Les Payne.
LES & TAMARA PAYNE
THE DEAD ARE ARISING: THE LIFE OF MALCOLM x (2020)
Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
Les Payne tracked down and interviewed people who had known Malcolm X - family members, street friends, cellmates, policemen and political leaders. The book was completed, after his death, by his dughter Tamara.
MEET THE AUTHOR
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF TAMARA PAYNE (76 MINUTES)
Les Payne (born 1941) grew up in Alabama, then moved with his mother to Hartford Connecticut. He graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in English, the first member of his family to attend college. He wanted a career in journalism, but found that as an African American there were no opportunities at mainstream newspapers or magazines. He instead joined the US Army, being promoted to the rank of captain. He worked there as an information officer writing general’s speeches and running an army newspaper. After leaving the army he had a distinguished career at Newsday, rising to become national editor and assistant editor for foreign and national news. Alongside his journalism he wrote several books, including his biography of Malcolm which, after Payne’s death, won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
