Malcolm X (93 page)

91
“ever got more out of going to prison than I did.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 178-83.

92
“no circumstances don’t ever preach to me,” he warned.
Malcolm Little to Philbert Little, no date (approximately mid-1948), MXC-S, box 3, folder 1.

92
“rid the planet of these wretched devils.”
Malcolm to Philbert, November 28, 1948, ibid.

92
“vast emptiness created by men.”
Malcolm to Philbert, February 4, 1949, ibid.

92
“I certainly woke up the hard way, hmm?”
Malcolm to Philbert, February 1949, ibid.

92
a new appreciation for their mother.
Malcolm to Philbert, December 12, 1949, ibid.

92
“as he had come, he was gone.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 190.

93
of “Master W. D. Fard, the Messiah.”
Ibid., p. 192.

93
“truth in the first place,” he charged.
Ibid., p. 190.

93
“ocean of blackness where I was to save me.”
Ibid., p. 192.

94
of “his dislike for the white race.”
“Transfer Summary for Malcolm Little,” March 23, 1950, Prison File of Malcolm Little.

94
“Saturday I told her to do whatever she can.”
Malcolm to Philbert, March 26, 1950, MXC-S, box 3, folder 1.

94
“Cells to Facilitate ‘Prayers to Allah.’”
See “Four Convicts Turn Moslems, Get Calls Looking to Mecca,”
Boston Herald
, April 20, 1950; and “Local Criminals in Prison, Claim Moslem Faith Now: Grow Beards, Won’t Eat Pork; Demand East-Facing Cells to Facilitate ‘Prayer to Mecca,’”
Springfield Union
(Massachusetts), April 21, 1950.

95
“Peace to cease,” Malcolm predicted, “peace will cease!”
Malcolm Little to Commissioner MacDowell, June 6, 1950, Prison File of Malcolm Little.

95
“isn’t hard to convince people that I am.”
Malcolm Little to Harry S. Truman, June 29, 1950, in MX FBI, Summary Report, Detroit Office, March 16, 1954, p. 6. Also see Karl Evanzz,
The Judas Factor: The Plot to Kill Malcolm X
(New York: Thunder's Mouth, 1992), p. 11.

96
“of the wicked accidental world.”
DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, pp. 57-58.

96
his name “Malcolm X (surprised?).”
Malcolm to Philbert, December 11, 1950, MXC-S, box 3, folder 1.

96
“However he can give me a home and a job.”
Malcolm to Philbert, December 19, 1951, ibid.

97 “Just
in all that I think, speak and do.”
Malcolm Little letter, January 9, 1951, in MX FBI, Summary Report, Boston Office, May 4, 1953, pp. 5-6; and MX FBI, Memo, Boston Office, February 17, 1953. This report indicates that Malcolm “has been the subject of a Communist Index Card” by the FBI.

97
become targets of harassment by prison guards.
Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
, p. 10.

97
composed primarily of bread and cheese.
DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, p. 92.

97
had “read so much by the lights-out glow in my room.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 193.

98
the petition be denied. Not surprisingly, Dever agreed.
Ralph E. Johnson, Executive Secretary, Council Chamber, State House, to Elliott E. MacDowell, Commissioner, Department of Corrections, December 6, 1950; George E. Thompson, District Attorney for the Northern District, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to Governor Paul A. Dever, December 13, 1950; and MacDowell to Dever, December 19, 1950, all in Prison File of Malcolm Little.

98
countries throughout the world.
Malcolm Little to Commissioner MacDowell, December 13, 1950, ibid. Also see DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, p. 94.

98
he go to Detroit to live with Wilfred.
Philip J. Flynn, Massachusetts Supervisor of Parole, to Gus Harrison, State Supervisor of Parole, Division of Pardons, Paroles and Probation, State of Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, June 27, 1952, in Prison File of Malcolm Little.

98
date for his release was set for August 7.
P. J. Flynn, Massachusetts Supervisor of Parole, to Parole Board, August 4, 1952; Flynn to Harrison, August 6, 1952; and Flynn to Harrison, August 12, 1952, ibid.

