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I was exposed to the Nation of Islam at an early age. In fact, the very first house of worship I remember attending as a kid was the NOI’s Temple No. 7, although by that time it was Mosque No. 7. Still, older relatives who had been around in the old days still referred to it as Temple No. 7 and as a result, so did I. Kids tend to adopt the vernacular of those who raised them, hence the reason why even now I use the words ice box rather than refrigerator. As the years went by and I traveled to other cities and states, I visited Temples No. 6 in Baltimore and No. 4 in DC., No. 11 in Boston and so forth and so on. Along the way, I have met people who knew Malcolm, both Muslims and non-Muslims. One person from whom I learned much about the goings-on concerning Malcolm that merits special mention was Dr. Akbar Muhammad, the son of Elijah Muhammad. From Dr. Ali Mazrui, the renowned African Politics/Studies scholar I learned much about orthodox Islam. These experiences have both enriched my understanding of Malcolm and sustained my interest in examining the life of one of the most outspoken, charismatic and uncompromising freedom fighters that this country has ever produced.
Some of the criticisms of Manning Marable and his book were a bit over-the-top, made by persons who, in my humble opinion, would not have had the cojones to do so had Marable lived. One critic was apparently so full of himself that he called Marable’s work an abomination. Two intellectual giants apparently felt so put-off by Marable’s work that they assembled an edited book consisting of more than 350 pages focused on taking Marable to task. It is really too bad that we do not typically see this kind of determination, focus, and vigilance devoted to things that really matter such as police brutality, environmental racism, gentrification, and a whole host of other issues that adversely impact the lives of black people. The sad thing about this is that there are whites who have made a career of writing and publishing disparaging things about blacks. Where are the full-length manuscripts and edited books by black academics in response to them? To be clear, this is not to say that Marable’s book is beyond reproach. As with most books, it is not without shortcoming. There are errors. For example, Marable refers to Louis Farrakhan as a graduate of Winston Salem State Teacher’s College (Winston-Salem State University). Farrakhan was indeed a Ram, but he did not graduate, a fact that he readily acknowledges. This is an error that could have been easily avoided had he asked Farrakhan himself or simply called the school’s registrar.
I first read the Autobiography of Malcolm X while in college in the mid-1980s. Charles E. Jones, who would become my mentor, pulled a copy from his bookshelf and handed it to me during his office hours, along with a copy of Elliot Liebow’s Tally’s Corner, an ethnographical study of black men in the nation’s capital. Those two books sparked something in me, I have been reading voraciously ever since. Before then, reading was something I did because I was required to do. After devouring those two texts, reading became something of an addiction.
Spike Lee’s movie is a fantastic depiction of Malcolm X, and 28 years later has stood the test of time. It ranks alongside Lady Sings the Blues, Gandhi, What’s Love Got to Do with It, Lawrence of Arabia, and Ray as one of the best biopics, ever. The performances by Denzel Washington, Al Freeman Jr. as Elijah Muhammad and Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz were award worthy. My only criticism of the movie, which is not a minor one, is the omission of Malcolm X’s relationship with then Cassius Clay and later, Muhammad Ali. That criticism notwithstanding, there are few movies where the actor’s performance is so compelling that in the eyes of the viewer, the actor actually becomes the character he or she is portraying. For many who have seen this film and to whom I have spoken over the years, it is nearly impossible to think of Denzel Washington without thinking of Malcolm X and Malcolm X without thinking of Denzel Washington. For some, the two are inextricably linked.
Malcolm was transferred to the Charlestown Prison, a facility with which he was very familiar, in the spring of 1950, for refusing to be inoculated. Inmates who refused inoculation were required to be transferred out of Norfolk to another facility. Other reports claim that rabblerousing was the reason for Malcolm’s transfer.
Malcolm also joined the debate club and used the opportunity to develop and hone the oratorical skills for which he would become famous.
Malcolm X’s talents were not given a platform until he became a member of the Nation of Islam. It should be made clear, however, that Malcolm never reached his full potential, as his life was cut short at the age of thirty-nine. However, his full potential was just beginning to manifest itself after his break with the NOI. But even before his break from the NOI, he was beginning to think for himself, which is ultimately what put him in conflict with the NOI, generally and Elijah Muhammad, specifically. It needs to be understood that Malcolm’s extensive travels across Africa, and the Middle East saw the beginning of a personal and professional enlightenment, and dare I say, evolution, that would have likely placed him at the center of the world struggle for the liberation of oppressed peoples everywhere, regardless of race and religion, thus thrusting him in the role of Messiah—something that certain people in government such as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover feared most. Today, researchers can find thousands of pages of material on Malcolm at various archives in Washington, DC; the result of Hoover’s schizophrenic zeal with preventing the rise of a Black Messiah.
Malcolm X himself is in large measure responsible, for the ignorance that many people display when discussing his conversion from street thug to revolutionary. As a member of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm repeatedly credited Elijah Muhammad for teaching him everything he knew and making him into the man he had become, despite the fact that he knew neither of which was entirely true.
This statement applies only to individuals who joined an existing organization not individuals who founded or co-found an organization.
Although he was released from prison in 1952, the Massachusetts Parole Board certified Malcolm’s discharge from parole in May 1953; the state of Michigan followed soon after.
