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Archives & manuscripts, the malcolm x collection : papers 1948-1965 [bulk 1961-1964] d.

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Biographical/historical information

Scope and arrangement, administrative information, using the collection.

Malcolm X was an African American nationalist leader and minister of the Nation of Islam who sought to broaden the civil rights struggle in the United States into an international human rights issue, and who subsequently founded the Muslim Mosque Incorporated and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on February 21, 1965. Writings, personal memorabilia, organizational papers and printed matter documenting Malcolm X's activities and opinions as the Nation of Islam's first National Minister, and following his separation from the organization and his embrace of orthodox Islam in early 1964, as a prominent advocate of human rights and self-determination for African-Americans.

The Malcolm X Collection is divided into nine series, the bulk of which range from 1961 to 1964. The papers consist of personal and family memorabilia, correspondence, writings and notes, selected organizational records and printed matter. They provide an in-depth documentation of Malcolm X as Black Muslim theologian, black nationalist ideologue, propagandist for the Nation of Islam, and skilled organizer — with occasional glimpses of his private or family life. Overall, the collection's original order has been preserved.

The The Malcolm X collection : papers are arranged in nine series:

This small group of personal items includes two address books (1958-1961), a notebook with details of the Shabazz family vacation in Miami in January 1964, hotel receipts from 1961 to 1965, and various items found in Malcolm X's heavily scored copy of the Quran and in one of the two address books. In this latter group are several newspaper clippings, some disparaging notes about Martin Luther King, Jr., described as the "hare in the bushes" without the desire "to run for self", and a 1961 letter from a member of Mosque No. 7 in New York who found himself "obligated to recognize the good work that you are doing for the Nation of Islam", while deploring that "with the pace of things going so fast, it is a rare occasion for me to see you, lest I interfere or detain you at your busiest moments". In his autobiography, Malcolm X explained how the demand on him to speak all over the country grew dramatically with the publication of C. Eric Lincoln's book, The Black Muslims in America in 1961. Letters, airline tickets, hotel bills, currency exchange slips, customs declarations, telephone messages, visitors' cards and an announcement for a public lecture in Ghana in the Middle East and West Africa Trip folder, amount to a day to day itinerary of Malcolm X's first major trip abroad in 1964.

Miscellaneous items in this and the next series include invoices for the Corona Mosque in Queens, a prescription for Phenobarbitol, one to be taken "as needed for nerves", an invoice for a new 1962 Oldsmobile, various receipts (camera shop, book stores, a master tailor), household expenditure lists in Malcolm X's hand, a message from one Dr. Adams at Bellevue Hospital, and an airline questionnaire where the subject listed the year of his first airline flight as 1956 and his highest level of education as elementary school.

This small but significant group of documents includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence, receipts and other household-related items. The earliest document in this series is a 1955 letter to a friend where Betty Shabazz, then Betty X Saunders, a nursing student, discusses the difficulty of conforming to the Nation of Islam's religious strictures against socializing with whites, whether at meal times, in class projects, or at a dance party her class was organizing. The outgoing correspondence also includes three letters to Elijah Muhammad, two of them written during the period of her husband's silencing. The earlier letter (February 18, 1963) was written at Muhammad's suggestion to "tell you what I thought about the trip to Philadelphia (critical points)". She went on to confide that "Ministers' wives have a full time job keeping the minister happy so he can do his job", but also felt that she could do other "constructive things" and was "wasting away". The second letter dated January 5, 1964 was an appeal "to come out to see you one week end", adding that "I have no one that I feel I can talk to but you". The last letter written three months later, three days before Malcolm X's official separation from the NOI, was an attempt to elucidate the charges against herself and against her husband "beside speaking against past President JFK". "In your letter, you stated my action toward the Muslims since my husband was sat down is deserving of time, how have I acted? " she wrote.

The incoming correspondence includes letters from Elijah Muhammad's wife and daughter, Clara and Harriett Muhammad, and Elijah Muhammad's special instructions for Ramadan in 1962. Orthodox Islam follows the lunar calendar in the observance of Ramadan, but Muhammad had set December as Ramadan month for his followers, "because we were once Christian believers and we used to worship this month as the month Jesus was born". His instructions called on married couples to "take no pleasure during this month", and on all his followers "not to forget in our prayers that the enemy has killed one of our brothers this year - the first we have lost since Allah's coming - due to the murderous hands of the devils". NOI member Ronald Stokes had been killed earlier that year in a police shooting at the Los Angeles Mosque. Letters to her from Malcolm X are filed in the next series. There are several letters from her adoptive mother in Detroit, ending typically: "Write when you feel like it. Your worried lonely mother". The Condolence file, more than 70 letters and cards, includes messages of sympathy from prominent figures across the country, many of which were read by Ruby Dee at the funeral service for Malcolm X. Other documents in the series include a selection of charity slips or receipts for contributions paid first to Muhammad's Mosque No. 7 and later to the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

• Correspondence 1948-1965 0.6 linear feet

The Writing series is divided into the following subseries: Major Addresses, Interviews, Radio Scripts, Religious Teachings, Diaries, and Speech Notes. For the most part the documents within each subseries have been kept in the order they were found. However, documents that reveal a clear relationship to another category have been moved to the appropriate subseries (i. e. alternate versions of a lecture, various drafts of a speech) and arranged chronologically when possible. In the main, the writings in this series are dated pre-December 12, 1963 or until Malcolm X's silencing. But there are several speeches, in addition to the travel diaries of Malcolm X's trips to Africa and the Middle East, that date after March 12, 1964, following his split from NOI.

Divided into General, New York Mosque and Other Cities subseries, these selected files and working papers are not the actual records of the Nation of Islam, nor are they necessarily the extent of NOI-related documents once in Malcolm X's possession. The General subseries opens with the form letter addressed to "W. F. Muhammad... Dear Saviour Allah, Our Deliverer", that new recruits were required to copy without fault before they would be granted an X as the replacement of their "slave name". Louis Lomax wrote that "The Black Muslims have little or no liturgy". The file "Lessons and Questions, Prayers" holds some of the few documents that form the NOI creed. "Actual Facts" and "Student Enrollment, Rules of Islam", are the first sets of questions and answers that the new convert had to memorize by rote and in sequence. Then came "Lesson No. 1" and "Lesson No. 2", which also came in the form of questions and answers, to be memorized textually. These basic documents, together with a selection of prayers and a glossary of some twenty words or concepts, were the cornerstone of the convert's new worldview. Also included here is a set of nine questions answered by Malcolm X on December 25, 1963, during the period of his silencing, "to the best of my knowledge and understanding of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's Mission (message and work) among us". Two other documents, "English Lesson C-1" and "The Problem Book", and two additional texts distributed among Muslims, "The Sacred Ritual of the Nation of Islam" and a religious cryptogram, "Teachings for the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in a Mathematical Way", that only W. D. Fard, it was said, could interpret, are other tenets of the NOI dogma that are not available in this collection.

