Malcolm X (102 page)

348
could be truly competitive with the Nation of Islam.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, pp. 4-5.

348
“will take what is rightfully theirs.”
Ibid., p. 4.

348
Works and Surveys, asking for information
. Malcolm X to Joseph Iffeorah, June 22, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 4.

348
“you would come out Sunday as a spectator.”
Malcolm X to Sara Mitchell, June 22, 1964, ibid.

349
remanded to the Queens Criminal Court.
“Muslim Factions Keep Fighting,”
Amsterdam News
, June 27, 1964; and Larry 4X Prescott interview, June 9, 2006.

349
“Then things just got progressively worse.”
Larry 4X Prescott interview, June 9, 2006. To this day, Larry 4X is unapologetic about his actions: “I got the gun from him and I beat him with it. And I should have—you know, I didn’t have the mind to shoot him. But I definitely whipped his behind real good with it.”

350
a sore point for many of Malcolm’s followers.
Malcolm X to Elijah Muhammad, June 23, 1964, MXC-S, box 13, folder 1; and “Malcolm X to Elijah: Let’s End the Fighting,”
New York Post
, June 26, 1964.

350
“There was tension and resentment.”
Herman Ferguson interview, June 24, 2004.

351 “
that our people experience in this government.”
“Organization of Afro-American Unity, A Statement of Basic Aims and Objectives,” in Clarke, ed.,
Malcolm X: The Man and His Times
, pp. 335-42; and MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, pp. 25, 29, 76.

351
“block by block to make the community aware of its power and potential.”
“Organization of Afro-American Unity, A Statement of Basic Aims and Objectives”; Terrill,
Malcolm X: Inventing Radical Judgment
, pp. 138-39; William W. Sales,
From Civil Rights to Black Liberation: Malcolm X and the Organization of Afro-American Unity
(Boston: South End, 1994), pp. 104-7; David Herman, “Malcolm X Launches a New Organization,”
Militant
, July 13, 1964; and “Program of Organization of Afro-American Unity,”
Militant
, July 13, 1964.

351
no material incentive to finish the book project.
Wolcott Gibbs, Jr., to Robert Banker, July 1, 1964, KMC, box 44, folder 1; and Doubleday and Company, Inc., to Alex Haley and Malcolm X, sometimes called Malik Shabazz, July 8, 1964, KMC, box 44, folder 1. In mid-July 1964, Haley was telling literary agent Paul Reynolds that the
Autobiography
was nearly finished; his afterword could be written in less than one week. “[It] should be wrapped up . . . by the end of the month.” See Haley to Reynolds, July 14, 1964, KMC, box 44, folder 1.

351
“from my own personal appraisals.”
Alex Haley to Malcolm X, June 8, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 6.

352
“and her four children what a man you were.”
Alex Haley to Malcolm X, June 21, 1964, ibid.

352
“while providing him with more funds.
ʺ Alex Haley to Paul Reynolds, June 21, 1964, ibid.

353
“possibility of self-regeneration?” “No,” Malcolm replied.
Robert Penn Warren,
Who Speaks for the Negro?
(New York: Random House, 1965), pp. 251-66.

353
“‘I wouldn’t know anything about that.’”
Ibid., p. 260.

354
agreed to be their international chairman.
Max Stanford (also known as Muhammad Ahmed) interview, January 31, 2003.

354
“the public front, united front.”
Ibid.

355
“brothers who graduated from college.”
Ibid.

355
“like the biggest fool on planet earth.”
Ibid.

355
“couldn’t attack him if he had a national base.”
Max Stanford interview, August 28, 2007. In his 2007 interview, Stanford attributed Malcolm’s outing of Elijah Muhammad’s sexual misconduct to his own humiliation. After the Queens trial, Malcolm justified his attack on Muhammad to Stanford by explaining he was a fool, and that he had gone around the world saying Elijah Muhammad “is a holy man” when Elijah Muhammad had been messing around with a lot of women. “Well, he was devastated, totally. . . . You know, Malcolm was a street hustler, so he was a player, right? I mean, the player got played.”

356
“And I was a hero.”
Gerry Fulcher interview, October 3, 2007.

356
attend OAAU events, doing general surveillance.
Ibid.

357
could transcribe and analyze Malcolm’s speeches.
Ibid.

357
join the OAAU, far fewer than anticipated.
“Malcolm X Repeats Call for Negro Unity on Rights,”
New York Times
, June 29, 1964.

357
Harlemites did not have the initial two-dollar membership fee.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, p. 29.

