Malcolm X: Struggle for Freedom: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A documentary short with the title “Malcolm X: Struggle for Freedom.” It consists of a single reel of 16mm black-and-white polyester film with optical sound. The film documents Malcolm X discussing the plight of African Americans and Black people more broadly while on a trip to Paris.

The documentary opens with a still image of filmmaker John Taylor standing beneath a set of flags before an introductory montage including newsreel scenes of police brutality against civil rights demonstrators in the United States, colonialists and liberation forces in Africa, and depictions of the Ku Klux Klan before cutting to footage of Malcolm X addressing an audience at a round table. Four other individuals, two men and two women, are also seated at the table with him. Much of his discussion focuses on the need for a strong, independent African continent and solidarity across the African diaspora. He also states that there is a direct relationship between a nation's ability to progress and the degree of freedom women experience in that nation. As he speaks on this subject, archival footage of women marching is displayed. Later in the film, he discusses his views on China developing nuclear weapons, as archival footage of Mao Zedong plays.

In the final scenes, there is footage of him being chauffeured, as well as footage of him at an airport speaking to reporters. He tells a reporter that he is returning to the United States "to see how [his] family is doing." The film ends with the sound of gunshots and footage of his funeral.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1967
• Directed by: Lebert "Sandy" Bethune, Jamaican American
• Directed by: John Taylor
• Distributed by: Grove Press, founded 1917
• Narrated by: Betaudier
• Subject of: Malcolm X, American, 1925 - 1965
• Subject of: Mao Zedong, Chinese, 1893 - 1976
• Subject of: Patrice Émery Lumumba, Congolese, 1925 - 1961
• Type: sound films
• Type: black-and-white films (visual works)
• Type: release prints (motion pictures)
• Type: short subjects
• Medium: polyester film
• Dimensions: Duration: 22 min.
• Place filmed: Paris, France, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Decolonization
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Film
• Object number: 2018.37.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Lebert "Sandy" Bethune
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Lebert Bethune Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.