Saturday, August 21, 2010 Jacqueline Clay Chester presented "A Conversation between Malcolm X and President Barack Obama." I invited several of my friends to partake in this docu-play and to our surprise it was totally different than what we expected. Without any pre-conceived notions I believed the play would be about How Obama was doing in office, racial relations and the way Malcolm views the change American has taken on. SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
The play actually talked about the background of the two men. Focusing more on what made them into the men they are/were. Jacqueline Clay Chester said she chose to not take a political standpoint between that's not what attracts her to the two subjects. She wanted to focus more on their comparisons and significant events that shaped them into leaders. For example both Malcolm X and Barack Obama are the product of an interracial relationship. Obama and Malcolm X lost their fathers at a young age and dealy heavily with the issue of the color of their skin.
I thought it was very informative for the simple fact that not many documentaries or people place emphasis on the past that has shaped their present. Everyone knows that Malcolm X was a muslim and had a deep rooted hatred for white people. But do they analyze the reasoning behind his madness and how towards the end of their death, he and Martin Luther King Jr., had similar thoughts. Or how Barack Obama was teased so badly because of his name he encouraged children to call him Barry.
However, I was kind of upset to find out that it would not go into racial relations and Baracks stance on certain situations. Situations such as the Oscar Grant trial and the killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones. I was extremely pleased that Malcolm X and Barack Obama discussed both the impact of Jeremiah Wright and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad impact on their lives. Both men admitted to have looked at those individuals as father figures and were disappointed to have separated from them.
Jacqueline Clay Chester is looking to expand on the play with a part two and hopefully continue to travel to different cities. What would you say if you met Malcolm X or Barack Obama?
Malcolm X:
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