98
younger brother on as a salesman.
DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, p. 95.

98
with the warden to resolve grievances.
Morris, “Massachusetts: The Aftermath of the Prison Riots of 1952,” pp. 36-37.

99
“my life was about to become.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 195-96.

100
it was ready for morning prayers.
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 197-98.

100
Mecca for their prayers.
Dannin,
Black Pilgrimage to Mecca
, p. 170.

101
“the fine print that never was read.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 196-97.

101
but Wilfred advised patience.
Ibid., pp. 198-200.

101
accompanied by three of his brothers.
MX FBI, Memo, Detroit Office, March 16, 1954.

101
such peerless example recalled Job.
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 201-2.

102
The point went home.
Ibid., pp. 203-4.

102
Ismail al-Faruqi termed “Islamicity.”
Ismail al-Faruqi quoted in Larry Poston,
Islamic Da’wah in the West: Muslim Missionaries and the Dynamics of Conversion to Islam
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 6.

102
metamorphosis adding to Malcolm’s reputation.
FBI—Joseph Gravitt (also known as Captain Joseph and Yusuf Shah) file, St. Louis, Missouri Office, January 17, 1955; Robert L. Jenkins, “(Captain) Joseph X Gravitt (Yusuf Shah),” in Jenkins, ed.,
Malcolm X Encyclopedia
, pp. 243-46. Also see Karl Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
; Collins,
Seventh Child
, p. 137.

103
United Auto Workers Local 900.
Ferruccio Gambino, “The Transgression of a Laborer: Malcolm X in the Wilderness of America,”
Radical History
, vol. 55 (Winter 1993), pp. 7-31.

103
truck equipment, cranes, and road machinery.
MX FBI, Memo, Detroit Office, March 16, 1954; and “Wood Workers,”
Time
, July, 20, 1936.

103
“material or grinds surface objects.”
Gambino, “The Transgression of a Laborer,” p. 22.

103
“serve Mr. Muhammad in the lowliest capacity.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 204.

103
the beginnings of his life as a minister.
Ibid., p. 205.

103
Michigan’s discharge followed shortly thereafter.
“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Parole Board Certification of Discharge, Malcolm Little #8077,” Prison File of Malcolm Little; and MX FBI, Summary Report, Detroit Office, March 16, 1954, p. 4.

103
claiming conscientious objector status.
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 206-7.

104
“asocial personality with paranoid trends.”
MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, January 24, 1955.

104
Detroit Temple No. 1’s assistant minister.
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 205.

104
he was preparing for the ministry.
MX FBI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, April 30, 1954.

104
“spreading his wisdom to his students.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 208-9.

104
delivered to one such gathering in early January 1954
. Ibid, p. 216.

104
dangerous the sect was believed to be.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, September 7, 1954, cover page.

105
“the cult towards the white race.”
Ibid., p. 3.

105
“to have been able to convert Ella.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 217-18.

106
throughout the last three weeks of March.
MX FBI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, April 30, 1954; and MX FBI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, August 23, 1954.

106
and commercial ventures in Chicago.
Sharron Y. Herron, “Raymond Sharrieff,” in Jenkins, ed.,
Malcolm X Encyclopedia
, pp. 503-4. Also see Claude Andrew Clegg III,
An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad
(New York: St. Martin’s, 1997).

106
most of the Nation of Islam’s ruling elite in Chicago.
Evanzz,
The Messenger
, p. 162.

106
“cutting off a devil’s head.”
FBI—Gravitt, Summary Report, Philadelphia Office, November 19, 1954.

107
Fruit of Islam and as a substitute minister.
Ibid.; and MX FBI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, August 23, 1954.

107
“contained over a million black people.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 219.

107
Temple No. 7 as its FOI boss.
MX FBI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, April 30, 1954; and MX FBI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, August 23, 1955.

108
“sometimes not that many.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 221-22.

