shared, they went to great pains to come to credible conclusions. I finished this book not thinking that Malcolm’s version of events were falsehoods, but that they often were the result of creative liberties or amalgamating for the sake of clarity.
The Dead Are Arising is a formidable read. For anyone wanting to get a balanced picture of who Malcolm X was and the life he lived, this book will provide that information. It does so in context with the people, places, and events that whether directly or indirectly shaped Malcolm into who he represented for the fight for Black dignity. I recommend it as important reading to counter popular narratives that, whether well-meaning or intentionally obscuring, cannot represent as fully complex a man as this.
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