Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X Arm Wrestle Their Philososphies

Although Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X posed for one photo together before a press conference in 1964, they kept their distance from each other. Pin Points Theatre’s one-act play, The Meeting, examines an imaginary meeting between the two black leaders and explores what may have taken place if Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X had engaged in a lengthy conversation. The Meeting will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 17 in the Building J Theatre, Room J143, at Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine.

In The Meeting, Malcolm X invites Martin Luther King to a Harlem hotel room where he and his family have moved to after their home was firebombed. Malcolm X has a feeling his life will be shortened by the circling violence surrounding the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X was assassinated a week after the pair had their imaginary meeting. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated three years later; both men were 39 years old when they were killed.

The conversation quickly turns into a sort of confrontation as they debate their opposing views on securing civil rights justice with Malcolm X’s view “by any means necessary”, versus King’s philosophy of nonviolent opposition with sit-ins and marches.

During a lighter moment, the two men take their debate from the theoretical to the physical, engaging in an arm-wrestling match. Through that scene, The Meeting strives to demonstrate the human and more personal side of the two historical figures, according to Ersky Freeman, the actor/director who plays Malcolm X. “My goal is to bring out this and other human traits that are described by their families, but are not normally associated with the two men,” says Freeman.

The performance is free and everyone is welcome. For more information, call the College’s Student Activities Office at 847.925.6100 or visit harpercollege.edu