108
their garbage into the streets.
For example, see “50 Called on Rubbish: Harlem Tenants Summoned for Tossing Refuse from Windows,”
New York Times
, May 1, 1954; and “93 Face Rubbish Charges,”
New York Times
, May 12, 1954.

108
for nearly all-white Flushing, Queens.
“Tuberculosis Death Rate Here Declines 12 Percent from the Level of a Year Ago,”
New York Times
, June 10, 1954.

108
the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn.
Alphonso Pinkney and Roger Woock,
Poverty and Politics in Harlem
(New Haven, CT: College and University Press Services, 1970), p. 27.

108
symbolized that growing clout.
Layhmond Robinson, Jr., “Our Changing City: Harlem Now on the Upswing,”
New York Times
, July 8, 1955.

108
Tri-State Bank, in Memphis, Tennessee.
“Boycott of Banks Slated in Harlem,”
New York Times
, March 5, 1955.

109
“themselves and voting as independents.”
“G.O.P. Appeal in Harlem,”
New York Times
, October 18, 1956; and “Powell Sees Shift of Negroes to G.O.P.,
ʺ New York Times
, November 7, 1956.

109
address racial discrimination in the city.
“10,000 in Harlem Protest Verdict,”
New York Times
, September 26, 1955.

109
“white-skinned people in free America.”
Turner,
Islam in the African-American Experience
, p. 135.

110
1,331 of them had any nonwhite members.
Ibid.

110
drummer Kenny Clarke’s (Liaqat Ali Salaam).
Dannin,
Black Pilgrimage to Islam
, p. 58.

110
visa for a pilgrimage to Mecca, in 1957.
Ibid., pp. 61, 112.

110
by a black couple, Curtis and Susie Kenner.
MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, January 28, 1955.

110
Cincinnati, Ohio, to support local initiatives.
MX FBI, Summary Report, May 23, 1955, p. 25; and MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, April 23, 1957, p. 22.

111
but sharply reminded the faithful that he (Joseph) “was not.”
FBI—Gravitt, Summary Report, New York Office, June 9, 1955.

111
the Shabazz restaurant on Fifth Avenue.
FBI—Gravitt, Memo, New York Office, January 7, 1955.

111
it was announced that he would be remaining in New York.
FBI—Gravitt, Summary Report, New York Office, June 9, 1955.

112
ever having been a member of the Communist Party.
MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, date illegible (around mid-1955). Based on its expanded surveillance of Malcolm X in the first five months of 1955, the New York FBI office advised the office of Director J. Edgar Hoover: “In view of the subject’s long active membership in the MCI and his position as minister of the MCI as well as his speeches and statements against the U.S. government, it is believed that he could possibly commit acts inimical to the national defense and public safety in a time of emergency.”

112
with FBI agents who might contact them.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 31, 1956, pp. 33-34.

112
“of the white man by the ‘black man.’”
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, May 23, 1955, pp. 23-24.

112
New York City on May 11, 1933.
Curtis Austin, “Louis Farrakhan,” in Jenkins, ed.,
Malcolm X Encyclopedia
, pp. 218-19.

112
“in my mind, and in my spirit.”
Louis Farrakhan, “The Murder of Malcolm X and Its Effects on Black America—Twenty-five Years Later,” lecture delivered at Malcolm X College, Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 1990. Text of speech in possession of author.

113
first as Louis X, and then as Louis Farrakhan.
Evanzz,
The Messenger
, p. 168.

113
“I was scared of him.”
Louis Farrakhan (also known as Louis X Walcott) interview, December 27, 2007; and Farrakhan, “The Murder of Malcolm X and Its Effects on Black America.”

113
They heard nothing for five months.
Louis Farrakhan interview, December 27, 2007.

113
“talk the way this brother talked,” Farrakhan recalled.
Ibid.

113
“nook and cranny in the United States of America.”
Ibid.

114
“the father I never had.”
Farrakhan, “The Murder of Malcolm X and Its Effects on Black America.”

