Malcolm X Holding Up Black Muslim Newspaper, Chicago, Illinois

Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a civil rights leader, spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, and a leading Black Nationalist in the early 1960s (until his assassination in 1965). He embraced photography's potential to share messages, to combat stereotypes, and prove black Muslims' productivity and poise. He had his portraits taken by a wide range of photographers, including trusted friend Gordon Parks, a leading African-American photographer at that time. In this photograph, Malcolm X points at a newspaper headline, which reports an event in1962 in Los Angeles's Watts neighborhood. The police shot seven unarmed young Black Muslim men (killing one) without justification.