The Elijah Muhammad file consists of printed matter and carbon copies of pronouncements by and about Muhammad. Also included are letters and directives from Muhammad to his ministers across the country. A four-page introductory essay entitled "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad" argues that the historical Muhammad was not an actual prophet, or Allah's final messenger. "The Holy Quran was not meant for that Muhammad 1400 years ago in Arabia.... The Injil [New Testament] prophecies last right up to the resurrection, but how could the Holy Quran be the fulfillment (destroy) [sic] of the Injil prophecies when there was no resurrection in Muhammad's days 1400 years ago". Elijah Muhammad, on the other hand, was the last messenger, "raised up from among the dead" by the Mahdi (W. D. Fard or God in person). He and his followers were the real fulfillment of prophecy. "I am here to tell you", Muhammad wrote in a 1958 untitled pronouncement, "why America does not want you to accept Islam...not the 'old' Islam, but the 'New Islam'.... Ours is a new government and a new religion". Muhammad further clarifies that the United States was not alone in keeping the Black Man at the bottom of civilization. "I have seen the Black Man even in Africa and Asia working as the burden-bearer (doing all the heavy work) while the Brown Man sat in the shade". In a broadside, "What Is Un-American? Problems of the Black Man in Africa, Asia, America the Same", written in response to a 1961 report by the California State Senate Fact-Finding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities, he reaffirmed his Twelve-Point Program as the only salvation for African Americans.

The Muhammad Speaks file includes correspondence and typed articles by Abdul Naeem, a Brooklyn-based Pakistani immigrant who served as a go-between between Muhammad and the orthodox Islamic world, and articles by Charles P. Howard whose syndicated column, "United Nations Report", appeared in the NOI newspaper. Publicity Material in this subseries include leaflets, broadsides and a souvenir journal, advertising public appearances by Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad. The Printed Matter file consists of articles and essays by scholars such as C. Eric Lincoln, August Meier, J. Schacht, professor of Arabic and Islamics at Columbia University, and by law enforcement agencies.

This series is very sketchy, containing many gaps in the documentation. The MMI survived its founder for about a year, at which point the papers were reportedly dispersed. Included here are several statements by Malcolm X (March 1964) announcing his separation from the Nation of Islam, and his rationale for launching a new group. Malcolm X insisted he did not leave NOI of his own free will, but that he had been driven out by the "Chicago officials". The philosophy of the MMI was to be Black Nationalism. The switch to orthodox Islam came during his pilgrimage to Mecca in April 1964. In statements issued in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, and in Lagos, Nigeria, the author told the story of his conversion to "true Islam", which "removes racism" and "concerns itself with the human rights of all mankind, despite race, color or creed". James Shabazz, Malcolm X's personal assistant and Vice-President of the new organization, handled the day-to-day business of the group. His list of twelve questions put to Malcolm X, indicating the areas of responsibility entrusted by the latter to his associates can be found here.

In this series is a group of letters Shabazz sent on May 14, 15 and 16, 1964, to a wide array of national and international contacts, thanking the latter for their assistance to the MMI leader during his pilgrimage, and expressing Malcolm X's new disposition for "mutual cooperation" with leaders of the civil rights movement. The only substantive response to these letters in the collection came from James Farmer, Executive Director of the Congress of Racial Equality. Malcolm X's itinerary during the Hajj, his schedule of activities immediately after his return to the U. S. in early June, and a log of telephone calls received by his office at the Theresa Hotel during that period, give a sense of the tremendous interest occasioned by Malcolm X's new orientation.

Also included is a copy of the certificate from the office of the Supreme Imam of Al-Azhar University designating Malcolm X as "one of the Muslim community...with his true and correct faith", with the responsibility "to propagate Islam and offer every available assistance and facilities to those who wish conversion to Islam". A leaflet in the same file boldly advertised twenty "stipend-bearing" scholarships to Al-Azhar University and fifteen additional scholarships to the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia, and called on people to join the MMI, the Organization of Afro-American Unity and the Organization of Afro-American Students. Malcolm X had developed a strong NOI chapter in Philadelphia and retained a strong base of support in that city. The Philadelphia file in this series gives some indication that the MMI leader was planning to develop an MMI chapter there with the help of a local barber, "Brother Aaron". The remaining files in the series deal with mosque attendance, donations and charity slips, and the sale of the Theresa Hotel. There are also leaflets and publicity material, including a March 22, 1964 Spanish-language flyer advertising a talk by Malcom X at the Rockland Palace on "El Nacionalismo de la Raza de Color en Harlem".

Malcolm X founded the OAAU to broaden the scope of the African-American civil rights movement into a struggle for human rights with international linkages. Partly due to his prolonged trips abroad, he only played a limited role in the day-to-day life of the new organization. An early draft of the OAAU's "Basic Aims and Objectives" called for organizing "the Afro-American community block by block", and proposed to join or to form political clubs, and to establish local businesses "to stop the flow of millions of dollars that leave our community weekly, never to return". But superimposed on that grassroots "organization of the people" was the expectation of a leadership structure "patterned after the letter and the spirit of the Organization of African Unity", with the purpose of uniting "Afro-Americans and their organizations around a non-religious, non-sectarian program for human rights". These two contrasting views are reflected in the collection through Malcolm X's statements from abroad and in local efforts to organize a membership base for the new organization.

The correspondence file includes carbon copies of Malcolm X's well-publicized June 30, 1964 telegrams to Martin Luther King, Jr. in St. Augustine, Georgia, and to James Forman, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, in Mississippi, proposing to "immediately dispatch some of our brothers there to organize our people into self-defense units capable of retaliating against the Ku Klux Klan in the only language it understands". Also included are OAAU acting chair, Lynn Shifflet's invitation, on behalf of Malcolm X, to representative African-American leaders and personalities, to a roundtable discussion on the so-called Harlem Riot of 1964; and a two-page letter from Ana Livia Cordero, Puerto-Rican independence activist and the wife of African-American expatriate writer Julian Mayfield, who had launched the first international branch of the OAAU in Ghana, on approaches to the Puerto Rican community in New York.

