Film

The Meeting

Name: The Meeting
Genre: Drama
Released: 1989
Cast: Jason Bernard, Dick Anthony Williams, Paul Benjamin

Drama

A 1989 drama imagining a private meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in 1960s Harlem. Seventy-four tense minutes of dialogue that lets two towering figures argue philosophy, strategy, and vision for Black America. Reverent but not reverential—it lets them disagree, interrupt, challenge each other. Essential viewing for anyone serious about civil rights history.

If you liked this

Selma2014

A rigorous, angry film about King's campaign for voting rights in Alabama. Directed by Ava DuVernay with David Oyelowo in a performance of real fury underneath the rhetoric. It shows the exhaustion and moral calculation behind the movement.

But Can feel didactic at moments. Some viewers find it lacks the visual invention of DuVernay's later work.

Malcolm X1992

Spike Lee's epic biopic of Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington in a career-defining role. It's visually lavish and emotionally raw—three and a half hours that don't feel like it. Captures his intellectual evolution from street hustler to minister to global figure.

But The length demands patience. Some find Lee's directorial flourishes occasionally distract from the man himself.

The Godfather1972

Seems like a detour, but it's the closest thing cinema has to The Meeting in architectural ambition: two powerful men in a room, ideology clashing with pragmatism, legacy being forged through conversation. Coppola understands power the way this film understands conviction.

But Obviously a very different story and register. If you want social realism, this is operatic and stylized.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Meeting

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Spook Who Sat by the Door1973

Both films are vitally interested in what Black Americans will actually *do* with power and self-determination. Both refuse to make white audiences comfortable.

A Black radical thriller, adapted from Sam Greenlee's novel. It imagines a CIA agent who funnels training and weapons to a guerrilla movement in Chicago. Where The Meeting is philosophical debate, this is strategy becoming action—what happens when you stop talking.

But Pulpy and occasionally clumsy in execution, made on a tiny budget by a first-time director. Some viewers will find the politics more interesting than the filmmaking itself.

Malcolm X: Make It Plain1994

A documentary that lets archival footage of Malcolm speak for itself. His actual words and presence are more electrifying than any actor can capture. Directed by Orlando Bagwell with intelligence and restraint.

But Documentary form means less dramatic propulsion. Some prefer narrative cinema's momentum to the rhythms of evidence.

Eyes on the Prize1987

The canonical documentary series on the Civil Rights Movement. Fourteen episodes that build a comprehensive picture of what King and Malcolm were responding to and fighting within. Archival footage and testimony from people who lived it.

But Fourteen hours is a commitment. The episodic structure can feel repetitive if watched too quickly.

Do the Right Thing1989

Released the same year as The Meeting, Lee's film is about Black rage, community, and the cost of non-violence in a segregated neighborhood. It's a conversation about the same questions King and Malcolm debated, but in real time, on a street corner in Brooklyn.

But Deliberately confrontational and structurally unconventional. Some find it exhausting rather than illuminating.

Killer of Sheep1978

Charles Burnett's film about ordinary Black life in LA. Hypnotic and lyrical, with zero interest in explaining itself to white audiences. A corrective to narratives that only show Black Americans in relation to white systems and struggles.

But Glacially paced, almost plotless. Shot on 16mm, it can look like a home video. Requires patience and generosity from the viewer.

4 Little Girls1997

Spike Lee documentary about the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. It's a gut punch of grief and specificity. Shows you the stakes underneath the philosophical arguments in The Meeting.

But Deeply harrowing subject matter. Images of the victims and their families are not easy. Some will find it too painful to watch.