Beginning on the front page is coverage on the city's funeral for Malcolm X with heading: "Burying Malcolm X" with three related photos. (see images)
background: The March 4, 1965 issue of The Village Voice stands as a rare and profoundly significant artifact of the civil rights era, offering a counter-narrative to the mainstream media's immediate condemnation of Malcolm X following his assassination on February 21 and subsequent funeral on February 27. While dominant publications like The New York Times largely dismissed him as a demagogue of violence, The Village Voice—renowned for its ground-level, counterculture journalism—published an invaluable contemporary record by reporter Marlene Nadle, who had interviewed Malcolm X in the final days of his life. Nadle’s centerpiece article famously contextualized him as the definitive "spokesman for that part of all blacks that is in constant rage," capturing both the raw grief of the tens of thousands of mourners who flooded the streets of Harlem and the complex ideological evolution of a leader transitioning toward an internationalist human rights framework. Because print runs of this alternative weekly were localized and inherently ephemeral, original physical copies of this specific issue are exceptionally scarce today, treasured by historians as a crucial cultural time capsule that bridged the gap between a vilified media caricature and the profound, localized reality of a community mourning their "Black shining prince."
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
The Village Voice was an American counterculture newspaper known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. It introduced free-form, high-spirited, and passionate journalism into the public discourse - a tradition it maintained throughout its 60+ year history. It is quite common to find great political cartoons, satirical cartoons and articles, thought-provoking editorials, and ads and reviews for both concerts and theater productions - both on and off Broadway. Many iconic writers and musicians credit their appearance in The Village Voice for at least a portion of their success.