The file Working Papers consists of research material, and suggestions and recommendations from two OAAU research groups. At an initial May 30, 1964 meeting chaired by Malcolm X, it was decided that the new group would start work at the local level in Harlem. "When we control New York City, we will then be a model for other U. S. cities". The organization would try to mobilize mass resistance against Governor Rockefeller's "No Knock" and "Search and Seizure" laws, and against police brutality. In subsequent meetings, the group laid out its organizational structure, dealt with issues of membership and finances, debated the nature of its relationship with the civil rights movement, analyzed some of the "social, political and economic facts in Harlem", and attempted to define a basic policy on education, on self-defense and on culture. Also included are personal commentaries from Sara Mitchell, a prime contributor to this file.

The balance of this series comprises declarations and statements by Malcolm X upon launching the new organization. Included are his July 17, 1964 address to the OAU in Cairo, a series of research notes prepared by James Shabazz on the legality of rifle clubs in New York and elsewhere, copies of the OAAU newsletter, Blacklash, membership receipts, miscellaneous financial records, a complete set of the resolutions and recommendations adopted at the first OAU assembly of heads of state and government in Addis Ababa in July 1964, including a resolution against "Racial Discrimination in the United States of America", which is attributable to Malcolm X.

This is a broad mix of printed matter on individuals, organizations and subjects of interest to Malcolm X, and typescripts of stories written about Malcolm X, some of them after his death. The Africa file is a compilation of research papers by mostly black scholars on African Americans and Africa, African messianic movements, Africa in antiquity, and the African press. The Muhammad Ali file is mostly newspaper and magazine articles, including a two-page Associated Press report stipulating that "Scholars at Islam's 1,000 year-old university welcomed Cassius Clay's statement that he is a Moslem" but expressed "reservations about the 'Black Muslim' movement in the United States". The file dates from the mid-February 1964 period when the athlete was training for his championship fight against Sonny Liston, and attests to some of Malcolm X's activities and thinking during the later period of his silencing. Invited with his family for a winter vacation at the young boxer's training camp, Malcolm X is credited with recruiting Ali to the NOI. In a little known February 19, 1964 interview Malcolm X circumvented his silencing to tell the Miami News, through a third party, of his admiration for "The Champ", and to predict that "when warmer weather begins to appear in the North, the problem is going to get worse in 1964 than it was in 1963". Malcolm X presumably counted on his friendship with the young athlete to woo him to his side in the feud with his mentor, but the outspoken Ali quickly put any such hope to rest. "I don't know much what Malcolm X is doing", he told the Norfolk Journal and Guide, "but I do know that Muhammad is the wisest". (March 14, 1964).

Taken together, the Civil Rights files in this and the Printed Matter series attest to Malcolm X's intense preoccupation throughout 1963 with the nonviolence and integration movement represented by King. The annotated and underscored articles, noting every hesitation or setback, comforted the author in his claim that the civil rights movement was controlled by the white-Jewish "liberal establishment", and was running out of steam. The Education folder complements other materials in the NOI series. The Group on Advanced Leadership (GOAL) convened the November 1963 Grassroots Leadership Conference in Detroit at which Malcolm X delivered his celebrated speech, "Message to the Grassroots". The file documents the split between the GOAL group, led by Richard B. Henry, and the more conservative Detroit Council for Human Rights, which had initially called for a Northern Negro Leadership summit, with the exclusion of known nationalists and communists, including the Black Muslims. The Rev. Albert Cleague, who represented GOAL on the Council, insisted that "all black men, regardless of their views, should sit down and hammer out a concerted policy for a united civil rights push in the North".

The slim Martin Luther King file includes material by and critical of King's nonviolent strategy. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) folder consists mostly of educational or promotional material leading to and following the MFDP Challenge to the white Democratic delegation at the 1964 National Democratic Convention. The Monroe "Kidnapping" file includes a draft article by the same title by Julian Mayfield, and printed matter of the Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants. The story of the Monroe incident is told in Robert F. Williams's Negroes with Guns (Third World Press, 1975). The Repatriation Commission file contains a 25-page report to Prime Minister Michael Manley of Jamaica by a 1961 "Back to Africa" mission that traveled to five African states to explore the conditions for "Africans living abroad" to return to the "ancestral land". The original manuscripts in this series include "A Fallen Star" by Ruby Williams, a disillusioned Black Muslim who aspired to tell "the naked truth" of some of Elijah Muhammad's shortcomings, and "Malcolm", a screenplay by Betty L. Rhea, completed in 1974.

• Printed Matter 1959-1965 1.6 linear feet

Custodial history

The papers form the larger part of the Malcolm X collection, stored initially in the Shabazz family home in Mount Vernon and later sold at a storage auction in Miami. The Shabazz family regained control of the papers after cancellation of the public auction by Butterfields Auctioneers in Los Angeles, and deposited them at the Library for a period of 75 years.

Source of acquisition

Estate of Betty Shabazz, December 2002

Processing information

Processed by Andre Elizee, Millery Polyne and Lisann Lewin, with the expert assistance of Mr. Abdullah Abdur-Razzaq (formerly known as James 67X and James Shabazz), 2004-2005

Accessioned by Andre Elizee, January 2004

Separated material

The following records have been transferred:

Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division - Film and Audio Materials

Photographs and Print Division - 22 archival boxes and binders of photographs, slides and negatives.

Related Material

Malcolm X Material in Other Collections And Repositories

Schomburg Center, MARB: Organization of Afro-American Unity Collection, 1964-1965. 0.2 lin. ft.

Schomburg Center, MARB: John Henrik Clarke Papers, box 24. 1.0 lin. ft.

Schomburg Center, MARB: David Garrow / Freedom of Information Act Materials on the Civil Rights Movement, SCM 92-42, boxes 19-20. 1.6 lin. ft.

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI: Malcolm X Collection, 1941-1955. 0.5 lin. ft.

Access to materials

Conditions governing use.

Reproductions, including scans, photographs, and photocopies, are prohibited.

Information on copyright (literary rights) available from repository.

