Malcolm X (98 page)

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Authors: Manning Marable

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Chapter 9: “He Was Developing Too Fast”
235
“than the positive fact of David’s killing Goliath.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 304.
235
“man’s wife, I’m that David,” he told Malcolm.
Ibid., p. 305.
235
his goal was to “inoculate” the Nation’s rank and file
. Ibid. Also see Goldman,
The Death and Life of Malcolm X
, pp. 113-14; Clegg,
An Original Man
, pp. 188, 191-92; and DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, p. 191.
236
ease the news of Muhammad’s transgressions.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, November 15, 1963, pp. 6, 9.
236
Elijah Muhammad, but was reluctant to bring it up with him.
James 67X Warden interview, June 18, 2003.
236
“doctrine to Muslims, and current events, and politics.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 300-301.
236
“and also the devils in that city.”
Elijah Muhammad to Malcolm Shabazz, April 25, 1963, MXC-S, box 3, folder 6.
236
“negative attitude” toward
Muhammad Speaks
.
FBI—Gravitt, Summary Report, New York Office, January 27, 1964; and MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, May 15, 1963, and May 23, 1963.
237
contacting Joseph directly on mosque matters.
Branch,
Pillar of Fire
, p. 163.
237
“our people to our one from the Speaker’s Stand!”
Open letter from Elijah Muhammad, April 25, 1963, MXC-S, box 3, folder 8.
237
“the No. 2 man of the Black Muslim sect.”
“Malcolm X Coming Here,”
Washington Post
, May 1, 1963.
237
black street crime in the nation’s capital.
“Malcolm X in D.C. with Solution to Crime Rate,”
Chicago Defender
, May 13, 1963. The press conference was held on May 9, 1963.
238
at the invitation of the local minister, Jeremiah X.
MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, May 15, 1963; and MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, November 15, 1963, p. 26.
238
“he is a four-legged dog or a two-legged dog.”
“Malcolm X in D.C. with Solution to Crime Rate.”
238
The trial of fourteen Muslims began on April 8, 1964.
“14 Muslims Go on Trial in Fatal Riot,”
Los Angeles Times
, April 9, 1963.
238
“circulated in a dense crowd outside.”
Bill Lane, “Jury Selection for Muslim Trial Fair,”
Los Angeles Sentinel,
April 12, 1963; and “14 Muslims Go on Trial in Fatal Riot.”
238
all-white jury of eleven women and one man was sworn in.
“Row Flares Over Jurors in Muslim Riot Trial,”
Los Angeles Times
, April 25, 1963. Reporter Bill Lane of the
Los Angeles Sentinel
claimed that six of the twelve jurors were black. See Lane, “Jury Selection for Muslim Trial Fair.”
238
separate section was created for the women.
“Negroes Ask Segregated Court Seats,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 1, 1963.
238
would be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Muslim Riot Described by Officer,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 2, 1963.
238
who had killed Ronald Stokes, and provocatively took several photos of him.
“Top New York Muslim Says L.A. Is on Trial,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 4, 1963.
239
“white people of the country are in agreement with the Nazis.”
Gladwin Hill, “Muslims’ Defense Opened on Coast,”
New York Times
, May 12, 1963; “Use of Word ‘Negro’ Issue in Muslim Trial,”
Chicago Defender
, May 8, 1963; and “Malcolm X Raps L.A. Press as Favoring Cops in Trial,”
Chicago Defender
, May 25, 1963.
239
“I just thought I might lose my temper.”
“Muslim Trial Interrupted by Attorney,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 7, 1963.
239
“so they would have a reason to shoot us.”
“Muslim Trial to Jury, Malcolm X Is Rousted,”
Los Angeles Sentinel
, May 23, 1963.
239
had made their point, and beat a hasty retreat.
Ben Burns, “First Negro-Owned Station to Hit Airwaves,”
Chicago Defender
, May 8, 1963; and “Negro Picket Slugged at Black Muslim Rally,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 5, 1963.
239
failed to reach unanimous verdicts on two others.
“9 Muslims Guilty in Coast Riot,”
Los Angeles Times
, June 14, 1963; and “11 Convicted on 37 of 42 Counts in Muslim Trial,”
Los Angeles Sentinel
, June 20, 1963.
239
the prisoners’ probation hearing on their behalf.
“Black Muslim Rioters Get Prison Terms,”
Chicago Tribune
, August 1, 1963; and “6 Jurors Say Muslims Got Unfair Trial,”
Atlanta Daily World
, September 1, 1963.
