Malcolm X

BACKGROUND

He wrote a letter to Elijah Muhammad and Elijah responded. Elijah Muhammad advised him not to ever engage in the destructive behavior again and to humbly bow in prayer to Allah. Initially he had difficulty in bending his knees in prayer but soon overcame it. He had regular correspondences with Muhammad guiding him in how to have a good life. Soon he became a member of the Nation of Islam. Between the teachings of the Muslim’s, the visits by his sister Ella and his brother Reginald, and the reading of books his time in jail flew by. He would later say that months would go by without him even thinking about being incarcerated. “I had never been so truly free in my life.” He later said. It was then that he took on the name Malcolm X. In his autobiography he wrote: To me, my X replaced the white slave master name of Little which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears.”

He accomplished this under the watchful eye of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In 1950 the FBI opened a file on him after he wrote a letter to President Truman. In the letter he expressed opposition to the Korean War and declaring himself to be a communist. In 1953 the FBI began their surveillance of him. They turned their attention to the rapid growth of the Nation of Islam and his possible ties with Communism. He continued his successful recruitment on behalf of the Nation. He established temples in Springfield, Massachusetts (Number 13) Hartford, Connecticut (Number 14); Atlanta, Georgia (Number 15.) His presence of a man, being 6’ 3:” inches tall and a weight of 180, and his great speaking ability had much to do with his success. He was also handsome and very well groomed.

He met Betty Sanders in 1955 after a lecture he gave, then again at a dinner party. Betty joined the Nation of Islam and changed her name to Betty X. Their acquaintanceship grew until it culminated into marriage. Their married produced six daughters.

Following the police beating of an Islam member, Johnson Hinton Malcolm, came to a great deal of public attention. Two police officers were beating a Black man with nightsticks. Three Nation of Islam members witnessed the beaten and verbally intervened. One of the two cops turned on Hinton and beat him with his nightstick severe enough to inflict brain damage and internal hemorrhaging within the skull. All four of the men were arrested. A witness alerted Malcolm and a small group of Members went to the police station and demanded to see Hinton. The police department initially denied that any Muslims were being held. When the crowd grew to about five hundred Malcolm was allowed to speak to Hinton. Based on the conference with Hinton Malcolm could tell that he needed medical attention. On Malcolm’s insistence an ambulance was summed and Hinton was taken to Harlem Hospital. Hinton was treated and returned to the police station. At this time some four thousand Black people were now gathered in front of the police station. Inside of the station Malcolm and an attorney made bail for two of the Muslims. The police would not allow Hinton to be bailed out and said that he could not return to the hospital until after his arraignment the following day. Seeing that an impasse had been reached Malcolm X stepped outside of the police station an gave a hand signal. Upon seeing the signal from him the Nation members in the crowd silently left. There leaving was followed by the rest of the crowd dispersing. One police officer is reported to have said, “No one man should have that much power.”

Following this incident Malcolm was put under surveillance by the New York City Police Department. They also made inquiries in other cities if which he had lived and in prisons where he had served time. In October a grand jury failed to indict the officers who had beaten Hinton. In response Malcolm sent an angry telegram to the New York City police commissioner denouncing the grand jury decision. Promptly the police, much like the Garvey situation and later the Black Panther situation, infiltrated the organization. Undercover cops were assigned to spy on the Nation and its membership. By the late 1950s Malcolm’s positions were prominently featured in various forms of the media. Not only was Malcolm becoming a household name in America his fame was spreading throughout the non-white world. Meetings were scheduled with Fidel Castro of Cuba, and several African nations sent invitations to official functions in several African nations. Meetings were arranged with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea and Kenneth Kaunda of the Zambian African National Congress.

From his adoption of the Nation in 1952 until his parting he strongly promoted the teaching of the Nation. Their position was that the original people of the world were Black and that White people were the devils and that Blacks were superior to Whites. They also preached that the demise of the White race was imminent.