Access restrictions

Researchers are restricted to the microfilm copy in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division. Reproductions, including scans, photographs, and photocopies, are prohibited.

Container List

The Correspondence series encompasses Malcolm X's personal and professional activities. The series begins with a group of thirty handwritten letters, with a later typed version, to his brother Philbert, and the latter's wife, Henrietta, between 1948 and 1952, shortly after Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam. Writing from jail to another correspondent, Sister Beatrice, Malcolm X confided his desire to assist Elijah Muhammad in building the NOI. "There is nothing I would like more so than a beautiful Muslim wife and family, but something tells me fate has chosen me to lead a lonely life, for I have the ability to speak to my people and guide them to the Apostle, and I cannot go to Georgia, Alabama and into the heart of this devil's stronghold where the truth has not been heard unless I am free to travel and preach, and that is my one and only desire, to preach to my people". In a later letter to Sister Beatrice, dated March 1955, he commented on his recruiting successes while having "to take care of FOUR TEMPLES", and hints at the incipient jealousy among the older Muslims. "Many years now, Islam has been among our people, and they have sat on the curb waiting for ELIJAH MUHAMMAD to do all of the WORK himself. Now the new Muslims want to help 24 HOURS A DAY, and those who have been in the Temple all these years take our sincerity to DO our utmost, not as something good, but instead they accuse us of being self-righteous. Or they classify the faith we have in our ability to achieve success as a display of arrogance. They say that I have lost my sense of humor and gift of ease and humanness". [Emphases in original].

There are also seven letters from Malcolm X to Betty Shabazz, ranging from 1959 to August 1964, generally encouraging greater thriftiness ("Don't call unless it's vital; write letters. Phone costs too much. "), and patience with his busy schedule. He prods her to be more devout ("Stress to all the importance of Ramadan and regular prayers during Ramadan. ") and more involved in his overall activities ("Keep a close check on the papers and the newscasts. When I know you do this, I can call you to find out what's happening instead of someone else. ") Writing from an Organization of African Unity summit conference in Cairo in July 1964, he comments: "I realize many there in the States may think I'm shirking my duties as a leader (and even as a husband) by being way over here while there is so much trouble there, but what I'm doing here will be more helpful to the whole in the long run, and I always think in terms of the whole".

Other outgoing letters include a September 1962 tongue-lashing reply to a Sudanese Muslim in Philadelphia, where he recounts his and Elijah Muhammad's visits to the Sudan in 1959. "The letter that you wrote in a recent issue of the Pittsburgh Courier doesn't sound like it came from the heart of a Sudanese Muslim", he wrote to Yahya Hayari. "It sounds like it came from the heart of an American Negro Christian whose only excuse is that the condition of his heart and mind are the results of 400 years of brain-washing". In the same letter, he derides NOI's adversary Talib Dawoud whose "followers combined can fit in one station wagon", and the latter's wife, singer Dakota Staton, who sings "dirty songs in a nightclub to entertain drunken customers". Responding to Eleanor Mason, a California student, during the period of his silencing (December 6, 1963), he wrote that: "We are living at a time and in a world of paradoxes", and that "the Messenger has the right solution and the right program, if handled by intelligent persons who properly understand it". In a second letter to Mason, following his break from NOI (March 21, 1964), he ventured that "you were perhaps well aware of the many obstacles placed in my path to prevent the progressive moves necessary to unite our people and make them stand on their own feet", adding that "I have gotten responses from students throughout America expressing solid support in this new venture. All we have to do is organize energies into one progressive direction and our people will be free overnight". In several letters written that same day, Malcolm X clarified his position vis-à-vis Elijah Muhammad and sought to recruit members into his new "militant Muslim movement", pledging that they will be "actively involved in the Human Rights Struggle that our people are waging in this country".

In a three-page letter to Elijah Muhammad, also dated March 21, 1964, he assured his former mentor that he is still his "number one" follower: "You know well that I would never leave you of my own free will". Two paragraphs later he explained: "Some very bad lies have been spread and are still being spread about me among the Muslims by the officials.... I would do nothing to harm your image or your work or Islam, but I don't hesitate a minute to attack and expose these vicious hypocrites who are trying to make it appear that I am the hypocrite". He further explained that NOI members had been sent to kill him, and that he will readily abandon his East Elmhurst residence to the NOI officials if they would allow him to respond to their charges before the general body at Mosque No. 7. In another series of letters written in June 1964, he discussed his pilgrimage to Mecca, his meetings with several African heads of state and with the African-American expatriate community in Ghana. Writing to Maya Angelou on June 1, he conveyed that "the true reason for my splitting from the Muslim movement is being told here in the States.... It will be exactly as I explained to you". This was in reference to recent news stories about group conflicts and jealousy of Malcolm X on the part of the NOI leadership.

Following his second trip to West Africa and the Middle East in 1964, Malcolm X was intent on reorganizing the Muslim Mosque Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity along separate lines. He engaged in detailed correspondence with his contacts abroad, as part of a broad OAAU networking drive, and also to solicit Islamic support for the Muslim Mosque. In a December 21, 1964 letter to Warith Muhammad (Wallace Muhammad), he sought to entice him to move to Philadelphia: "... we can work together like twins and in no time have Islam on the right path". The last letter in this file is an undated, handwritten protest to U. S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, following the refusal by French officials on February 9, 1965 to allow him entry to the country where he had been scheduled to speak. The letter requested an investigation as to "why this incident took place with no intervention from the United States embassy".

Correspondents in this subseries include Ayo Emeka Azikiwe, the son of Nigeria's first president Nnamdi Azikiwe, then a student in the U. S.; Alex Haley who assisted Malcolm X in the writing of his Autobiography; Elijah Muhammad and two of his sons, Akbar and Wallace (Warith Deen). The Haley file includes an author-collaborator letter of agreement dated June 1, 1963, signed by the two parties, stipulating that the author, Malcolm X, had no desire to profit personally from this joint venture and that "any and all money representing your 50% share shall be made payable to Muhammad's Mosque No. 2" in Chicago. Also in this file are a series of letters written by Haley soliciting additional material needed to shore up various aspects of the narrative; the carbon copy of a letter to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, in which Haley lays out the basis of his association with the Muslim minister, upon his being informed that two teams of federal agents had been asking questions at a previous residence in Manhattan; copies of Haley's letters to his agent stressing the need for timely advances to Malcolm X and raising the prospect of another book using the latter's travel diaries; and two letters, dated June 21 and June 27, 1964, exhorting Malcolm X to follow in Prophet Muhammad's footsteps and embark on a Hegira or flight of his own, "to now remove yourself from the scene in which you are". The last letter in the Haley file, sent to Malcolm X during his second pilgrimage to West Africa and the Middle East, is concerned with distribution rights and with "the changes which have occurred in your perspectives" which would necessitate a complete rewriting of the last two chapters of the book. Other materials pertaining to the Autobiography are located in the Publishers and Agents subseries.

