‘Genius: MLK/X’ Clip: Aaron Pierre’s Malcolm X Rallies Supporters With Stirring Speech | Exclusive Video

The newest installment of National Geographic’s “Genius” series centers on civil rights icons Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and of course through the course of the series, it spotlights their transformative speeches that spurred a nationwide movement.

In TheWrap’s exclusive clip from “Genius: MLK/X,” Aaron Pierre’s Malcolm X rallies new supporters for the social movement as he delivers a stirring speech at the Nation of Islam in Detroit, MI.

“White man with his shackles and bondage has convinced us that even the simplest of rights, like freedom of education, are up for negotiation, and we fell for it,” Pierre’s Malcolm X says in the clip. “Hook, line and sinker.”

The activist continues by drawing a thread between racial injustice across both Northern and Southern cities including Detroit, Philadelphia and Chicago, saying “the same truth exists up and down the so-called land of the free — we’re all still negotiating something that should be ours.”

“So what’s the solution?” he continues. “Pride and dignity within self. Carry about who we are and when we understand our worth and have pride within it, so too will everyone else, and through Islam, and the leadership of the honorable Elijah Muhammad, this will be our foundation as we move forward.”

As the civil rights leader asks the congregation for their commitment, it’s clear Malcolm has won over the crowd as he receives a standing ovation.

The fourth installment in the “Genius” anthology series — which follows past seasons about Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin — centers on both Malcolm X as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who is played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.

While the pair only met once, the show follows the visionaries through their parallel journeys and formative beginnings through their complex lives as husbands, fathers, brothers and sons as they shaped the civil rights movement. Weruche Opia and Jayme Lawson star alongside Pierre and Harrison Jr as the men’s wives, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, respectively.

The first two episodes of “Genius: MLK/X” premiere Thursday, Feb. 1 on National Geographic and ABC at  9 p.m. PT, with two new episodes launching every Thursday.

The post ‘Genius: MLK/X’ Clip: Aaron Pierre’s Malcolm X Rallies Supporters With Stirring Speech | Exclusive Video appeared first on TheWrap.