Michael X (17 August 1933 – 16 May 1975), born Michael de Freitas, was a

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...

-born self-styled

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

ary and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

in 1960s

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was also known as Michael Abdul Malik and Abdul Malik. Convicted of murder in 1972, Michael X was executed by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary' ...

in 1975 in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munic ...

's Royal Gaol.

Biography

Michael de Freitas was born in Belmont, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to an " Obeah-practising black woman from Barbados and an absent Portuguese father from St Kitts". Busby, Margaret
"Notting Hill to death row"
(review of ''Michael X: A Life In Black And White'', by John Williams), ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 8 August 2008. Encouraged by his mother to pass for white, "Red Mike" was a headstrong youth and was expelled from school at the age of 14. In 1957 he emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he settled in London and worked as an enforcer and frontman for Peter Rachman, the notorious slum landlord. He professed to dislike the role, but it paid for his lifestyle. Appearing to look for a way out, he became involved in the radical politics and groups active in and around

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Roa ...

. By the mid-1960s, he had become known as Michael X, after a hotel receptionist thought he was the "brother" of Malcolm X. "Michael X" became a well-known exponent of Black Power in London. Writing in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' in 1965, Colin McGlashan called him the "authentic voice of black bitterness." Didion, Joan (12 June 1980)
"Without Regret or Hope"
''The New York Review of Books.'' In 1965, under the name Abdul Malik, he founded the Racial Adjustment Action Society (RAAS). In 1967 he was involved with the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

/hippie organisation the

London Free School The London Free School (LFS) was founded on 8 March 1966, principally by John "Hoppy" Hopkins and Rhaune Laslett. Description The London Free School was a community action adult education project inspired by American free universities (and t ...

(LFS) through his contact with John "Hoppy" Hopkins, which both helped widen the reach of the group, at least in the Notting Hill area, and create problems with local police who disliked his involvement. Michael and the LFS were instrumental in organising the first outdoor Notting Hill Carnival later that year. Later that year, he became the first non-white person to be charged and imprisoned under the UK's Race Relations Act, which was designed to protect Britain's Black and Asian populations from discrimination. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, having been arrested on the accusation of using words likely to stir up hatred "against a section of the public in Great Britain distinguished by colour". This was after his speech at an event in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

when he said, referring to the Notting Hill race riots: "In 1958 I saw white savages kicking black women in the streets and black brothers running away. If you ever see a white laying hands on a black woman, kill him immediately." He also said "white men have no soul". In 1969, he became the self-appointed leader of a Black Power commune on Holloway Road,

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, called the "Black House". The commune was financed by a young millionaire benefactor, Nigel Samuel. Michael X said, "They've made me the archbishop of violence in this country. But that 'get a gun' rhetoric is over. We're talking of really building things in the community needed by people in the community. We're keeping a sane approach."

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

donated a bag of their hair to be auctioned for the benefit of the Black House. In what the media called "the slave collar affair", businessman Marvin Brown was enticed to The Black House, viciously attacked, and made to wear a spiked "slave" collar around his neck as Michael X and others threatened him in order to extort money. The Black House closed in the autumn of 1970. The two men found guilty of assaulting Marvin Brown were imprisoned for 18 months. The Black House burned down in mysterious circumstances, and soon Michael X and four colleagues were arrested for extortion. His bail was paid by John Lennon in January 1971. Harry, Bill, ''The John Lennon Encyclopedia'', Virgin Books, 2001. In February 1971, Michael X fled to his native Trinidad and Tobago, where he started an agricultural commune devoted to Black empowerment east of the capital,

. "The only politics I ever understand is the politics of revolution," he told the '' Trinidad Express''. "The politics of change, the politics of a completely new system." He began another commune, also called the Black House, which, in February 1972, also burned down.

Murder trial

Police who had come to the commune to investigate the fire discovered the bodies of Joseph Skerritt and Gale Benson, members of the commune. They had been hacked to death and separately buried in shallow graves. Benson, who had been going under the name Hale Kimga, was the daughter of

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Leonard F. Plugge Captain Leonard Frank Plugge (21 September 1889 – 19 February 1981) was a British radio entrepreneur and Conservative Party politician. Early years and political life Plugge was born at Walworth, only son of Frank Plugge (1864–1946), a com ...

