• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Entertainment

How Laurence Fishburne Gave Voice To 'The Autobiography Of Malcolm X'

#OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign writes about the moving impact the "Black-ish" actor had on her when rediscovering Malcolm X's autobiography.
How  Laurence Fishburne Gave Voice To ‘The Autobiography Of Malcolm X’
By April Reign · Updated December 6, 2020

I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X written by Roots author Alex Haley for the first time in college. It was powerful and enlightening, to say the least. So much so that I called my mother upon closing the book and asked her why she had never told me more about this amazing man and how important he was to Black America.

She waited for my rant to finish and then reminded me that the book, still in my hand, was one I had pulled from her own bookshelf. That the information had always been there, but I had not been ready to receive it. She was dropping gems just like Brother Malcolm did.

Malcolm X — his words, his teachings — were critical as I continued my journey of what it meant to be Black in America, and more specifically what it meant to be Black at a predominantly white institution. My thoughts on Malcolm X mirrored those of Laurence Fishburne.

“His opinions about race in America were thoughtful, honest, fearless and the book, Malcolm’s life story, continues to influence me in so much as I am able to meet the world with my intelligence and as fearlessly as possible,” he said in a recent interview for Audible. “His life, his example, has provided a great deal of inspiration for me to find that courage perhaps when I don’t feel like I have it all the time.”

Fishburne’s words are relevant because The Autobiography of Malcolm X is now available on Audible, performed by the actor and producer. His elocution, perfected on stage and evident in television and film, make X’s autobiography an easy yet informative listen. While many fantasize that they’d love to have their lives narrated by James Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman, there is no one better to embody Malcolm X’s story than Fishburne.

Many may know Fishburne as the cantankerous grandpa from Black-ish or perhaps as Morpheus from The Matrix. But it’s his stage work, playing Henry II opposite Stockard Channing, or his role in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running where it’s evident that he’s the right choice to narrate this story. I was fortunate to have seen Fishburne on Broadway over a decade ago when he portrayed the late Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall in the eponymous one-man play. His diction, that booming voice, his intensity, are in a class by themselves.

As a man, Malcolm X was an enigma, transforming himself multiple times in his short life. Often we hear excuses being made about the victims of police brutality: They were no angel, they shouldn’t have been there, and so on. Malcolm was incarcerated for several years and went on to mobilize thousands on issues of both civil and human rights. In fact, through Fishburne, Malcolm ruminates on what his life would’ve surmounted to had it not taken a life-changing turn when he was around Tamir Rice’s tender age of 12: He was told by a teacher that he had no business thinking about being a lawyer when he grew up. One wonders what might have become of Rice, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown had they lived to see their full potential.

How  Laurence Fishburne Gave Voice To ‘The Autobiography Of Malcolm X’
Black muslim leader Malcom X, quitting the muslim sect. (Photo by Truman Moore/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images)

In a time when people are protesting police brutality and injustice against Black people in the streets daily, Malcolm X’s words can be instructive. When we see performative allyship from sports organizations that will “allow” their players to take a knee or put a hashtag on their jerseys, I am reminded of what Malcolm said about making progress in this country: “If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress. If you pull it all the way out, that’s not progress. The progress is healing the wound that the blow made. They haven’t even begun to pull the knife out, much less heal the wound. They won’t even admit the knife is there.”

Fishburne added, “We know that Alex Haley did his job correctly. We know that Malcolm X, El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, told his story truthfully. If I have been true to my craft, then hopefully the listener will come away feeling a little closer to who Malcolm was and they will take some inspiration from his example.”

Having listened to The Autobiography of Malcolm X on Audible, I can say unequivocally that Fishburne has accomplished his goal.

April Reign is the creator of #OscarsSoWhite, the vice president of content strategy for Ensemble, and a co-founder of #SheWillRise, a campaign to nominate and confirm the first Black woman Supreme Court justice.

TOPICS:  Malcolm X
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now