[CIVIL RIGHTS]. DAVIS, Ossie (1917-2005). Typed document signed in ink ("Ossie Davis"), in response to a magazine editor's question asking why he eulogized Malcolm X.
4pp, 8 1/2 x 11 in., light spots of discoloration to first page. Heading reads, "Ossie Davis / On Malcolm X." Davis defends his eulogy, and Malcolm X, in part: "He also knew that every Negro who did not challenge on the spot every instance of racism, overt or covert, committed against him and his people, who chose instead to swallow his spit and go on smiling, was an Uncle Tom and a traitor, without balls or guts, or any other commonly accepted aspects of manhood!"Provenance: Acquired directly from Ossie Davis 3 decades ago (consignor note). Davis was an actor and one of the most notable black directors of his generation, along with Melvin Van Peebles and Gordon Parks. He and his wife Ruby Dee were well known activists during the Civil Rights movement and were close friends to Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other icons of the era. It was Davis, that alongside Ahmed Osman, delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Malcolm X on 27 February 1965. He re-read part of this eulogy at the end of Spike Lee's film "Malcolm X."
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Property from a 35-Year Collection from the Southern United States

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