Les Payne is the author of the majority of the book. He compiled thirty years of research with the goal of writing the definitive biography of Malcolm X. He interviewed everyone he could find who had ever known Malcolm. A speech he heard Malcolm X deliver when he was young convinced him that he should be proud of his blackness. He writes that Malcolm helped him break his cycle of self-loathing. Tamara Payne is Les’s daughter. After Les died unexpectedly, she completed the book.

Malcolm X—born Malcolm Little—is the main figure of The Dead Are Arising. As a child, he is reckless, clever, a daredevil, an attention seeker, and a small-time con artist. He is precocious but uses his abilities to make quick money. He internalizes the teachings of Marcus Garvey as his parents pass them on to him. Malcolm craves respect and power as a youth. Women love him, but he uses them to feel powerful and in control.

Malcolm goes to prison for his role in a robbery. In prison, he is angry, defiant, and an atheist. An inmate named John Bembry awakens Malcolm to the power of words, rhetoric, statistics, and history. He experiences a spiritual awakening in prison and changes his name to Malcolm X.