In Genius: MLK/X episode 7, both Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre) are under intense scrutiny and surveillance by the FBI. Martin in particular experiences the agency's wrath as they send a mysterious package to Coretta (Weruche Opia) in an attempt to undermine his marriage.
Elsewhere in the episode, Martin and Malcolm X finally meet during a chance encounter in DC as important civil rights legislation is trying to pass in Congress. Only a few pictures and words are shared between the two.
What was in the package? And what really happened during the first and only meeting between the two civil rights leaders? Here's what we found out.
What did the FBI send Coretta about Martin Luther King Jr?
The fiction
Coretta arrives at the King's home in Atlanta and sees a thick brown envelope sitting on her steps. She's puzzled by the package as it has no mailing address, meaning someone dropped it off for her to find. As she takes it into the house, a man posing as a telephone company employee is suspended in air near a pole and tells someone that she received the package.
Later, Coretta and Martin are on the phone and she shares that she received the envelope. In it was a letter calling him a fraud and issuing a threat. When he asks what else is in the package she neglects to share there was a picture of him in close proximity with a woman and audio reels. Instead, Coretta tells him the remaining items can be discussed when he gets back home.
The fact
According to The New York Times Magazine, biographer David Garrow noted that a package was sent to the King residence and Coretta opened it, expecting to find a recording of one of Martin's speeches. Instead, there was a scathing letter addressed to King that called him a "fraud," "an evil, abnormal beast" and an "animal." The letter alleged he was not the person the public knew him to be and accused him of having several affairs. Furthermore, the letter insisted he has "34 days" to do what the author claims King knew he had to do.
What is often referred to as the "suicide letter" may have been "written anonymously," but historians have named the FBI and its former director, J. Edgar Hoover, as the culprits behind the document. It was meant to deter King from wanting to become even more involved in the Civil Rights Movement. You can take a look at it below.
Now audiotapes are alluded to have accompanied the note in the package, but they seem to pale in comparison to the letter.
What happened when Martin Luther King Jr met Malcolm X?
The fiction
Both King and Malcolm X are walking on Capitol Hill with their camps in 1964 as the pending Civil Rights Act is being contentiously argued in Congress. As the press surrounds both men, Malcolm X walks up to King and shakes his hand. The two smile and pose for the cameras as they joke about who would be more adversely impacted by the optics of them together. The moment is incredibly brief and ultimately only pleasantries are shared.
The fact
Biography reports that on March 8, 1964, Malcolm X officially severed his connection to the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad, which allowed him to follow his heart and be more active in the fight for civil rights. Later in the month, he took a trip to Capitol Hill to watch Senate hearings regarding the proposed Civil Rights Act. Coincidentally, King was also in DC to do the same thing.
As King was wrapping up a press conference, Malcolm X approached him and the two exchanged greetings while the press snapped photos. Malcolm X allegedly told King, "I'm throwing myself into the heart of the civil rights struggle." The entire encounter was quick and would be the only time the two reportedly met.
It was suspected that Malcolm X was going to attempt to meet King in February 1965 in Selma, Ala., but King and other leaders wound up being imprisoned for participating in a protest. While Malcolm X didn't meet Martin on this occasion, he did meet privately with Coretta.
Episodes of Genius: MLK/X continue to air on Thursdays on National Geographic and become available on Fridays on Hulu and Disney Plus.
