Page of unpublished autobiography chapter entitled “The Negro”

Shown here is a page from an unpublished chapter of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Although ultimately deleted, it exemplifies Malcolm X’s use of both critical theory and political pragmatism.



Published after his 1965 assassination, Autobiography became a national bestseller. It remains today a cultural touchstone that is critical to our understanding of race and politics in 20th-century America. Acquired in 2018, this chapter and related material, previously held in private hands, makes public for the first time the unpublished texts of one of the most important political thinkers in American history.