Biographer Jonathan Eig found that African-American historian Alex Haley faked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s criticism of Malcolm X. He played up their infamous rivalry.

While doing a little digging on King for an upcoming biography at Duke University, Eig found an unedited transcript. of an interview between Haley and the celebrated civil rights leader. Haley asked King how he felt about X’s fight for civil rights and criticism of nonviolence.

“I totally disagree with many of his political and philosophical views, as I understand them,” King said, according to the transcript Eig found. “I don’t want to seem to sound as if I feel so self-righteous, or absolutist, that I think I have the only truth, the only way. Maybe he does have some of the answer. But I know that I have so often felt that I wished that he would talk less of violence, because I don’t think that violence can solve our problem. And in his litany of expressing the despair of the Negro, without offering a positive, creative approach, I think that he falls into a rut sometimes.”

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This proved that King did not feel that X was “fiery” and “demagogic.” In fact, he respected X’s sentiments. “We’ve been teaching people for decades, for generations, that King had this harsh criticism of Malcolm X,” Eig told The Washington Post, “and it’s just not true.”

While researching King at Duke University for an upcoming biography, Eig found an unedited transcript of the interview between the civil rights leader and Haley, according to The Post.

Who is Jonathan Eig?

Jonathan Eig is a journalist and biographer. He has also written five books. His most recent book is Ali: A Life, which is a biography of Muhammad Ali.

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Eig was born on April 26, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Monsey, New York. 

He attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He graduated in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree. After college, he worked as a news reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Dallas Morning News, Chicago magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. 

In May 2010, Eig appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He has appeared in two PBS documentaries—Prohibition and Jackie Robinson.

He is married to Jennifer Tescher and has three children. He lives in Chicago.