Characters
Archie
West Indian Archie is an older man who takes Malcolm under his wing and teaches
him how to make a living running numbers, an early (and illegal) form of the
contemporary lottery system. Archie thinks of Malcolm as his son. However, when
Malcolm claims that he has a winning number, and Archie has to pay him a large
sum of money, Archie accuses Malcolm of cheating. In Archie’s mind, this means
that he must kill Malcolm to save face. Because of this, Malcolm leaves New
York City and organizes a ring of thieves, which eventually leads him to a
prison term.
There is one more scene with Archie later in the script. He is much older and is losing his memory. Although he remembers Malcolm, he cannot recall what happened to force Malcolm to leave New York City.
Honorable Messenger
Although this character never appears in the story, he is often referred to as
the head of the Black Muslim Movement, the Nation of Islam. He sends letters to
Malcolm while Malcolm is in prison. He dictates most of the circumstances of
Malcolm’s life once Malcolm is out of jail. It is suggested that the Honorable
Messenger arranges that Malcolm be assassinated.
Laura
Laura is one of Malcolm’s first loves. She is a young black woman, living in
Boston, who in the beginning of the script represents innocence. Malcolm thinks
she is too young and inexperienced for him. He leaves her for Sophia. Later,
Malcolm runs into Laura at a bar in New York City. She is with a white man, who
eventually leads her to drugs. Toward the end of the script, Laura is a drug
junkie when Malcolm meets her again. He tries to convert her to Islam, but
Laura says it is too late. Laura always tells Malcolm that he is smart enough
to become whatever he wants to be.
The Leader
See Honorable Messenger
Earl Little
Earl is Malcolm X’s father. He is a preacher living in the rural South. He
preaches the philosophy of Marcus Garvey, a nationalist who believed that all
African Americans should move back to Africa and create a new nation. The Ku
Klux Klan continually harassed Earl. He eventually moves his family to the
North. However, due to his outspokenness, his home is burned to the ground, and
he is allegedly beaten and killed.
Louise Little
Louise is Malcolm’s mother. She is a lightskinned woman who wishes she had
darker skin because she hates what the white people around her are like. She is
pregnant with Malcolm when she insists that her husband move the family to the
North. She is tired of the children living in fear of the Ku Klux Klan. Upon
her husband’s death, the insurance company refuses to pay off the life
insurance premium. Because of an inability to provide for her children, they
are taken away from her. Louise has a mental breakdown and ends up in an
asylum.
Malcolm Little
See Malcolm X
Luther
Luther is another father figure to Malcolm. They first meet in prison. Luther guides Malcolm, helping him to temper his anger, then encouraging him to become educated. Luther converts Malcolm to Islam. Luther is a high official in the Black Muslim Movement. He encourages, and is supportive of, Malcolm until Malcolm becomes too popular. Then Luther becomes jealous of him. It is suggested that Luther may have been the one who, under the dictates of the Honorable Messenger, plotted Malcolm’s death. Luther is the father of Sidney, and it is through Sidney that Malcolm discovers Luther’s disloyalty to him. Luther’s...
(This entire section contains 1489 words.)
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hypocrisy is exposed in the end. He is unfaithful to his wife and is a seeker of power rather than a seeker of truth that he had initially claimed.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X is the main character of this screenplay, a character who is based,
sometimes loosely, on a real person. Malcolm was born in the rural South, and
as an adult he lives in New York and Boston. He is a country boy who learns the
ways of the city through the examples of pimps and number runners. When he
graduates to petty theft and then burglary, he is caught and sent to jail. In
jail, he meets Luther, who converts him to Islam.
Both an intelligent and passionate man, Malcolm, through his presence and ability to instill enthusiasm of new ideas into those around him, quickly gains power. He embarks on a national tour, converting thousands of disenfranchised African Americans to Islam.
As his personal appeal and power increase, so does the jealousy of the leaders of the Black Muslim Movement. Malcolm becomes so impassioned about his beliefs that he often speaks his thoughts rather than foster the beliefs of the Black Muslims, as dictated by the ruling clerics. In an attempt to control him, stories about him are removed from the Black Muslim newspaper. Later, the leaders force him into silence. Finally, he is told that people in the Movement have placed threats on his life. When he learns of this, he breaks away from the main branch of the Nation of Islam and starts his own mosque. In the end, he is assassinated by alleged members of the Black Muslims as he is giving a speech, with his wife and children looking on.
Omowale
See Malcolm X
Mr. Ostrovski
Mr. Ostrovski is Malcolm’s school counselor. When Malcolm goes to Mr. Ostrovski
to ask how he might enter college to study law, Mr. Ostrovski tells Malcolm
that because he is black, he should not expect to be a lawyer. This causes
Malcolm to lose all interest in attending college and shortly after, he leaves
with Shorty to move to Boston.
Betty Shabazz
Betty becomes Malcolm’s wife. She is teaching at the mosque when he meets her.
Luther blesses their marriage. Betty is extremely supportive of Malcolm. She
worries about his being away from home so much. Later, she becomes suspicious
of Luther’s jealousy of Malcolm, and she warns her husband. When Malcolm
travels to Mecca and comes home a changed man, she understands him better than
any one else can. She tells him that it is hard for the people to accept his
changes because they have not witnessed the things that he has experienced.
Malcolm changes his mind, at the last minute, and invites her to hear the
speech he planned to deliver at the Audubon Ballroom the day that he is
assassinated.
El Hajj Malik El Shabazz
See Malcolm X
Shorty
Shorty is a friend of Malcolm’s. Malcolm meets him while he is still in high
school. Shorty is a little older than Malcolm, and when he meets him, Shorty is
a pimp. Malcolm becomes disillusioned with New York, and Shorty takes him to
Boston. Shorty teaches him how to be a good ‘‘darky,’’ to get bigger tips from
white people. Shorty also takes Malcolm to the barbershop to have his hair
chemically straightened. Later, Shorty works with Malcolm in a series of
big-time burglaries. He ends up in jail at the same time that Malcolm is
sentenced.
Sidney
Sidney is the son of Luther. He befriends Malcolm, who helps him expand the
circulation of the Black Muslim newspaper. When Malcolm becomes too popular,
Luther orders Sidney to stop publishing stories about Malcolm in the newspaper.
Luther is concerned that Malcolm is getting too much coverage already. Sidney
respects his father’s wishes, although he does not agree with them. Eventually,
Sidney is told to place a bomb in Malcolm’s car. Sidney cannot go this far. He
defies whomever it was who gave this order. (It is not clear if it was Luther.)
When Malcolm decides to start his own branch of the Black Muslim religion,
Sidney leaves his father and goes with him. After Malcolm travels to Mecca,
Sidney believes that Malcolm has sold out to white society when Malcolm
declares that black people should not hate white people. Sidney then leaves
Malcolm’s new mosque and ends up in jail when he turns to burglary. Malcolm
visits him in prison, then goes to Luther in support of Sidney.
Sophia
Sophia is a white woman who loves Malcolm. She is sophisticated and well off
financially. She does not love Malcolm enough to marry him, but she does become
involved in his ring of thieves, casing the homes of wealthy people, telling
Malcolm where their money is kept and how to get inside. Sophia ends up being
sentenced to jail at the same time that Malcolm is.
Mrs. Swerlin
Mrs. Swerlin is Malcolm’s foster parent. She runs a home for orphaned children
and for children who are taken from their parents. She sees promise in Malcolm
and encourages his studies. However, one of the final conversations that
Malcolm overhears betrays Mrs. Swerlin’s prejudices.
West Indian Archie
See Archie
