William Manning Marable II might not have enjoyed as celebrated acareer as other notable writers from Dayton and the Miami Valley.
But his legacy will be tied to his roots as a native son who rosein the ranks in the world of academia, became an accomplished authorand researcher on African-American history and culture and asyndicated columnist who appeared in more than 100 newspapers.
Marable died April 1, on the eve of his most comprehensive andanticipated work on the life of Malcolm X. He was 60.
Manning suffered for an illness that caused him to have a doublelung transplant last year, leading to complications resulting in hisdeath.
He left behind a heralded trail of writing not unlike some of hisDayton predecessors, such as renowned poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar;Milton Caniff, a Stivers High School graduate who drew and wrotenationally-syndicated comic strips; humor columnist and author ErmaBombeck; and Baseball Hall of Fame sportswriter and Dayton DailyNews sports editor Si Burick. The late Pulitzer Prize-winning NewYork Times columnist James Reston was born in Scotland, but he spenthis teenage years in Dayton and Oakwood.
His last work
Marable was viewed as such a literary luminary and socialcommentator that his obituary appeared on the front page of The NewYork Times.
Marable's last book, 'Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,' waspublished just three days after his death and has already invokedmuch commentary, both positive and negative. Marable was able togain access to government records and information that was notavailable when Alex Haley worked with Malcolm X on his bestsellingautobiography.
Marable's book offers a contrast to Haley's account.
In the New Yorker magazine, writer David Rem-nick wrote that'although Manning Marable may not have succeeded in writing adefinitive work, his considerable scholarship does remind us howmuch is elided by any tale of a pilgrim's progress.'
His Dayton roots
Marable's family said they hope his career will not be defined byhis last massive work, but by the life he lived and work he did inthe years reaching that pinnacle. He is survived by his wife, LeithMullings, an anthropology professor; three children, twostepchildren and three grandchildren.
He graduated from Jefferson Twp. High School in 1968 and thenEarlham College in Richmond, Ind. He received his master's degreefrom the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate from the Universityof Maryland.
He wrote a syndicated column, Along the Color Line, and taught atseveral universities. He served as chairman of the black studiesdepartment at the Ohio State University. At the time of his death,Marable had been at Columbia University since 1993, where he hadbeen a professor of public affairs, political science, history andAfrican-American studies.
That Marable would be inclined to pursue education was a resultof their parents, said his sister, Madonna Marable.
Their parents, James and June Marable, both graduated fromCentral State University. His mother is an ordained minister, has aPh.D. and still lives in Jefferson Twp. Her health prevented herfrom commenting for this story.
Always a writer
Manning Marable's name came from his grandfather, who had 13children. While not all of them went to college, his sister saideducation was a priority.
'Both (my parents) were descendents of slaves, and very proud,'said Madonna Marable. 'My parents had a great deal to do withManning developing an interest in history. It was pretty much anexpectation in our family to get a college education.'
Madonna Marable said her brother was a writer from early on inhis life.
'He was just a prolific writer,' Madonna Marable said. 'It was agift, but it was nurtured by my parents. They permitted him to havedifferent kinds of experiences.'
The crucible, of course, was Dayton, which his sister remembershad 'a lot of racial tension.'
'My father experienced Jim Crow and civil rights. He was anentrepreneur here for 40 years, and my mother was a perfectionist.
'My mother helped Manning a lot with his doctorate. I rememberher critiquing it and it being all over the living room floor.'
Marable's funeral and cremation was private in New York. A publicservice is being planned at Columbia on May 26. Madonna said hopesto have some kind of tribute at Central State, where she hopes toestablish some kind of scholarship in her parents' name.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
