The political and social relevancy of Malcolm X: The stability of African American political attitudes

Typically, the political and ideological foundations of media-related events hold little significance for the alteration of political attitudes and behavior. But;this weak relationship may be attributed to weak stimuli, and the influence of different media events is likely to be dependent upon the strength with which certain political attitudes and beliefs are held. We examine the extent to which a major media event-the film Malcolm X and its reinforcement in the media-influences political attitudes among African Americans. We find that individuals who saw the film and received reinforcement from a televised documentary became more racially conscious, more concerned about race relations, and more knowledgeable about Malcolm X the man. When age differences in the perceptions of Malcolm X are considered separately, younger African Americans born after the civil rights movement appear more positively disposed toward him.