Page 532 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

is referring to an article by the comedian and activist published by British GQ in
2015, which proved a major turning point in the actor’s research into Malcolm X.
‘[Gregory] said Malcolm was a dear, dear friend of his, a sweet and bashful man,
kind and good-humoured, and if he was here now listening to us talk, he’d be so
embarrassed; and that the lacerating demagogue that we all know, or we were so
used to seeing, was really a character that he slipped in and out of, but wasn’t the
sum total of who he was. And I was like, fucking hell man, that’s cool. So let’s go for
this. Let’s really investigate the stakes of what it means to be the poster child for
Black America and to really explore what it means to put your life on the line for your
beliefs and for Black people and the cost of putting the fear of God in white America
and demanding respect, not asking for it. Speaking your mind, standing up for
yourself, talking the truth – what’s the cost of that? And the cost was huge. It cost
him his life and it cost him his safety and it cost him his peace of mind. A real fucking
hero. And he was a hero because he was vulnerable. He was a hero because he
must have felt scared and still fucking did it. That, to me, is a real hero.’

Writer Amelia White.