It is based on the life of the civil rights leader Malcolm X.
The opera premiered in a full production at the American Music Theater Festival (AMTF) in Philadelphia on October 9, 1985, and was subsequently revised and expanded for a production at the New York City Opera (NYCO) on September 28, 1986.
The latter was listed as the world premiere in accordance with an agreement made between then-NYCO artistic director Beverly Sills, and AMTF directors Eric Salzman and Marjorie Samoff.
[1][2][3] The Oakland Opera Theater performed the work in June 2006.
[4] New York City Opera presented an abridged concert version on May 12, 2010, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.