357
organize self-defense units capable of fighting the Klan.
FBI—OAAU, Teletype, New York Office, June 30, 1964.

357
“the Negro has a chance to strike back.”
“Malcolm Sending Armed Troops to Mississippi,”
Chicago Defender
, July 2, 1964.

358
on the streets, forced him to return immediately to New York.
MX FBI, Memo, Chicago Office, June 26, 1964; and MX FBI, Memo, Chicago Office, July 23, 1964.

358
filed paternity suits against Elijah Muhammad.
“Two Paternity Suits,”
New York Times
, July 4, 1964; “Deny Paternity Suits,”
Chicago Defender
, July 6, 1964; and “Ex-Sweetheart of Malcolm X Accuses Elijah,”
Amsterdam News
, July 11, 1964. On July 7, Rosemary gave birth in Los Angeles to another child fathered by Muhammad.

358
but only for twenty-four hours.
“Malcolm X Flees for His Life,”
Pittsburgh Courier
, July 11, 1964; “New York Police Put Guard,”
Washington Post
, July 5, 1964; and John Shabazz, “Muslim Minister Writes to Malcolm,”
Muhammad Speaks
, July 3, 1964.

358
assignment of introducing Malcolm to the audience.
FBI—Goodman, Summary Report, New York Office, October 16, 1964.

358
“sound like I’m cracking, but I’m facting.”
Goldman,
The Death and Life of Malcolm X
, p. 204.

358
other cities “behind Brother Wallace” Muhammad.
Malcolm X to Hassan Sharrieff, July 9, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 4.

359
TWA Flight 700 for London.
MX FBI, Teletype, New York Office, July 10, 1964; and MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, July 10, 1964.

359
summer of 1964 America “will see a bloodbath.”
“Malcolm X Seeks U.N. Aid,”
Chicago Defender
, July 13, 1964; and “Malcolm X to Meet Leaders in Africa,”
New York Times
, July 10, 1964.

359
windows and stealing everything they could carry.
Goldman,
The Death and Life of Malcolm X
, pp. 204-5. Goldman correctly viewed Malcolm “as a force against rioting in Harlem,” not because America’s white power structure did not deserve to be rioted against, but “because he loved Harlem too well” (p. 204).

359
July 11, he was off to Cairo.
See Travel Diaries (Transcription): Africa and Middle East, July-November 1964, July 9-11, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

359
said to Charles was ‘Take care of Betty for me.’”
Max Stanford interview, August 28, 2007.

361
Europe during his second tour.
“Malcolm X Reports He Now Represents World Muslim Unit,”
New York Times
, October 11, 1964.

361
they talked together until three in the morning.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, p. 105; “Malcolm X in Cairo,”
New York Times
, July 14, 1964; and Travel Diaries (Transcription): Africa and Middle East, July-November 1964, July 12, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

361
Nasser’s Bureau of General Affairs.
Travel Diaries, July 13-17, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

361
whom he had previously met in Ghana.
Ibid.

361
only to fall victim to “American dollarism.
ʺ Address to the OAU, July 17, 1964, MXC-S, box 14, folder 5; and Travel Diaries, July 17-21, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

362
criticizing the lack of racial progress.
“Malcolm X Bids Africans Take Negro Issue to U.N.,ʺ
New York Times
, July 17, 1964; and DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, pp. 236-38.

362
generally described as having failed.
“Malcolm X Fails with Africans,”
Chicago Defender,
July 27, 1964.

362
a violator of human rights.
M. S. Handler, “Malcolm X Seeks U.N. Negro Debate,”
New York Times
, August 13, 1964.

362
“the gains outweigh the risks.”
Malcolm to Betty Shabazz, August 4, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 2.

363
including one,
The Suez and the Revolution
, accompanied by local contacts.
Travel Diaries, August 4, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

363
anathema to the NOI.
Ibid.

363
failure to address the charges of immorality.
“Muhammad’s Son to Quit, Says Report,”
Chicago Defender
, August 17, 1964.

364
“be printed only on asbestos.”
Victor Riesel, “African Intrigues of Malcolm X,ʺ
Los Angeles Times
, August 7, 1964.

364
was certainly a “wonderful blessing.”
Malcolm to Betty Shabazz, August 4, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 2.

364
not scale back his schedule.
Travel Diaries, August 6-7, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

365 “
Allah has really blessed me.”
Travel Diaries, August 11-16, 1964, ibid.

365
summarizing the recent OAU summit.
Ibid.; MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, September 8, 1964; and “The 2nd African Summit Conference,” MXC-S, box 5, folder 18.