114
Within a year Louis was elevated to minister.
Louis Farrakhan interview, December 27, 2007.

114
that became wildly popular among temple members.
Evanzz,
The Messenger
, pp. 168-69.

115
“has always been to be good at both,” he said.
James 67X Warden interviews, July 24, 2007, and August 1, 2007.

115
“the other dog in the streets.”
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 31, 1956, p. 18.

115
“whether you want to survive the war of Armageddon.”
Ibid., pp. 6-7.

116
“to frighten the black men who are still dead.”
Ibid., p. 7.

116
“very wrong that sisters are not coming in.”
Ibid., p. 10.

116
“who has any chance to save himself.”
Ibid., p. 22.

116
“so if you are not white you must be black.”
Ibid., p. 11.

117
“many members . . . as he possibly can.”
Ibid., pp. 33-34.

117
commitment to the international Islamic community.
See Yvonne Haddad and Jane Smith,
Mission to America: Five Islamic Sectarian Communities in North America
(Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1993), pp. 49-78.

117
“Black Muslims” to describe the Nation of Islam.
Ibid., p. 252.

117
“required precision and order of the service.”
Frederick Mathewson Denny,
An Introduction to Islam
(New York: Macmillan, 1985), p. 105.

118
“intercessors between humans and God.”
Ibid., p. 237.

118
generally have not participated in politics.
Hamid Enayat,
Modern Islamic Political Thought
(London: I. B. Taurus, 1982), pp. 22, 26-27.

118
religious knowledge and truth over time.
Ibid., p. 23.

118
but who also practices spiritual self-discipline.
Dannin,
Black Pilgrimage to Islam
, pp. 274-75.

119
transnational conference of colored peoples in history.
George McTurnan Kahin,
The Asian-African Conference: Bandung, Indonesia, April 1955
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1956), p. 39.

120
decline and fall of European and U.S. power.
Ibid., p. 81. See Liz Mazucci, “Going Back to Our Own: Interpreting Malcolm X's Transition from ‘Black Asiatic’ to ‘Afro-American,’ ”
Souls
, vol. 7, no. 1 (Winter 2005), pp. 66-83.

120
“are united all over the world to fight the ‘devils.’ ”
MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, May 23, 1955.

120
Pan-Africanism, Pan-Islam, and Third World liberation.
Melani McAlister, “One Black Allah: The Middle East in the Cultural Politics of African American Liberation, 1955-1970,”
American Quarterly
, vol. 51, no. 3 (1999), p. 631.

121
because he was hardest on himself.
James 67X Warden interview, July 24, 2007.

121
“late for an appointment. Malcolm was like a clock.”
Farrakhan, “The Murder of Malcolm X and Its Effects on Black America.”

121
“lost-founds” was sufficient compensation.
James 67X Warden interview, July 24, 2007.

122
“you would have gotten out of the temple.”
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 31, 1956, p. 10.

122
his self-destructive opposition to Elijah Muhammad.
DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, p. 88. DeCaro interviewed Jeremiah Shabazz in Philadelphia on May 17, 1993.

122
while both were serving time in prison.
DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, p. 109.

122
more than forty new converts had been won.
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 226.

123
highly paid skilled workers and trade unionists.
Ibid., p. 229.

123
“than in every place in the world.”
MX FBI, Memo, New York Office to the Director, no date.

124
“the destruction of the ‘devil.’ ”
Ibid.

124
he would be criticized on some point or other.
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 226-27.

125
Joseph’s advancement as the Nation’s supreme captain.
Collins,
Seventh Child
, p. 137.

125
damaging rumor about Elijah Muhammad that was circulating.
See Evanzz,
The Judas Factor
, pp. 184-85.

125
“or anything, because you should know better.”
Transcript of audiotaped recording. Disciplinary trials supervised by Malcolm X at NOI Temple No. 7, Harlem, mid-September 1956. Audiotape provided by the Nation of Islam and Akbar Muhammad.

126
“good work for Allah and his Messenger in the Nation.”
Ibid.

126
“all of those Muslims that follow him are outcasts.”
Ibid.