Akbar Muhammad's letters relate to his life in Egypt as a student at Al-Azhar University and to his expulsion from the Nation of Islam for refusing to denounce Malcolm X as a hypocrite. He encouraged his embattled correspondent "to strike a blow" against his enemies: "If you strike now, [Allah] will be with you because it will definitely be for the good of Islam in the Western hemisphere". Elijah Muhammad's letters, all written before the Malcolm X silencing, covered a broad range of topics, from discussing his own health, to the mechanics of selling 500,000 copies of C. Eric Lincoln's book on the Black Muslims through the NOI network. Praising his disciple's work as "wonderful among the educated class", he further instructed that when speaking on college campuses Malcolm X should not "go too much into details on the political side, nor into the subject of a separate state here for us". "Make the public to seek (sic) for the answers", he insisted, adding that "there are two other Ministers who have already gone too far on this subject". In another letter (March 1962), he acknowledged that "The people are more inclined towards the Teachings than ever before, especially about the program on 'some of this earth that we can call our own'" concluding that "This is winning the minds of most of our people today than the religious side which is Islam". In the same letter, he commented that his health was improving and that he was thinking of doing "a little more work", adding that "the greater part will be in study and preparing myself for the great 'rush' that I sense will come pretty soon". With Allah's help, he advised that "the institutions of learning of this devil's civilization will crumble like the others before his - ancient Babylon and Rome - they all fell. Great Kingdoms and Institutes fell before them. So this one is on the way and we are trying to save our people from falling with it".

In a signed letter to Minister Lewis (sic) (Louis Farrakhan) in Massachusetts, also in this file, Elijah Muhammad, reacting to the police killing of Black Muslim Ronald Stokes in Los Angeles commented: "It is very good to see our people showing, for the first time, sympathy with us. This tells us that the dead is (sic) now rising". But faced with the impatience of some followers who anticipated some form of retaliatory action for that killing, he warned that "Physical retaliation will not work too well for us at the present time, as Allah himself wants to show these devils who He is and cannot do so with us running ahead". In response to Malcolm X's offer to go to Detroit to help his brother Wilfred deal with "the ever increasing disagreement between the Ministers and the Captains of No. 1", he praised his disciple's ability to get along "with my near of kin there. Surely they love you and do love your brother, but your brother has not been able to see it because of certain other factors. I have yet to hear or see one of my kin folks say or act in no way other than good towards you". He turned down Malcolm X's offer. (June 17, 1962).

In other letters, Muhammad instructed his disciple to avoid the appearance of direct involvement in politics, which would "gradually ease over into just what the devil is desiring to charge us with". (September 18, 1962) Malcolm X was to avoid further public speaking engagements without first consulting with him. "You should always notify me in advance and give your leader just what you have in mind to say to the people ... on my mission and the teaching or message to the people that Allah has given to me". He advised Malcolm X to decline an invitation to speak in Canada, adding that he pays little attention to similar requests from Europe "because I am not particular about them. I am only after my people here in America". Other requests for personal appearances should be filtered through him, so "I can guide best on what to say". (September 20, 1962) Malcolm X wrote back he was canceling a debate against Martin Luther King that was scheduled for October 1962. The last letter in this group, dated August 1, 1963, warned Malcolm X to be "careful about mentioning Kennedy in your talks and printed matters [sic] by name; use U. S. A. or American Government".

Wallace Muhammad's correspondence begins with a July 24, 1964 letter from his father, setting the conditions "on which you may return and be recognized as a true Muslim Believer in Allah Who came in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad and follow me, His Messenger to His people". The conditions called for Wallace Muhammad and his wife to publicly repudiate their previous "disbelief and opposition of my mission", adding that "if you wish to sincerely return and follow me, if they [sic] will not repent themselves, I still could not accept you". In a December 14, 1964 letter, Wallace Muhammad reached out to Malcolm X to "help you find and serve your purpose in this world", and advised that "the greatest deterrent to the threat of violence is a strong warning and the readiness to back it up, especially when you are faced with religious psychopaths and popularity worshipers who measure their religion in terms of dollars". A one-page cover letter, December 17, 1964, attached to a threatening open telegram from Fruit of Islam Supreme Captain Raymond Sharrieff published in the New Crusader, warned that "they are ready to kill members of their own race with no desire for peace. They've never been this violent or vicious against their own kind before". Other letters spoke of mounting threats against Malcolm X, of Wallace Muhammad's financial and organizational troubles, and of his new name, Warith Ud'Deen, given to him by an Imam from India. A January 15, 1965 reply referred to the "many brothers throughout the country" who had been led astray by "the false shepherd that they were following", and for the need for the two correspondents to "start building a solid foundation right now which will make it possible for us to intelligently pick up the pieces and start building a good house that our people can come into and rest".

Other material in this series pertaining to Malcolm X's separation from the Nation of Islam include an August 15, 1964, open letter (18 pages, incomplete) from Assistant-Minister Henry X, FOI Captain Joseph X and Mosque Secretary Maceo X, local officials at Mosque No. 7, the purpose of which was to shame its recipient as a hypocrite.

The Adam Clayton Powell file consists of invitations to Powell-led discussions, and copies of Powell's correspondence with State and prison authorities protesting the use of shackles in bringing Muslim prisoners to the Federal courthouse in Buffalo, New York.

The Cairo file begins with Malcolm X's second stay in that city in July 1964, and includes correspondence with David Du Bois about the OAAU and the American Muslim Student Association in Ghana, a letter from Shirley Graham Du Bois, along with various articles by and about Malcolm X written in Cairo, and an appeal to Diallo Telli, Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity to urge an investigation by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights "into the inhumane destruction of Afro-American life and property which the present United States government seems either unable or unwilling to protect". The England file relates principally to Malcolm X's presentations at the London School of Economics, Sheffield University and other venues, in late 1964. The France file consists of an August 1964 article in the Paris edition of the New York Times citing official concerns in the U. S. that Malcolm X's efforts to internationalize the plight of African-Americans could become "a touchy problem"; and a letter from Carlos Moore about the mass meeting the Afro-American Center was planning for Malcolm X's February 9, 1965 visit, which was abruptly cancelled by the French government. The text of a telephone conversation between Moore and Malcolm, recorded the evening of February 9, is located in a small OAAU collection, also at the Schomburg Center.

