35th Anniversary Reprint of the People’s College Malcolm X Study Guide
Access and download the study guide here:
Alkalimat 1990 x Pope 2025
This study guide was written in 1989 by Abdul Alkalimat as part of the practice of Peoples College to develop popular educational materials for the Black liberation movement and Black Studies. This followed the important 1985 issue of the Black Liberation Month News that focused on Malcolm X. Both were newsprint publications and were widely distributed. 50,000 copies of the Malcolm X BLM News were distributed, and 25,000 copies of the study guide were as well. Thus, we have given away over 100,000 copies of educational materials on Malcolm X.
The study guide was used to build the important 1990 New York Conference on Malcolm X: Radical Tradition and Legacy of Struggle. Writers and Readers published a second revised edition of the study guide as part of their “For Beginners” series. Pathfinder Press sued to protect their ownership of Malcolm’s words. They alleged to be acting in the interest of Betty Shabazz. They charged unfair use of quotes even though the quotes used did not in any case exceed more than one paragraph. Writers and Readers and Abdul Alkalimat were forced to back down and withdraw the remaining copies of the book. Writers and Readers then dumped the plan to prepare a new revolutionary activist oriented book for a reformist oriented narrative.
Two questions remain. What is the radical Black tradition? Who owns the radical Black tradition?
—– Abdul Alkalimat, People’s College 1990
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In November 1990, more than 3,000 people from 25 countries attended the Malcolm X: Radical Tradition and a Legacy of Struggle conference held in New York City. More than 100 speakers led 24 sessions that deeply explored, contextualized, and situated El Hajj Malik El Shabazz in the genealogy of Black radical internationalism as a Pan Africanist.
Sessions included discussions on Malcolm X in Ghana [Vicki Garvin]; Theoretical Perspectives on Malcolm [Lou Turner & Bro Abdul Alkalimat]; Malcolm in New York [Yuri Kochiyama]; new Research on Malcolm [James Cone & William Sales]; Black Liberation and Social Revolution [Abdul Rahman Muhammad Babu]; Does the Southern Struggle Still Exist? [Saladin Muhammad]; Black Women and Black Liberation: Fighting Oppression and Building Unity [Barbara Ransby & Fran Beale]; Black Workers Unity and Resistance to Economic Barbarism [General Baker & Ashaki Binta].
Several key questions animated the discussions: Has the quality of life changed for Black workers since the days of Malcolm X?; Have computers and robots impacted the lives of Black workers?; Are trade unions active contributors to the fight for Black liberation?; What is the role of Black organizations? Discuss the case of Assata Shakur; why is she forced to live in exile in Cuba?; Discuss the nature of triple oppression faced by Black women: race, class, and gender; What is the role of Feminism in the Black liberation movement? and more.
In 1990, many grassroots activists and youth sought a return to a more militant movement, continuously drawing from Malcolm X’s thought. Each generation since the 1960s, confronting unique struggles, has rediscovered Malcolm X, whose voice continues to inspire radical thinking. Brother Malcolm’s legacy endures through the love and respect of his people and freedom-loving people worldwide.
This study guide, as reprinted by BMB, was developed to provide context for us to extend the work of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz. It is our duty to study, practice, assess, and repeat [SPAR].
—– James Pope, Africa World Now 2025