Fishing is vernacular for recruiting new members.
The word temple and mosque are sometimes used interchangeably. In the early 1960s, the NOI dropped the word temple and started referring to their houses of worship as mosques. Because old habits die hard, many people still often used the word temple.
Malcolm X did not open Temple No. 7 in Harlem, but he was the prime mover and shaker behind its growth and success. He was also instrumental in establishing branches of Temple No. 7 in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. Under Malcolm’s leadership, Temple No. 7 (later called Mosque No. 7) became the largest within the NOI.
He was so effective that his stay in Chicago lasted only 3 weeks.
A number of newsletters and newspapers were started prior to the founding of Muhammad Speaks, but none of them lasted including The Final Call to Islam (1934) and Salaam (1960). Later, black newspapers such as the Chicago Crusader and Pittsburgh Courier carried a column titled “Mr. Muhammad Speaks.” In the Westchester Observer, it was called “White Man’s Heaven is black Man’s hell.” From 1956 to 1962, the New York Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch, and the Westchester Observer featured over three hundred weekly columns written by either Elijah Muhammad or Malcolm X. It should be noted that Malcolm’s first attempt at putting together a paper in 1960 dwarfed into Mr. Muhammad Speaks, a column of sorts in Reader’s Digest, written by Alex Haley. The article focused on Elijah Muhammad, at Malcolm’s behest. A short while later it was published under the Creative Commons License. Then, in 1961, with the help of others including National Secretary John Ali, Herbert Muhammad, son of Elijah, and Askia Muhammad, the group settled on Muhammad Speaks. For more details, see Askia Muhammad, Muhammad Speaks, a Trailblazer in the newspaper industry. The Final Call. March 10, 2000. Originally, a weekly, the paper transitioned to a bi-weekly publication in July 1962. By 1970, the NOI’s newspaper had become among the largest circulating black newspapers in the country. See Clegg (1997). An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
From 1961 to 1963, Malcolm X had been the Nation of Islam’s National Representative. At a rally in Philadelphia on September 29, 1963, Elijah Muhammad, for intents and purposes, elevated Malcolm to the No. 2 spot, naming him National Minister. At the rally, Muhammad embraced Malcolm while the two were on stage with Muhammad declaring, “This is my most faithful, hardcore-working minister. He will follow me until he dies.” It should be noted that whenever reporters and others referred to him as the No. 2 man, Malcolm was always quick to shoot down the designation, claiming that all of Muhammad’s ministers were No. 2.
Had Malcolm X not joined the NOI, it is doubtful there would have been a television program about the Nation of Islam. Sure, the program focused on Elijah Muhammad and the NOI’s doctrine and activities; however, Malcolm X was the impetus for the project.
This is not to deny the work of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan who resurrected the organization several years after the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975. After Muhammad died, the organization under new leadership experienced a total transformation that also included a name change; developments that Farrakhan eventually found intolerable. Subsequently, Farrakhan set out to rebuild the Nation of Islam in the image of Elijah Muhammad. He succeeded in taking the NOI to heights that perhaps even Elijah Muhammad had not imagined.
This remark was made while Malcolm X was a member of the Nation of Islam, though it hardly matters.
What Malcolm meant was that blacks should only be nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with them and that they should not be nonviolent with those who are violent with them.
Elijah Muhammad did not even vote, nor did he allow his followers to exercise the franchise.
Even at the workplace, Malcolm showed a willingness to stick up for himself. For example, in 1953, Malcolm secured employment at a Ford assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan. He wasn’t there for more than a few days before he signed up to become a member of the United Auto Workers Local 900 at a time when some blacks were reluctant to join unions, for fear of reprisal.
This was not the first nor the last time Elijah Muhammad put the brakes on an action that Malcolm endeavored to put in place. What role Raymond Sharrieff, Supreme Captain of the Fruit of Islam, played in these decisions is unclear.
The OAAU was inspired by Malcolm’s travels in Africa and his respect for the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Also, in Hoover’s crosshairs were Ministers Jeremiah Shabazz in Atlanta and Philadelphia; John Shabazz in Los Angeles; Isaiah Karriem in Baltimore; James Shabazz in Newark; Wilfred X in Detroit; Louis Farrakhan in Boston and New York; Jabril Muhammad in Northern California and Phoenix; and Dr. Lonnie Shabazz in Washington, DC.
A few years later, Roberts infiltrated the New York State Chapter of the Black Panther Party. That Roberts did not opt for a different line of work after Malcolm’s assassination is interesting. Some in his position would have been traumatized by such an event and got out. Then again, perhaps, the money was just too good.
The reporter who asked the question referred to the police office as chief, but it is more likely that it was police commissioner, Michael Murphy.
Elijah Muhammad was arrested in Chicago in 1942 and charged with sedition and violation of the Selective Service Act. Cleared of all sedition charges, he was nevertheless convicted of encouraging his followers to evade the draft and sent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan where he served until 1946.
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Jeffries, J.L. Getting to the Bottom of Malcolm’s Murder: One Man’s Quest for Truth and Justice. J Afr Am St 24, 482–498 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-020-09471-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-020-09471-w