The Speaking Engagements subseries consists of invitation letters with attachments, arranged chronologically into three categories: Colleges and Universities, Radio and Television, and Churches and Community Groups. Correspondents in these categories include Daniel Schechter of Dialogue Magazine; Adelaide Cromwell Hill from the African Studies Program at Boston University; C. Eric Lincoln; Sterling Stuckey, Chairman of the Amistad Society in Chicago; Morroe Berger, Director of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University; Henry Kissinger, Director of Harvard's International Seminar; and Chester Himes for French radio and television.

The General Correspondence subseries includes students, editors and writers, soliciting interviews and data about the Nation of Islam; people commenting on Malcolm X's pronouncements in the media and at public venues; former NOI members writing their grievances against the group; a July 3, 1962 letter from his brother Wilfred X in Highland Park, Michigan, about a local Socialist newspaper's offer to raise funds for the legal expenses in the California police brutality case; a letter with attachment from Bayard Rustin inviting Malcolm X to write a response to be published alongside a critique by August Meier in the magazine Liberation; another letter from the author's sister, Hilda Little, alleging corruption in the Boston Mosque (October 1962); Ossie Davis's thank you letter in response to Malcolm X's invitation to attend the 1962 African-Asian Bazaar as his guest; and a note from Ron Karanga begging his indulgence for his "stereotypical negligence" in not writing sooner.

The 1963 file is mostly incoming letters from fellow activists like William Worthy, and NOI members like Jeanne 2X reporting on the indictment of several Black Muslims on felony charges in the aftermath of the police assault on the Los Angeles Mosque in April 1962. Other correspondents shared their insights, or took exception with the NOI version of Islam and its focus on racial separation. In a Letter to the Editor at the New York Times in response to an article by Robert Payne, Malcolm X denounced the "frantic effort" by American newspapers and magazines "to prove the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is wrong, to discredit him in the Muslim world, and to stop the rapid spread of his religious message". Also included are letters from other mosques discussing NOI activities in various cities; a detailed letter by a recent convert describing the raptures of his new faith, letters denouncing various instances of racial discrimination; and invitations to speak at venues outside the three categories outlined above.

Less voluminous, the 1964-1965 General Correspondence file begins with the same mix described above. News of Malcolm X's break from the Nation of Islam occasioned some elation and invitations to public forums in Chicago and San Francisco to expound on his new views. A March 12, 1964 letter referred to "several brothers in Washington who desire to unite with you in your new Party". J. ben Thomas and Shaynii Zeffii Tau of Radio Free Africa in New York offered to incorporate the Muslim Mosque in a regular discussion of Black nationalist politics in their broadcasts. Ruby Williams wrote from Phoenix, Arizona, (July 4, 1964) of her husband's "information about Mr. Muhammad and his family which includes the tape you made telling him about the low sexual morals of the so-called Muslims". Her narrative, "Fallen Star", from her "experiences while employed in Mr. Muhammad's home and from documents" is located in the Subject Files series (Box 15, folder 10). A correspondent from Tanzania confided that Malcolm X's visit to Dar-es-Salaam had conquered the minds and hearts of those who heard his message: "You left a host of followers and well-wishers behind". (December 17, 1964) The last letter in this file is a note from Maggie Hathaway (February 4, 1965) from the L. A. Sentinel, thanking the author for writing and looking forward to his upcoming visit to Los Angeles.

The Correspondence series ends with sample letters from high school and college students; letters from Roy Wilkins, James Forman, Whitney Young, James Farmer, Ralph Bunche's and Martin Luther King's secretaries, declining Malcolm X's invitation to speak at an August 10, 1963 outdoor rally in Harlem; and letters from public officials and from Black Muslims in jail.

Arranged chronologically

This subseries primarily encompasses social, economic and political themes, delivered to diverse audiences, regardless of race or religion. It includes several versions of Malcolm X's "God's Judgment of White America" (1963), "Farce on Washington" (1963) and his "Warning to White America" (1964) speech. In "God's Judgment of White America" Malcolm X asserted the impending collapse of white power rule in the United States. Moreover, he clearly addressed how an emerging black internationalism, the rise of Islam and the influence of decolonization efforts within the global arena served as tools for dismantling white supremacy, and that these factors and others could further the black revolution in the U. S.

Also, in "God's Judgment", Malcolm X makes the distinction between the "black revolution" and the "Negro revolution". The black revolution represented an independent, radical and immediate movement towards African-American liberation while the Negro revolution advocated gradualist reforms and was controlled by the U. S. government. In his "Farce on Washington" speech Malcolm X argued that the 1963 March on Washington movement was initially a radical "grassroots" movement, but was soon transformed "into one of the meekest demonstrations that the country has ever known". President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X asserted, was unable to prevent the approaching black uprising in Washington so he had "to weaken it, to mix it up, to integrate it, to control it" by supporting the distribution of close to $800,000 in funds to civil rights organizations. According to Malcolm X, the March on Washington was "one of the best conducted picnics in history".

Although Malcolm X's split with the Nation of Islam, his well-publicized Hajj to Mecca, and his travels to Africa and the Middle East in 1964 often signal a more inclusive social and political philosophy, his assessments of racism and segregation remained critical. For example, his 1964 speech "Warning to White America" admitted that he "no longer subscribes to sweeping indictments of any one race", however, he maintained that many Anglo-Americans were averse to forced integration. This speech, also printed in the August 25, 1964 issue of the Egyptian Gazette under the title "Racism: The Cancer That is Destroying America", demonstrated the internationalization of Malcolm X's ideas.