240
he met privately with Green for two hours.
C. Portis, “Celebrities and Celebrators Pour into City,”
New York Herald Tribune
, May 15, 1963; MX FBI, Memo, New York Office, May 15, 1963; and “Miscellaneous Financial Documents,” MXC-S, box 11, folder 15.
240
“had demonstrated their ability to defend themselves.”
“Black Muslim Raps Hearing Postponement,”
Washington Post
, May 17, 1963; M. S. Handler, “Malcolm X Scores Kennedy on Racial Policy,”
New York Times
, May 17, 1963; and “Malcolm X Denounces JFK on Civil Rights,”
Chicago Defender
, May 25, 1963.
240
“fox will eat you with a smile instead of a scowl.”
MX FBI, Memo, Washington Office, May 13, 1963, May 14, 1963, and May 23, 1963; “400 Hear Malcolm X Speak Here,”
Washington Post
, May 13, 1963; DeCaro,
On the Side of My People
, p. 163; and Clegg,
An Original Man
, p. 217.
241
“better with whites than Negroes who are Christians.”
“Malcolm X Denies Muslims Preach Hate,”
Chicago Defender
, October 18, 1962; “‘Rights Violated’—Muslims,”
Chicago Defender
, October 20, 1962; and “Muslims Chained in N.Y. Courtroom,”
Amsterdam News
, October 27, 1962.
241
“cheating, stealing . . . all forms of vice.”
“Malcolm X in Court,”
Amsterdam News
, November 17, 1962.
241
at the Lorton Reformatory, located in Virginia.
H. D. Quigg, “Debate Muslim Claim to Be Legitimate Religion,”
Chicago Defender
, June 18, 1963.
241
had conducted a service at Lorton back in May.
MX FBI, Memo, Washington Office, June 3, 1963; and MX FBI, Memo, Washington Office, August 6, 1963.
241
American Civil Liberties Union at once took up the issue.
“D.C. Rejects Malcolm X Prayer Role,”
Washington Post
, June 29, 1963; and “Black Muslim Tension Eases,”
Washington Post
, August 1, 1963.
241
Malcolm added, was “just another [prison] warden.”
Transcript of Kenneth Clark interview of Malcolm X, aired on WNDT-TV, New York City, and WGBH-TV, Boston, on June 4, 1963, MXC-S, box 5, folder 11.
242
“If you are caught, you will wish you were dead.”
FBI—Sharrieff, Summary Report, Chicago Office, August 19, 1963.
243
fellow lieutenants, or other FOI “enforcers.”
Thomas 15X Johnson (also known as Khalil Islam) interview, September 29, 2004.
243
“They didn’t deserve even to be killed.”
Louis Farrakhan interview, December 27, 2007.
243
“because that puts him in a bad position.”
Thomas 15X Johnson interview, September 29, 2004.
243
saying, “Brother, you’re just spiritual.”
Louis Farrakhan interview, December 27, 2007.
243
own group of Fruit for that particular assignment.
Thomas 15X Johnson interview, September 29, 2004.
244
“that’s unheard of, man, violating like that.”
Ibid.
244
“This was a law. It was untouchable.”
Ibid.
245
“‘Larry has lost his mind. He’s messing with them Muslims!’”
Larry 4X Prescott (also known as Akbar Muhammad) interview, November 7, 2007.
245
“Georgia on it, he said, ‘Elijah answered our prayers.' ʺ
Ibid., June 9, 2006.
245
Malcolm was the “boss of the bosses.”
Ibid.
246
“That was the signal: close out and bring him on.”
Ibid., November 7, 2007.
246
millions of non-Islamic African Americans.
Alex Haley, “Malcolm X Interview,”
Playboy
, vol. 10, no. 5 (May 1963), pp. 53, 56-60, 62.
246
strategy of integration that was doomed to failure.
Ibid., pp. 56-57.
247
“very much taken aback when
Playboy
kept its word.”
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, p. 392.
247
“and made me the man that I am today.”
Ibid., pp. 393-94.
248
the completion of the biography.
Alex Haley to Malcolm X, “Author/Collaborator Letter of Agreement,” June 1, 1963, MXC-S, box 3, folder 6.
248
with projected total sales of twenty thousand.
“Production Information,” June 5, 1963, The Ken McCormick Collection of the Records of Doubleday and Company (KMC), Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, box 44, folder 9.
248
“the manuscript that you want in the manuscript.”
Haley, ʺ Author/ Collaborator Letter of Agreement.”
248
petty Negro bourgeoisie that he enjoyed ridiculing.