. She had met Michael X through her relationship with

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of ...

's cousin Hakim Jamal. At the time of the discovery, Michael X and his family were in Guyana by invitation of the Guyanese Prime Minister

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1980 and then as its ...

. He was then captured in Guyana and charged with the murder of Skerritt and Benson, but was never tried for the latter crime. A witness at his trial said that Skerritt was a member of Michael X's "

Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of ...

" and had been killed by him because he refused to obey orders to attack a local police station. Michael X was found guilty and sentenced to death. The Save Malik Committee, whose members included

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member o ...

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afr ...

, Kate Millet and others, including the well-known, self-described "radical lawyer"

William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Civil ...

, who was paid by

, pleaded for clemency, but Michael X was hanged in 1975.

Legacy

Under the name Michael Abdul Malik, Michael X was the author of the autobiography ''From Michael de Freitas to Michael X'' ( André Deutsch, 1968), which was ghost-written by

John Stevenson John Stevenson may refer to: Entertainment *John Andrew Stevenson (1761–1833), Irish composer * Steve Brodie (actor) (John Stevenson, 1919–1992), American actor *John Stevenson (writer) (born 1930), British writer of erotic fiction * John Stev ...

. Michael X also left behind fragments of a novel about a romantic black hero who wins the abject admiration of the narrator, a young woman named Lena Boyd-Richardson. The novel was never completed.

Cultural references

Michael X is the subject of the essay "Michael X and the Black Power Killings in Trinidad" by V. S. Naipaul, collected in ''The Return of Eva Perón and the Killings in Trinidad'' (1980), and is also believed to be the model for the fictional character Jimmy Ahmed in Naipaul's 1975 novel '' Guerrillas''. Michael X is a character in '' The Bank Job'' (2008), a dramatisation of a real-life bank robbery in 1971. The film claims that Michael X was in possession of indecent photographs of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

and used them to avoid criminal prosecution by threatening to publish them; according to the movie plot, X killed Gale Benson because she was a British Secret Services agent and revealed where he kept the blackmail material. He was played by Peter de Jersey. Michael X and his trial are the subject of a chapter in

Geoffrey Robertson Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.

's legal memoir ''The Justice Game'' (1998). Documentary film, ''Who Needs a Heart'' (1991), is inspired by Michael X.

John Akomfrah John Akomfrah (born 4 May 1957) is a British artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist and curator of Ghanaian descent, whose "commitment to a radicalism both of politics and of cinematic form finds expression in all his films". A ...

is the director. Michael X plays a part in ''Make Believe: A True Story'' (1993), a memoir by

Diana Athill Diana Athill (21 December 1917 – 23 January 2019) was a British literary editor, novelist and memoirist who worked with some of the greatest writers of the 20th century at the London-based publishing company Andre Deutsch Ltd. Early life ...

. ''Michael X'' is the eponymous title of a play, by the writer Vanessa Walters, that takes the form of a 1960s Black Power rally and was performed a
The Tabernacle Theatre
Powis Square, London W11 (Notting Hill), in November 2008. Michael X (played by

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the L ...

) is portrayed in a scene opposite Jimi Hendrix in the 2013 film '' All Is By My Side'', based on Hendrix's early years in the music industry.

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

gave his bloodied boxing shorts that he wore when he fought Henry Cooper to Michael Abdul Malik, who is referred to as a black militant from Trinidad in '' The Greatest: My Own Story'' (1975) by Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham. Michael X is a subject in the 2021

Adam Curtis Adam Curtis (born 26 May 1955) is an English documentary filmmaker. Curtis began his career as a conventional documentary producer for the BBC throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The release of '' Pandora's Box'' (1992) marked t ...

documentary series '' Can't Get You Out of My Head''.

Biography

Murder trial

Legacy

Cultural references

See also

References

Further reading