Also located here are typescripts of speeches and other material from Malcolm X's speaking engagements between 1961 and 1963 at many of the nation's top colleges and universities, including Harvard and Yale Universities, the University of California at Berkeley and Howard University in Washington D. C. Indeed, during most of this period Malcolm X was at the forefront of Nation of Islam politics. His confidence and fluid articulation on U. S. and international racial politics, his deep faith in the NOI dogma and his loyal character, situated him as a central figure in the Black Muslim movement in the United States. In 1962, Howard University students invited him to debate Bayard Rustin, noted pacifist and civil rights leader. Malcolm X's opening lecture at Howard University is included in this subseries. He lectured so frequently that he often gave the same or similar lectures. The speeches", A Racial Powderkeg" and "The Anemic Negro Leadership" mirrored his Howard University speech in many ways.

Coupled with numerous college visits, local speeches and the growth of the NOI, the impact of television and documentary filmmaking propelled the image of Malcolm X and the NOI into the national and international arena. This subseries includes notes and transcripts for the 1961 NBC series "The Open Mind". Entitled "Where is the Negro Headed? " the program included such guests as psychologist Kenneth Clark and Richard Haley, field secretary of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE). The subseries also contains a transcript for a 1962 interview of Malcolm X by a French television crew. Similar to the CBS documentary "The Hate That Hate Produced", the French documentary focused on the NOI's criticism of racism in the U. S. Chester Himes, the African-American writer who also served as assistant director and translator on the project, provided a list of questions for Malcolm X, one of which was: "What is the aim and purpose of your organization? " In a clear and concise fashion Malcolm X wrote in his notes, to "raise the dead". Malcolm X understood the power that television and radio wielded in shaping the image of the NOI and conveying their ideas. His direct style of communication often complemented the hunger of reporters and television producers seeking to tell a story.

Other documents in the Writings series include press releases written by Malcolm X, notes and talking points for college debates and other public meetings, and various declarations, statements, open letters and letters to the editor. In his many forays on college campuses, encouraging students' interests in "controversial issues" became one of Malcolm X's principal goals. The recurring themes of separation versus segregation, the resurrecting power of Islam in African America, token integration, the need for a Black revolution and African-American participation in voting stirred up audiences and inspired students to question anti-black prejudice and social injustice in the U. S. There are several intriguing letters from college students to Malcolm that offer solutions and suggestions regarding the Civil Rights struggle, but also reveal their intellectual wrestling with the ideas of social and economic justice.

Radio served as a means to further educate audiences on the religious and political philosophy of the Nation of Islam. Following Elijah Muhammad's bout with asthmatic bronchitis and his subsequent move to Phoenix, Arizona in 1961, Malcolm X played a greater role in the development of NOI's radio program titled "Mr. Muhammad Speaks". Many of the broadcast listeners were non-Muslims and the NOI took advantage of this to inform and possibly recruit black converts to its ranks. Malcolm X traveled widely, from Boston's Mosque No. 11 to Atlanta, Georgia and as far West as Phoenix, Arizona and Mosque No. 27 in Los Angeles, California, to broadcast the NOI's message. The radio scripts in this series have been numbered 1 through 80 and kept in the order that they were found after their acquisition from the auction house. See Appendix I for an itemized list of the radio scripts and the cities where they were broadcast.

Similar to his major speeches and university lectures, Malcolm X's radio broadcasts were recycled for different venues and also encompassed a wide range of themes, from economic self-help, religious teachings, to token African-American leadership in the Civil Rights movement. Although many of the radio scripts are not dated there are a few temporal references that may alert the researcher to approximate dates.

This subseries comprises speeches and notes used to enhance and advance spiritual knowledge to black people in the U. S. Several speeches delivered at Christian churches are included — specifically Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Community Church of New York City and Los Angeles Prayer Baptist Church. Most of Malcolm X's teachings were delivered to Muslim audiences in mosques across the country. But on Sundays Nation of Islam ministers often preached to mixed Muslim and Christian audiences. To some degree, one is able to distinguish between religious teachings to Muslims as opposed to religiously mixed audiences because of the subject matter. It was rare that Malcolm X or other NOI ministers would discuss NOI's cosmology or its theological beliefs to non-Muslim audiences. Other instances reveal where Malcolm X shared religious teachings designed for registered Muslims, with Christian and other religious listeners.

The Religious Teachings folders possess a wealth of knowledge regarding the NOI's Ten Questions ("Student Enrollment"), and questions that have to be answered in order to become a registered Muslim (the Lessons #1 and #2 and the Problem Book). Some of these materials are located elsewhere in the collection. A special five-part teaching by Malcolm X includes lectures on the "Reality of God and Heaven", "Reality of the Devil and Hell", "Messenger Elijah Muhammad" and "Morals, Prayer, Charity". The fourth teaching is absent. Other teachings address subjects such as how to become a good Muslim, the dichotomy between Islam and Christianity, the meaning of Yacub, the black scientist from Nation of Islam mythology who created the white race to commit genocide on black people, and the "Actual Facts", a series of questions to which all the answers are numbers that describe humans' place on the planet and in the universe. The Religious Notes entitled "Roots of Civilization" incorporate material on the question "Why did we [Muslims] run Yacub from the root of civilization? " This question presumably stems from the NOI's Lesson #1 Question #4. In addition, some of the material in this subseries include notes on "Bible, God and the Devil", "Ezekiel's Wheel", the "Muslim Girl's Training" program, and the "End of the World". The latter reveals Malcolm X's thoughts on the fall of Western civilization and its relationship to black peoples' spiritual development.

Malcolm X's religious teachings are infused with social and political commentary on black Americans' (Muslim and non-Muslim) relationship with Allah (God), the Earth and to their humanity. Presented at churches, mosques, street corner rallies, Malcolm X's radical and spiritual messages conveyed the enriching power of Islam, the beauty of a black identity and a rationale for black economic and political empowerment. Islam was the religion of truth, according to Malcolm X, and black people's commitment to Islam (the truth) could liberate them from racial oppression in the U. S. Interestingly, although a devout Muslim, Malcolm X and the NOI primarily utilized the Bible as their spiritual and educational guide. Documents in the Religious Teachings subseries and throughout his writings display and explain Biblical references more so than Qu'ranic verses. The Bible was considered a book of prophecy that spoke to modern day issues of racial oppression and social injustice. Preaching to a population predominately rooted in a Judeo-Christian tradition may account for the use of the Bible as a primary source for educating U. S. blacks.

Organized alphabetically by first sentence or by title. Original titles are in quotations. Periods and ellipses denote a sentence or portion of a sentence. Titles supplied by the processor are in brackets.