Malcolm X and Haley,
Autobiography
, pp. 393-95.
248
with “As told to Alex Haley.”
Alex Haley to Oliver Swan, August 5, 1963, Anne Romaine Collection, Special Collections Library, University of Tennessee (UTLSC), Knoxville, Tennessee, series I, box 3, folder 24.
248
“when mine are almost a complete antithesis of his.”
Ibid.
249
to fly to Chicago for an interview with Elijah Muhammad.
Alex Haley to Paul Reynolds, September 5, 1963, ibid.
249
complete the entire work by the end of October 1963.
Alex Haley to Paul Reynolds, September 22, 1963, ibid.
249
“such as we had, will be the most productive.”
Alex Haley to Malcolm X, September 25, 1963, MXC-S, box 3, folder 6.
249
ʺas neat and attractive as that of her husband.ʺ
Ann Geracimos, “Mrs. Malcolm X—Her Role as Wife,”
New York Herald Tribune
, June 30, 1963. Although the article was theoretically about Betty, Malcolm peppered the interview with attacks on “Western civilization,” which had “destroyed women’s femininity. . . . It is oriented to make a woman what she is not. Western society has lost touch with home and family.”
249
“no two people should stay together who can’t get along.”
Ibid.
250
climaxing with two days of public activities.
D’Emilio,
Lost Prophet
, p. 328.
250
“unemployment, especially as it related to minority groups.”
“Preamble to the March on Washington,” Carbada and Weise, eds.,
Time on Two Crosses
, pp. 1 12-15.
250
John Lewis, its national chair, to represent the organization.
D’Emilio,
Lost Prophet
, pp. 340-42, 355.
250
was persuaded to support the Washington march.
David J. Garrow,
Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(New York: Vintage, 1986), pp. 265, 268.
250
Kennedy administration to offer its endorsement.
D’Emilio,
Lost Prophet
, pp. 344-45; and Goldman,
The Death and Life of Malcolm X
, pp. 102-3.
250
in Harlem—on West 130th Street.
D’Emilio,
Lost Prophet
, p. 340.
251
Martin Luther King, Jr., and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Mosque No. 7 Press Releases for June 29, 1963, Harlem Rally, MXC-S, box 5, folder 17.
251
made it impossible for him to address the rally.
Telegram, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., to Malcolm X, June 28, 1963, MXC-S, box 3, folder 11.
251
dispatched to the rooftops to observe both crowd and cops.
Thomas P. Ronan, “Malcolm X Tells Rally in Harlem Kennedy Fails to Help Negroes,”
New York Times
, June 30, 1963; “Romney Bobs Up and Leads Rights Parade,”
Chicago Tribune
, June 30, 1963; FBI—Gravitt, Summary Report, New York Office, January 27, 1964; and FBI—Goodman, Summary Report, New York Office, December 13, 1964.
251 “
a comprehensive united front of African Americans.”
“Muhammad Son Calls for Unity,”
Muhammad Speaks
, July 20, 1963; “Muhammad’s Son at Rally Saturday,”
Amsterdam News
, July 13, 1963; and NOI Mosque No. 7 Press Release, “Elijah Muhammad’s Son to Speak in Harlem at Outdoor Rally,” MXC-S, box 5, folder 17.
251
“ready to help us win our freedom.”
Lomax,
When the Word Is Given
, pp. 84-87.
252
“‘Islamic' and more 'political' in the days just ahead.”
Ibid., pp. 87-91. Writing in late 1963, Lomax was convinced that Akbar Muhammad, or “almost certainly” another son of Elijah Muhammad, would inherit the leadership of the NOI; Malcolm X would never lead the Nation, Lomax believed: “I see Malcolm, then, not as the maximum leader, but as prime minister and behind-the-scenes policy maker.”
252
“this message that I have been assigned to.”
“Islamic Exports Plan to Microscope Muslims,”
Chicago Defender
, July 15, 1963.
253
“these policemen put us into those paddy wagons.”
“Police Haul Off 300 Pickets in Racial Protest,”
Los Angeles Times
, July 23, 1963.
253
“the New York police is that this is 1963.”
Homer Bigart, “Building Trades Accused of Snub by Racial Groups,”
New York Times
, August 6, 1963.
253
that brought out more than three hundred people.
MX FBI, Summary Report, New York Office, November 15, 1963, pp. 5, 6, 7, and 12; FBI—Gravitt, Summary Report, New York Office, January 27, 1964; and FBI—Goodman, Summary Report, New York Office, February 13, 1964.

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