Religious Rebels 05 | Malcolm X: Reborn in Mecca, killed in Harlem

A street hustler turned minister whose faith transformed Black politics — and himself.

Born Malcolm Little in 1925, Malcolm X rose to fame as a fiery preacher in the Nation of Islam, calling for Black self-determination “by any means necessary.” But after his pilgrimage to Mecca, he embraced Sunni Islam and a universal vision of justice that transcended race. Weeks later, he was assassinated. 

Was Malcolm X a prophet of liberation or a threat to the powerful? His journey from militant separatism to spiritual reformer still forces America — and the world — to confront the cost of conviction.

GUESTS:

• Tamara Payne — co-writer and principal researcher of Pulitzer prize winning biography “The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X” 
• Assistant Professor Jimmy Butts — specialist in Malcolm X Studies at Trinity university in San Antonio Texas 

This is the fifth episode of God Forbid's Religious Rebels, a six-part special series exploring the lives of spiritual revolutionaries who defied empires, reshaped traditions — and sometimes paid with their lives.