Guyette is a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in English and is a longtime journalist. In this essay, Guyette talks about racism and the spiritual journey made by Malcolm X.

The purpose of the novelist, James Baldwin explained in a 1962 New York Times Book Review essay, "involves attempting to tell as much of the truth as one can bear, and then a little more." His "scenario" based on Alex Haley's The Autobiography Of Malcolm X achieves that goal, revealing one extraordinary man's remarkable journey through the dark heart of American racism. Although based on a true story, it contains all the hallmarks of epic fiction, with the hero overcoming tremendous hardship to reach the promised land of enlightenment.

It is not surprising that Baldwin found inspiration in the story of Malcolm, whose struggle against bigotry propelled him along a journey of self-discovery...