Malcolm X. Shaft. Two names. 1 real. 1 fictional character. But both extremely important in film and real life in terms of their impact on Black Masculinity.

Today we explore the 1971 blaxploitation classic Shaft starring Richard Roundtree, directed by Gordon Parks alongside Spike Lee's 1992 classic Malcolm X starring Denzel Washington.  

Why these 2 films? Well there's more commonalities than you may think.  Black men in leadership. Cool.  Poor & Black and at times both having similar conceptions of what being a black man is supposed to be and look like in the face of whiteness.

Following the deaths of notable civil rights leaders in the 60s like Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Fred Hampton, in the 70s many black folks and specifically Black men wanted to see themselves as powerful and win by sticking it to "The Man" even if it was just on screen.

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