While the civil rights movement fought against racial segregation Malcolm advocated for the complete separation, much like Garvey, of Black People from White people. He proposed to establish a separate country for Black people in America as an interim step until African Americans could return to Africa. He further rejected the civil rights movements position of nonviolence, borrowing the famous David Walker phrase of 18 century America, “By and means necessary.” As a young man I was fortunately enough to have heard him speak in person. His speeches and his presence were powerful and both had a mesmerizing effect on his audiences. Many of those in attendance were tired of being told to wait for freedom, for justice, and for equality and respect. They found themselves being more in line with Malcolm’s positions than they were with the civil rights movement. He was critical of the civil rights movement. He said of their leaders that they were “stooges” for the White man’s establishment. He once described Martin Luther King, Jr. as a “chump” and criticized the 1963 March on Washington, referring to it as the “farce on Washington.” He said that he couldn’t understand the excitement about a demonstration that was. Run by Whites in front of a statue of a president who has been dead for a hundred years and who didn’t like us when he was alive.“

Malcolm’s made some callous comments about the “chickens coming home to roost” concerning the assignations of President Kennedy, Patrice Lumumba (Congo leader), Medgar Evers (civil rights leader) and the four girls murdered in the bombing of a church. For these remarks the Nation of Islam publicly censured him. He was also forbidden from speaking on speaking on behalf of the Nation for 90 days. Three months later Malcolm publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam. He said that he was still a Muslim but felt that the Nation had gone “as far as it can” because if its rigid religious teachings. At the announcement Malcolm said that he would organize a Black Nationalist organization. This organization would try to heighten the political consciousness” of Blacks in America. He also expressed a desire to work with other civil rights leaders. He stated that he had wanted to do so in the past but was forbidden to do so by Elijah Muhammad.

It is believed by many that one of the reasons for the separation between Malcolm and the Nation was because of growing tension between Malcolm and Elijah Muhammad. Rumors that Muhammad had had extramarital affairs with young secretaries had been confirmed by Wallace Muhammad, the son of Elijah, to Malcolm and by one of the secretaries involved in an affair with Elijah Muhammad. This was against the teachings of the Nation and disappointed Malcolm very much. Another reason was jalousies within the Chicago headquarter of the Nation. Some were jealous because Malcolm had become so powerful that he was over-shadowing Muhammad. Some say that Malcolm had out-grown the Nation. That he was on a power trip. That his genus had outgrown the Nation of Islam and the Nation was hindering his advancing. Being a contemporary of Malcolm I see logic in both of these trains of thought. I came up in a neighborhood quite like that that shaped Malcolm. There was high crime and some very immoral characters. The argument that Malcolm was so disillusioned that he wished to separate himself from the organization is too hard for me to believe. Adultery was commonplace in such neighborhoods. I do not believe that this would have shocked Malcolm to the point that he would break with the Nation. The way that he departed the Nation Of Islam left the Nation in an undeserved negative light. He now took to the ranks of Suni Muslim. I do believe that he was on a power trip and I find nothing wrong with that. Malcolm possessed the genus that should not have a cap put on it. In truth he had outgrown the Nation.

Malcolm began his pilgrimage to Mecca, required of every Muslim who is able to do so. While there he came in contact with Muslims of all colors from black skinned Africans to blue-eyed blonds. All of these different people were interacting on equal terms. According to Malcolm this moved him greatly. He saw Islam as a means in which racial problems could be overcome. He had other similar illuminating experiences in Africa. He spoke on radio and appeared on television, gave interviews in Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Sudan, Liberia, Algeria and Morocco. In Cairo he was once again moved while attending the Organization of African Unity.

Malcolm’s views had been greatly changed. He now did not see all White people as devils. He was still as fervent as ever on bettering the condition of Blacks in America. However he now wanted to work for not only Black people but for all oppressed people. He now said that he wanted to work with all civil rights organizations to achieve this goal. Before making his pilgrimage he spoke with disdain with these same civil rights organizations. Now he was newly re-generated and wanted to push ahead with his new agenda. However his time was running out and he would not have the time for implementing his ideas.