365
“twentieth-century form of ‘benevolent colonialism.’”
Malcolm X, “The Second African Summit Conference, August 21, 1964,” in Clarke, ed.,
Malcolm X: The Man and His Times
, pp. 294-98.

365
“found no doors closed to me.”
Ibid., pp. 299-300.

366
“and physical slave of the system.”
“Racism: The Cancer That Is Destroying America,” MXC-S, box 5, folder 10. Fanon advanced this argument in
Black Skin, White Masks
(New York: Grove, 1967).

366
ancient temples in the Valley of the Kings.
Travel Diaries, August 26-29, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

366
important stamps of legitimacy.
Travel Diaries, August 30, 1964, ibid.

366
Queens home by January 31, 1965.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, pp. 57-58, 140; and “Order Eviction of Malcolm X,ʺ
Amsterdam News
, September 5, 1964.

366
into unauthorized agreements with foreign governments.
FBI—Goodman, Memo, Nicholas Katzenbach to the Director, September 1964.

367
would be the guest of the local governor.
Travel Diaries, September 12, 1964, ibid; MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, September 10, 1964; and Advertisement,
Chicago Defender
, September 12, 1964.

367
press conference in Gaza’s parliament building.
Travel Diaries, September 5, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

367
the two men met privately.
Travel Diaries, September 15, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14. Al-Shukari was named PLO president at a Jerusalem conference from May 31 to June 4, 1964.

368
“in their own religion” existed.
Malcolm X, “Zionist Logic,”
Egyptian Gazette
, September 17, 1964.

368
“for Arab refugees from Palestine.”
Marable,
African and Caribbean Politics
, p. 134.

368
considerable tact and political discretion.
Edward E. Curtis, IV,
Islam in Black America
(New York: State University of New York Press, 2002), p. 100.

368
“twenty-two million fellow black Americans.”
Ibid., pp. 104-5; and Antoine Sfier, ed.,
The Columbia World Dictionary of Islamism
(New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), pp. 290-91.

369
with Shawarbi and other friends.
Travel Diaries, September 16, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

369
provided a chauffeured car.
Travel Diaries, September 18-19 and 21, 1964, ibid.

369
in Harlem, to promote orthodox Islam.
Travel Diaries, September 22, 1964, ibid.; and MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, October 5, 1964.

369 “
in the Holy City of Mecca.”
Malcolm X to M. S. Handler, September 22, 1964, Alex Haley Papers, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, box 3, folder 1; and M. S. Handler, “Malcolm Rejects Racist Doctrines,”
New York Times,
October 4, 1964.

370 “
and the Human Society complete.”
Malcolm X to M. S. Handler, September 22, 1964, Alex Haley Papers, box 3, folder 1.

370
Malcolm thirty-five fully funded fellowships.
Malcolm X to M. S. Handler, September 23, 1964, ibid.; and “Malcolm X Reports He Now Represents World Muslim Unit,”
New York Times
, October 11, 1964.

370
to Beirut on September 29.
Travel Diaries, September 24-25, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14. According to the FBI, Malcolm called upon the U.S. embassy in Kuwait on September 29, 1964, and obtained a new health certificate. See MX FBI, Memo, Washington Office, October 1, 1964.

370
a word during the exchange.
Marian Faye Novak, “Meeting Mr. X,ʺ
American Heritage
, vol. 46, no. 1 (February/March 1995), pp. 36-39.

370
and an overflow crowd turned out.
Alex Haley to Malcolm X, October 14, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 6; Travel Diaries, September 29, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

371
“people of the U.S. and Africa.”
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, pp. 16-18.

371
seemed “attentive, alert, and sympathetic.”
Travel Diaries, October 8, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

371
and subsequent merger with then Tanganyika.
On A. M. Babu, see Carole Boyce Davies, ed.,
Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture
(Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2008), p. 139; and Clarke, ed.,
Malcolm X: The Man and His Times
, p. 261.

371
“jokes much (but deadly serious).”
Travel Diaries, October 12-13, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

372
“me back with the VIPs.
ʺ Travel Diaries, October 16-17, 1964, ibid.

372
Don Harris about “future cooperation.”
Travel Diaries, October 18, 1964, ibid.

372
“for organizing the Mau Mau.”
Travel Diaries, October 19-20, 1964, ibid.

373
“the United Nations for racism.”
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, pp. 22-23.

373
telling the “truth” about Malcolm.
Travel Diaries, October 19-20, 1964, MXC-S, box S, folder 14.

