The Future of the Past

The Met’s production of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X is as much about the historical past as it is about the political future. By chronicling its protagonist’s development, Anthony Davis’s work asks audiences to consider not just what Malcolm X endured but also what he sought to accomplish before his life was cut tragically short. Indeed, Malcolm’s assassination, which concludes the opera, occurred within a year of his founding of two new organizations: Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), a secular group. Drawing on the aesthetic vocabulary of Afrofuturism, director Robert O’Hara’s staging conjures imagined futures that never came to pass—both in Malcolm’s lifetime and in ours.

In this activity, students will examine textual and visual primary sources to gain deeper understanding of the OAAU at the time of its founding and in the aftermath of Malcolm’s murder. Then, they will parse the meanings and methods of Afrofuturism to create their own materials that evoke the history of the OAAU while gesturing toward the mandates of contemporary struggles for social justice, both in the United States and abroad. In so doing, they will be able to reimagine the study of history as one way to answer the question: What version of the future is worth fighting for?

STEP 1. REVIEW

Before students dive into any activities, they should have a baseline knowledge of the OAAU and its place in Malcolm X’s trajectory. You are welcome to read and/or distribute the Deep Dive essay “A Nation within a Nation” included in this guide, which outlines the major Black nationalist movements that shaped Malcolm’s life, culminating in his founding of the OAAU in 1964. The most important facts to bear in mind are as follows:

• In 1964, Malcolm is suspended by the Nation of Islam (NOI) for his remarks concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
• Malcolm then leaves the NOI and founds a new organization, Muslim Mosque, Inc., whose membership largely comprises former NOI followers.
• Malcolm makes the Hajj, or Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Upon his return from Mecca, Malcolm establishes the OAAU as a secular organization.
• The OAAU is modeled on the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to what is today called the African Union—an intergovernmental group promoting political and economic collaboration among African nations in the wake of decolonization.
• The OAAU intends to bridge the gap between Black communities on the African continent and those in the Western hemisphere, including the United States, Caribbean, and Latin America.
• Following Malcolm’s murder, the OAAU is taken over by his sister Ella Collins. (Ella is the same sister who took custody of Malcolm when he was a teenager.) Ella leads the OAAU until it is dissolved in 1986.