Friction between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam increased on his return to the United States. In February 1964 a leading member of Temple Number Seven ordered another member to wire explosives to Malcolm’s car. Later that year in September Ebony magazine published a picture of Malcolm holding a rifle and peering out of a window. The intent of the photo gave the message to all that Malcolm would defend himself and his family against the many death threats that he was receiving. Nation leaders began making public as well as private threats against Malcolm. Elijal Muhammad told Louis Farrakhan that “hypocrites like Malcolm should have their heads cut off. In the April 10th edition of “Muhammad Speaks” there was a cartoon where Malcolm’s head had been severed. Louis Farrakhan said “such a man as Malcolm is worthy of death.” There were many more threats against Malcolm’s life.

These threats culminated in Malcolm being assassinated and not necessary by members of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm had made enemies on many fronts. On all of these fronts were those who would love to see him dead. This included members of the FBI, and a number of police departments in many cities around the country. The end for Malcolm came at New York’s Audubon Ballroom on February 25,1965

Entertainer Ossis Davis read Malcolm’s eulogy. He described Malcolm as “Our Shining Black Prince.”

Reactions to the assassination were varied.

Martin Luther King, jr. sent a telegram to Betty Shabazz expressing his sadness.

“While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems that we face as a race.”

Elijah Muhammad: "Malcolm X got just what he preached We didn't want to kill Malcolm and didn't try to kill him, We know such ignorant, foolish teachings would bring him to his own end”.

The New York times: wrote that Malcolm X was "an extraordinary and twisted man" who "turned many true gifts to evil purpose and that his life was "strangely and pitifully wasted".

The New York Post wrote that "even his sharpest critics recognized his brilliance—often wild, unpredictable and eccentric, but nevertheless possessing promise that must now remain unrealized.

There is little doubt that Malxolm X is one of the most influential Black Americans in the history of the country. He is also responsible for a great deal of the increse in the spread of Islam in the Black community. He and the Nation of Islim are to be praised for turning around many criminals and making them productive citizens. To those like myself who had the fortune of seeing him and hearing his message we found a man that articulated the frustration of many northern Blacks. At times he was very calouse, but who is without faught? He, as well as others, predicted the violence that would come if the legimate demands were not met. During the 1960s I experienced both the coming forth of the predicted violence and the benefits of the violence. Previouse to the riots of the 1960s I had earned an AS degree in engineering but no company would hire me. Following the riots of 1965 I began to get calls from a number of the companies that I had applied for work in my field and been turned down. Now all who called offered me employment. This was the case all over America with many other Black Americans. Malcolm was also responsible for renewing the legacy of Marcus Garvey.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X. With the assistance of Alex Haley. New York: Grove Press, 1965. OCLC 219493184.

Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements. George Breitman, ed. New York: Merit Publishers, 1965. OCLC 256095445.

Malcolm X Talks to Young People. New York: Young Socialist Alliance, 1965. OCLC 81990227.

Two Speeches by Malcolm X. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1965. OCLC 19464959.

Malcolm X on Afro-American History. New York: Merit Publishers, 1967. OCLC 78155009

. The Speeches of Malcolm X at Harvard. Archie Epps, ed. New York: Morrow, 1968. OCLC 185901618

. By Any Means Necessary: Speeches, Interviews, and a Letter by Malcolm X. George Breitman, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970. OCLC 249307.

The End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches by Malcolm X. Benjamin Karim, ed. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971. OCLC 149849.

The Last Speeches. Bruce Perry, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-87348-543-2.

Malcolm X Talks to Young People: Speeches in the United States, Britain, and Africa. Steve Clark, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0-87348-962-1.

February 1965: The Final Speeches. Steve Clark, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0-87348-749-8.