373
“for our human rights struggle.”
Travel Diaries, October 21-22, 1964, ibid.

374
“believe it can be avoided.
Travel Diaries, October 24-30, 1964, ibid.

374
“is mostly impatient and explosive.”
Travel Diaries, November 1, 1964, ibid.

374
“responsible, they were well educated.”
Herman Ferguson interview, June 24, 2004.

375
“So there was a gap.”
Ibid.

376
dollars during nearly a year.
James 67X Warden interview, August 1, 2007.

376
stern rebuke, “things started happening.”
Ibid.

377
was insufficient evidence to arrest him.
FBI—Goodman, Summary Report, New York Office, October 16, 1964.

377
audience to promote voter registration.
Ibid.; FBI—OAAU, Memo, New York Office, July 13, 1964.

377
presidential campaign committee on July 23.
FBI—MMI, Summary Report, New York Office, November 6, 1964, p. 28.

377
“set down” the black community.
Ibid., p. 44.

377
until the group “got on its feet.”
FBI—MMI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, August 5, 1964.

378
“‘We are replacing them,
'
see?
ʺ James 67X Warden interview, August 1, 2007.

378
“are people who are well known.”
Ibid.

379
“to abide his plans for revolution.”
Ibid.

379
than Malcolm could have imagined.
FBI—Morris, Summary Report, New York Office, March 1, 1965.

379
had given birth to their fourth child, Gamilah Lumumba.
Rickford,
Betty Shabazz
, p. 197. Gamilah’s middle name was in honor of Congolese martyr Patrice Lumumba, slain in 1961 with the assistance of the CIA.

379
baby appeared, departed for Africa.
Ibid.

380
“We got him. We cut his throat.”
Ibid., pp. 200-201.

380
involved, and even planned to marry.
FBI—Morris, Summary Report, New York Office, March 1, 1965.

381
“more helpful to the
whole
[Malcolm’s emphasis] in the long run.”
Malcolm to Betty Shabazz, July 26, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 2.

381
“I’ve learned to trust no one.”
Malcolm to Betty Shabazz, August 4, 1964, MXC-S, box 3, folder 2.

381
Malcolm “as a stepping stone.”
FBI—Shabazz, Summary Report, New York Office, August 30, 1968; FBI—MMI, Memo, Philadelphia Office, September 29, 1964.

381
meet him later that week.
FBI—MMI, Memo, New York Office, August 27, 1964.

382
the leadership until Malcolm’s return.
FBI—Morris, Summary Report, New York Office, March 1, 1965.

383
half a dozen artists and writers.
Travel Diaries, November 1-2, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

383
executive director of Ghanaian television.
Travel Diaries, November 4, 1964, ibid. See Gerald Horne,
Race Woman: The Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois
(New York: New York University Press, 2000).

383
turning to sleeping pills for relief.
Travel Diaries, November 2-3, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

383
he’d had a rum and Coke in an attempt to wake up.
Travel Diaries, November 4-5, 1964, ibid.

383
“My stature had definitely increased.”
Maya Angelou,
A Song Flung Up to Heaven
(New York: Random House, 2002), p. 3.

384
her friend as “two very lonely women.”
Travel Diaries, November 6, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

384
“they may get into politics.”
Travel Diaries, November 7, 1964, ibid.

384
“phrases lately and it has worried me.”
Travel Diaries, November 8-9, 1964, ibid.

385
stuck with coffee and orange juice
. Ibid.

385
“frankly, a fighting language to you.”
Travel Diaries, November 11, 1964, MXC-S, box 5, folder 14.

385
almost impossible to communicate effectively.
Travel Diaries, November 12-14, 1964, ibid.

385
“willing to do
anything
to prove it.”
Travel Diaries, November 15, 1964, ibid.

386
“feeling lonely . . . thinking of Betty.”
Travel Diaries, November 16, 1964, ibid.

386
checking in to the Hôtel Delavine.
See Nicol Davidson, “Alioune Diop and the African Renaissance,”
African Affairs
, vol. 78, no. 310 (January 1979), pp. 3-11.

387
as “the chickens coming home to roost.”
“Malcolm X Accuses U.S. and Tshombe,”
Los Angeles Times
, November 25, 1964; “Malcolm X, Back in the U.S., Accuses Johnson on Congo,”
New York Times
, November 25, 1964; MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, November 25, 1964; MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, January 20, 1965, p. B; and MX FBI, Teletype, New York Office, November 24, 1964.