Manning Marable Wins Posthumous Pulitzer Prize For Malcolm X Book

Author awarded for his controversial account of Black Muslim leader’s life

The man who spent a lifetime penning a historical account of Malcolm X’s life didn’t live to see the work published, nor see it awarded journalism’s top prize.

Late author and Columbia University professor Manning Marable was awarded the Pultizer Prize for history on Monday. “Malcolm X; A Life Reinvention,” a nearly 500-page and meticulously detailed book, made headlines last year, after criticism from the Black Muslin leader’s children.

From an Associated Press report:

Years in the making, the book was widely praised, although some of Malcolm X’s children objected to the troubled portrait Marable offered of the activist’s marriage to Betty Shabazz.

"It is so rewarding to see Manning's work honored as a landmark achievement in the documentation of 20th century American history," Wendy Wolf, associate publisher at Viking, said in a statement.

Loop 21 contributing editor Keli Goff interviewed lead researcher on the Manning book, Zaheer Ali, last August.

To view the rest of the interview, visit Loop 21’s YouTube channel.