Malcolm and Martin, closer than we ever thought
- Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were drawing closer, scholars say
- Both leaders expressed admiration for one another
- Malcolm X sought meeting with King
- Photo taken of their only meeting has now become iconic
(CNN) -- The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was leaving a news conference one afternoon when a tall man with a coppery complexion stepped out of the crowd and blocked his path.
Malcolm X, the African-American Muslim leader who once called King "Rev. Dr. Chicken-wing," extended his hand and smiled.
"Well, Malcolm, good to see you," King said after taking Malcolm X's hand.
"Good to see you," Malcolm X replied as both men broke into huge grins while a gaggle of photographers snapped pictures of their only meeting.
That encounter on March 26, 1964, lasted only a minute. But a photo of that meeting has tantalized scholars and supporters of both men for more than 45 years.
As the 85th birthday of Malcolm X is marked on Wednesday, history has freeze-framed him as the angry black separatist who saw whites as blue-eyed devils.
Yet near the end of his life, Malcolm X was becoming more like King -- and King was becoming more like him.
"In the last years of their lives, they were starting
No comments:
Post a Comment