Harlem's Schomburg Center Acquires Lost Malcom X Writings

HARLEM, NY — Writings by civil rights icon Malcolm X are coming to Harlem after being held by a private collector for more than two decades, the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture announced.

The writings include the full 241-page manuscript of "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" with notes by the author and his collaborator Alex Haley, a previously unpublished chapter of the autobiography title "The Negro" and literary "fragments" and short drafts written or typed on small pieces of paper, the Schomburg Center said in a press release.

"The Negro" is thought to be one of three unpublished chapters from the groundbreaking "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," and researchers are not sure why the chapters were removed from the finished version, according to a press release.

“These materials are extremely significant, as they can provide researchers with extensive new insights into the writing process and thoughts of one of the most important and influential figures and books of the 20th Century,” Schomburg Center Director Kevin Young said in a statement. “The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a monumental work; to actually see how that book took shape through Malcolm X’s handwritten corrections and notes is very powerful."

The writings will arrive at the Schomburg Center, located on Malcolm X Boulevard betwee West 135th and 136th streets, in a matter of weeks, library officials said. The materials will be made available for public use and people interested in checking them out should make an appointment with the Schomburg Center’s manuscripts, archives and rare books division.

The Schomburg Center acquired the writings in an auction, according to library officials. The writings were last owned by a private collector who bought them at the sale of Alex Haley’s estate in 1992.

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