As ripples emanate from the center of a pond interrupted by a tossed stone, the impact and influence of Malcolm X had a similar effect upon Black Power, Black Arts, and Black Liberation Theology Movements of the Civil Rights era in the United States. Introducing Malcolm X’s contribution to the legacy of “Black messianic-nationalism” which accentuated “the unique spiritual importance of Black people,” espoused a recovery of “a glorious Black past,” and voiced critical opposition to American society, Corbman establishes how Malcolm served as the catalyst which would send ripples throughout the theological developments of the 1960’s and beyond. Framed within a broader view of salvation history in which God ultimately vanquishes oppressors unto the liberation of the oppressed, Malcolm’s message regarding the inevitability of Black sovereignty would come to color the views of other seminal theological voices of the era.  Malcolm would inspire others who, in various ways, advocated revolutionary transformation of unjust segregation which plagued America, and who sought to discover how contemplative religious practice could eventuate in social justice praxis.   

The book teaches one about Malcolm by examining what he taught others. Examining the evolution of Black Power and Arts Movements, Corbman traces Malcolm’s influence on key figures within the movements, such as Vincent Harding, James Baldwin, Sonia Sanchez, Albert Cleage (Black Christian Nationalist Movement, Shrine of the Black Madonna, and the Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church), James Cone, etc. Surveying the aforesaid, the reader is afforded a sense of the shifts which take place within the Movement as zealous prophetic apocalypticism regarding imminent divine judgment and revolution incarnated by the “Black Messiah” take on more pneumatological nuances as the Black community, itself, comes to be seen as “God possessed” and an embodiment of the revolutionary Holy Spirit. It comes to be held that a prerequisite to revolution is the formation of a Black community underpinned by a deep mystical experience and intentional psychological self-consciousness. With Cone, Malcolm’s message becomes translated “into the specific vocabulary of academic Christian theology” and “into the world of Christian systematic theology.” Herein, too, one is introduced to a trajectory of thought which moves from an accent upon the conflict between the “Black Christ” and the “demonic powers of whiteness” and the inevitability of God’s wrath upon white oppressors, to a focus on traditional Black folklore, music, and ecclesial structures as sources for the endurance of Black hope, vitality, and resistance amid persistent oppression.    

Those who sought to bridge the contemplative life with socio-political activism were also touched by the flow of Malcolm’s ripples. Corbman considers Malcolm’s influence upon such figures as Thomas Merton, Julius Lester, and Gwendolyn (Robinson) Zoharah Simmons (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and the Atlanta Project), before offering a concluding chapter on “heirs of Malcolm X.” Said heirs, like Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez (Young Lords) and Sylvia Rivera and Marsha Johnson (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), would be inspired by Malcolm as they sought to organize communities dedicated to communal empowerment and self-determination for Puerto Ricans and LGBTQ+ folk, respectively, thereby ensuring that the language of Malcolm X continued to find voice in liberation groups and movements.

As I read Corbman’s book I was drawn back to when I first read Malcolm’s autobiography as a young man 30+ years ago. I was not the same after doing so. Some works raise to consciousness things we harbor subconsciously and force us to confront them with deliberateness and intentionality, leaving us altered, if not transformed. Corbman’s book had a similar effect as it introduced me to the evolution of the Black Power and Arts Movements and their seminal voices. For those wishing to learn more about the Black Power and Arts Movements, the book is an excellent resource. What one learns of Malcolm X is primarily learned through those who learned from him. As such, the book is a testimony to Malcolm’s powerful witness and enduring influence.