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Nestled
on the west side of the world famous APOLLO theater lies a small office
filled with artifacts, books, photographs, newspaper articles, and memorabilia
of Black life in America. Dr. Preston Wilcox is an urban archaeologist
who has been collecting, documenting and preserving one of the largest
bodies of information concerning African American Society for over thirty
years. Mr. Wilcox said he is "IDENTIFYING THE PROPER PROPAGANDA, SO
THAT PEOPLE CAN GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO DO WHAT THEY HAVE TO
DO TO EMPOWER, TO THINK, AND ACT FOR THEMSELVES."
Dr.
Wilcox began collecting information on February 21,1965, the day Malcolm
X was assassinated. Malcolm was a good friend of Preston and his death
really took a toll on him. Dr. Wilcox first became acquainted with Malcolm
while teaching a Community Organization seminar at Columbia University.
Malcolm spoke to a group of students and falculty and after that first
visit, Malcolm and Preston shared a ride uptown.
Malcolm X attended eight years of school. He basically educated himself and although Preston has met a lot of great educators in his life, he found Malcolm to be the most knowledgeable. Therefore, none were considered his peer according to Preston.
Preston
also admired Martin Luther King for his nonviolent struggles for the
good of all man kind. He said "MALCOLM WANTED US TO BE MEN, MARTIN WANTED
US TO BE MORE THAN MEN". From my perspective, Preston implied that Malcolm
X wanted blacks to stand up and fight like the men they are. However,
Martin wanted all people to rise above that. He wanted blacks and whites
to reach a new level of existence.
Preston recalled how Martin was disliked by a lot of people in Harlem. He was booed off of stages during speeches in Harlem. He remembered the time when Martin was stabbed with a letter opener while in a department store on 125th Street. Martin refused to let anyone remove the letter opener from his body. When he arrived at the hospital, the doctor informed him that if the weapon had been removed, he would have died instantly. Although Dr. King was distrusted by some in the Harlem community, Preston said his death had an even greater impact on Harlemites than when Malcolm was killed. He remembers much weeping in the streets at that time. MARCUS GARVEY, SOJOURNER TRUTH,FREDRICK DOUGLAS and JOHN HENRY CLARKE were all powerful residents of Harlem whose achievements and history influenced Preston greatly. There are many others who hold a place in Preston's memories. Preston met Libian President Mumar Quadafi and served in the army with Jazz musician James Moody. Preston
spoke of how 'back in the day', residents in the neighborhood took an
active role in raising the youth. He also told me how painful it is
for him to have watched Harlem deteriorate over the years. "HARLEM HAS
A SPECIAL PLACE ON THE CONTINENT" Preston states. "People from around
the world want to visit Harlem before they die. THE VALIDITY OF THIS
COUNTRY AS A DEMOCRACY IS TESTED OUT IN HARLEM." Preston recalls Fidel
Castro visiting Harlem and talking to the residents in order to get
a sense of this democracy and whether it actually takes place. Dr. Wilcox is currently working with the Malcolm X Memorial Museum. He wants some sort of institution to display his as well as others' work. He concluded the interview by saying, "I'm of the notion of sharing information and not hoarding it. Spreading it around, not necessarily telling people what to think, but have them exposed to [the knowledge]."
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