Summary—Chapter Fourteen: Black Muslims
In 1957,
after visiting the black-run Herald Dispatch in
Los Angeles, Malcolm founds Muhammad Speaks, the
Nation of Islam’s own newspaper. A surge of publicity comes in 1959,
when a man named C. Eric Lincoln publishes a book called The
Black Muslims in America and a program on the Nation called The
Hate that Hate Produced airs on television. Both titles
enrage Malcolm, who realizes that the media will spin everything
for shock value. Soon, mainstream publications, including Life and Time, feature
articles about the Nation of Islam. Malcolm now spends hours a day
on the telephone defending the Nation and attacking his interviewers
with countercharges, clarifications, and assertions of bias. Increasingly, organizations
invite Malcolm to represent Elijah Muhammad on panels and lecture
circuits.
In the fall of 1959,
Malcolm travels as an emissary to places where leaders are becoming
interested in the Nation of Islam project: Egypt, Arabia, Sudan,
Nigeria, and Ghana. Exposed to more radical ideas, he becomes increasingly
critical of black civil rights leaders, calling them “integration-mad
Negroes” and “Uncle Toms.” At first, Elijah Muhammad
discourages any disparagement of other black leaders, but when attacks
on the Nation become too frequent, he lets Malcolm vent his feelings
publicly. By 1960,
the Nation of Islam starts holding mass rallies with Elijah Muhammad
as the main attraction. At first the Nation admits no white people
to these rallies, but eventually they admit the white press and
then anyone with curiosity.
The size and militance of the Nation attracts the attention
of the FBI and the police, who begin infiltrating rallies and tapping
the telephones of higher-ups, including Malcolm X. Part of this
government interest comes from the high proportion of Nation of
Islam members who are or were in prison. Convicts embrace the Nation because
their prison experiences have conditioned them both to take an especially
grim view of white society and to excel at the discipline and austerity
that the codes of the Nation demand. The Nation also succeeds in
reforming drug addicts.
Summary—Chapter Fifteen: Icarus
On the recommendation of the aging Elijah Muhammad’s doctors, the
Nation buys Elijah Muhammad a home in Arizona, where he begins to
spend most of the year. Elijah Muhammad’s geographical distance
and diminished health, as well as the growing administrative demands
of the Nation, lead Malcolm to make a greater number of decisions
without notifying Muhammad. By 1963 both
the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X are inundated with publicity.
Now the second most sought-after university lecturer in America,
Malcolm X savors the excitement of the intellectual confrontations
that follow his speeches at top universities. Elijah Muhammad disapproves
of the university lecture circuit, while other Muslims frequently
accuse Malcolm of trying to take over the Nation of Islam. Malcolm
notices that his name is appearing less and less in Muhammad
Speaks, the newspaper he himself founded. He begins turning down
publicity opportunities in Life and Newsweek, hoping
to reduce Elijah Muhammad’s jealousy.
Summary—Chapter Sixteen: Out
Malcolm’s relationship to the Nation of Islam becomes
more complex when Elijah Muhammad faces paternity suits from two
temple secretaries. At first, Malcolm pretends that he does not
know about the allegations and changes his temple teachings to skirt
the issue of the moral code. Eventually, however, he approaches
Elijah Muhammad for advice. Elijah Muhammad compares himself to
the great men of scripture whose accomplishments outweigh their
occasional transgressions. Malcolm accepts this explanation and
assumes that Elijah Muhammad will confess and explain himself to
the Nation. Elijah Muhammad does not publicly confess, however.
Relations worsen between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam after
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Malcolm breaks an order
by Elijah Muhammad that no minister comment on the assassination.
He calls the murder in Dallas a case of “the chickens coming home
to roost,” a statement that implies that the murder was somehow
justifiable. To distance the Nation from such a controversial stance,
Elijah Muhammad silences Malcolm for a ninety-day period. Malcolm
soon realizes, however, that Elijah Muhammad’s outrage over the
Kennedy quote is merely an excuse for the Nation to cast him off,
as it has been plotting to do for some time. Malcolm is deeply shocked
at Elijah Muhammad’s betrayal of him, describing it as a sudden
divorce after twelve years of beautiful marriage.
