TWO MINDS; ONE MOVEMENT
TWO MINDS; ONE MOVEMENT
Season four of National Geographic’s ‘Genius’ explores the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and revisits their impact in the Civil Rights Movement.
On March 26, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X – two of the country’s most impactful civil rights leaders – met entirely by chance.
King and X were both visiting D.C. to hear the Senate debate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when they encountered one another in the halls of the U.S. Capitol. King was in the height of his career, having delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech the previous August; while X had been suspended from his leadership position within the Nation of Islam earlier that month.
It was the first and only time the two men would meet. Surrounded by reporters, they exchanged a few words, shook hands and smiled for a photograph. The moment, only a few minutes long, still captures the imaginations of scholars today.
As seen in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree).
“One of the lingering questions of that era is what would happen if these men worked together.”
Jeff Stetson, author of “The Meeting,” a 1987 play about an imaginary meeting between the two leaders in a Harlem hotel room.
“So often, we discuss Malcolm and King as being on opposite sides, but really both of these men are on the same continuum for freedom.”
Stetson’s play, along with Peniel E. Joseph’s book “The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.” served as inspiration for National Geographic’s docudrama series “Genius: MLK/X” which chronicles the lives of King and X leading up to that chance encounter in 1964.
Premiering Feb. 1, 2024, on National Geographic, the show follows both King and X from their formative years during which they were molded by strong fathers and traumatic injustices to their rich, parallel stories as they shaped their identities and became the great leaders we know today.
Instead of pitting those identities against one another, “Genius: MLK/X” asks viewers to consider what King and X had in common.
TOP: Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Martin Luther King Jr. in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
BOTTOM: Aaron Pierre as Malcolm X in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
Like fathers, like sons
The first episode of “Genius: MLK/X” is titled “Graduation” and explores how King and X were deeply influenced by their fathers.
“Both Malcolm and King are impacted by big, outsized patriarchs,” said Joseph. “Their fathers are hugely important in terms of providing a context for who they become and who they want to become.”
LEFT: X’s father, Earl Little, played by Gbenga Akinnagbe, on the front porch of their home in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Josh Stringer)
RIGHT: King’s father, Daddy King, played by Lennie James, preaches behind the pulpit in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
Malcolm’s father, Earl Little, was a minister and an active member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), while King’s father served as the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Episode one shows each patriarch instilling a sense of pride and responsibility in their sons. Earl Little refuses to move his family to the Black section of town and tells a young Malcolm (played by Joshua Caleb Johnson) they will never stand in a soup line. Viewers will see King Sr. change his name and his son’s name from Micheal to Martin Luther after the German theologian who initiated the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. King Jr., played by Jalyn Hall, is just five years old at the time.
“The legacies of their fathers are both positive, but in certain ways, both men are always trying to run away from the shadows of their fathers, which becomes very hard for them to do.”
Peniel Joseph, author of “The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.”
“King becomes a co-pastor at Ebenezer Baptist for a while, and Malcolm becomes an itinerant person like his father, traveling and preaching all around the country.”
TOP: King’s parents, Lennie James as Daddy King and LisaGay Hamilton as Alberta King, in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
BOTTOM: Malcolm X’s parents, Gbenga Akinnagbe as Earl Little and Parisa Fitz-Henley as Louise Little, in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
Two roads to equality
In his book “The Sword and the Shield,” Joseph writes that Malcolm is the “political sword” of Black radicalism, while King’s “shield prevented a blood-soaked era from being more violent.”
It is these differing approaches that caused King and X to be viewed as rivals, but “Genius: MLK/X” explores how both leaders ultimately wanted to protect and uplift the Black community.
“They’re both interested in freedom and they’re going to use different paths to get there,” said Joseph. “For Malcolm, this idea of dignity is really important, and dignity is something that is God-given. Whereas King is looking more at citizenship, which is the external recognition of dignity. King is looking towards opening up public accommodations through civil disobedience in a way that Malcolm pushes back against.”
LEFT: Malcolm X, played by Aaron Pierre, stands during Temple in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
RIGHT: Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Martin Luther King Jr. in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
“I HOPE WHEN PEOPLE WATCH THE SHOW, THEY’RE REMINDED THAT KING AND MALCOLM WERE FIGHTING FOR, AND ULTIMATELY DIED FOR, THE SAME CAUSE.”
– Jeff Stetson
Episode 3, “Protect Us,” shows King (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) juggling his desire to protect his family with his belief in nonviolence, while Malcolm (played by Aaron Pierre) exhibits his trademark militarism. Viewers will see both men find power in their chosen expressions of activism, as well as criticize the other’s tactics.
“I hope when people watch the show, they’re reminded that King and Malcolm were fighting for, and ultimately died for, the same cause,” said Stetson. “I hope it allows people to consider whether there’s anything we can do to carry the message forward in our own ways.”
TOP: Martin Luther King Jr., played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. (center right), and Ralph Abernathy, played by Hubert Point-Du Jour (back right), in jail in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
BOTTOM: Malcolm X, played by Aaron Pierre, speaks during a debate from prison as seen in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
Wives, mothers and movement-makers
Stetson says he’s most proud of how “Genius: MLK/X” intentionally highlights the roles of women in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly King’s wife Coretta Scott King (played by Weruche Opia) and X’s wife Betty Shabazz (played by Jayme Lawson).
LEFT: King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, played by Weruche Opia, in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
RIGHT: X’s wife, Betty X, played by Jayme Lawson, in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
“It’s really important to understand the role of these women as political thinkers, as intellectuals and as theorists, who are organizing alongside their husbands and thinking about what role black women should play in the movement”
Peniel Joseph
“The writers spent a lot of time making sure that the wives were depicted in such a way that we see how important and influential they are in the Civil Rights movement because of the relationships they had with their husbands,” said Stetson. “Both of them were partners; they weren’t just spouses that took care of the family. That’s particularly true with Coretta, who had been involved in the anti-war movement before her husband was.”
Episode five, titled “Matriarchs,” gives glimpses of Betty Shabazz and Coretta Scott King’s childhoods. Coretta was a soprano who dreamed of singing on stages across the country, while Betty studied nursing and shared with Malcolm her visions of a free clinic. The episode shows how both women balanced those passions with their roles as mothers and wives of well-known leaders.
“It’s really important to understand the role of these women as political thinkers, as intellectuals and as theorists, who are organizing alongside their husbands and thinking about what role black women should play in the movement,” said Joseph. “The show also offers a critique of the movement, which often failed to highlight the work of Black women.”
TOP: Betty Shabazz, played by Jayme Lawson, and Malcolm X, played by Aaron Pierre, embrace with their children in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
BOTTOM: Coretta Scott King, played by Weruche Opia, and Betty Shabazz, played by Jayme Lawson, in “Genius: MLK/X.” (National Geographic/Richard DuCree)
By the end of “Genius: MLK/X,” viewers have seen X and King more than just leaders, but as three dimensional humans, who despite their doubts and insecurities are able to impact history.
“I love that the show is called Genius,” says Stetson. “Both Malcolm and King are geniuses who deserve respect and admiration. Sometimes there’s an idea that if you embrace one leader, you have to reject the other, but I wanted to show it’s possible to embrace both.”
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