This subseries consists of eight notebooks numbered 1 through 8. The first two are disculpatory notes that chronicle Malcolm X's separation from the NOI. Notebooks 3 to 7 are travel diaries for the author's trips to Africa and the Middle East in 1964. The last notebook contains outlines of later speeches, up to "The Last Message" delivered in Detroit, Michigan, on February 14, 1965.

The influence of Malcolm X's sojourn through Africa and the Middle East on his personal and political philosophies is immeasurable. The travel diaries bring to light his day-to-day interactions and opinions on various peoples and issues — from Arab and African statesmen, religious figures and African-American expatriates, to modernization and industrialization in Africa and the Arab world. A transcription of the July to September 1964 travel diaries is also included.

The purpose of Malcolm X's journey to Africa and the Middle East was two-fold: to build better communication and understanding between African-American Muslims and Muslims throughout the world and to strengthen relations between African Americans of all faiths and the emerging African nations. A struggle on two fronts, Malcolm X's work focused on the spread of Islam, human rights and racial equality in the U. S. He asserted in a 1964 speech at Shuban al-Muslimin in Egypt:

"As a Muslim, I feel obligated to fight for the spread of Islam until all the world bows before Allah, but as an Afro-American, I can never overlook the miserable plight of my people in America, so I have two fights, two struggles.... So, I come before you here in the Muslim World, not only to rejoice over the wonderful blessings of Islam, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to remind you that there are 22 million of us in America, many of whom have never heard of Allah and Islam, and all of whom are the victims of America's continued oppression, exploitation and degradation."

The travel diaries detail Malcolm X's interactions with writers Maya Angelou and Julian Mayfield in Ghana, and his evolving ideas on Anglo-Americans and whiteness. Also included are notes for university speeches, perspectives on racial politics in the West and also the role that Africa should play in the lives of African Americans. Malcolm X clearly argued for a political and religious agenda of Black Nationalism and Islam if African Americans were to be successful in combating the social, economic and political divide in the U. S. He stated: "...it will take Black Nationalism to make our people conscious of doing for self and then Islam will provide the spiritual guidance...[that] will link us spiritually to Africa, Arabia and Asia". Malcolm X's ideas during this time period involved an interplay between local and global issues that addressed the plight of millions of black people in the U. S.

The travel diaries ground Malcolm X's thoughts and his international socio-political agenda during the pivotal year of 1964 — in which his trips to the Middle East and Africa and the formation of the Organization of Afro American Unity proved fundamental to the evolution of his identity and his politics.

Malcolm X's speech notes complement the myriad of ideas expressed in his completed lectures and informal talks. In some of the more detailed notes, the author focused on the separation versus integration debate (2 folders), the Los Angeles police brutality case involving Ronald Stokes, white supremacy in the U. S., and the importance of studying the history of African-descended peoples. The "African-Asian Bazaar" folder highlights the influence of the 1955 Bandung Conference on Malcolm X's ideas on economic independence and international cooperation. Also included here is a folder of notes for lectures at a number of academic institutions that further document his ideas on separation and integration, the theological and organizational mission of Elijah Muhammad, and Malcolm X's own understanding of the NOI as a religious institution. Overall, this subseries provides rich documentation to further examine Malcolm's socio-political message.

Incorporated in May 1956 as Muhammad's Temple of Islam, Mosque No. 7 was the largest and most active NOI chapter, under Malcolm X's direction. Its files in the collection consist of administrative and educational material, correspondence, disciplinary decisions and appeals, and advocacy and legal documents pertaining to police brutality in New York City and religious discrimination in New York State prisons. The 1956 Certificate of Incorporation bears Malcolm X's signature as presiding officer. The Leases and Space Rental file includes correspondence between NOI lawyer Edward Jacko and New York State National Guard officials for the rental of the 369th Regiment's armory in Harlem for a bazaar showcasing the achievements of African-American businesses. The request had been initially rejected on grounds that the Nation of Islam was a "controversial organization" whose religious character was "in litigation in this State". Also included are attendance slips, one for 1961 and 24 for 1963, ranging from March 17 to October 20. Weekly services were held at the original Mosque No. 7 in Harlem as well as in Corona, Queens, (No. 7-B) and in Brooklyn (No. 7-C). The attendance slip for March 17, 1963 in Harlem records the presence of 219 men (Fruits of Islam or FOI), 137 women (Muslim Girls Training or MGT), 49 Junior FOI and 37 Junior MGT, 34 Brothers and 76 Sisters "on Forms" (waiting for their "X"), 74 visitors and 53 "Lost-Founds". The keynote speaker was Minister Malcolm X. The subject was "Freedom, Justice and Equality". On Sunday, October 6, services were held at all three locations, with a total of 665 participants in Harlem, 107 in Corona and 394 in Brooklyn.

The Youth Training Program at Mosque No. 7 was geared toward children aged 3 to 7, 8 to 12 and 13 to 18, and addressed the academic and moral needs of the children. Included in the file are a Parents-Teachers Association newsletter, proposals by Muslim educators and the Mosque's Youth Training Committee, an address by Sister Bernice entitled "The Children of Islam", the first two pages of an "ABC of Divine Knowledge" for children, and a 15-page "Guide for Teachers: Contributions of Afro-Americans to the American Culture" by Edwina Chavers Johnson. NOI women learned "how to keep house, how to rear children, how to take care of their husband, sew, cook, and in general, how to act at home and abroad", in classes designed by founder W. D. Fard for the Moslem Girls' Training and General Civilization Class (MGT-GCC). The MGT file consists of two short essays on the woman in Islam and some notes. Additional material on women and the NOI are in the Printed Matter series.

The slim correspondence file in the New York Mosque subseries includes inquiries from NOI members on such things as the meaning of Ramadan, sleeping arrangements for visiting Muslims attending a NOI rally in New York City, and members seeking guidance or redress against other members. MGT women in Mosque No. 10 (Atlantic City) wrote in alarm, in November 1962, of accusations made by their minister "that we are unfit for the brothers to give their life for us and that we are uncouth". One telegram dated December 1, 1962 offered "iron clad proof of an organized plot against you". An August 14, 1963 letter from FOI Captain Quinton R. X. in Washington, D. C., is concerned with a purported statement by Bayard Rustin that organizers of the historic 1963 March on Washington would welcome Malcolm X if he would embrace nonviolence. Also included are two January 1963 letters from the New York State Commissioner for Human Rights about a reported confrontation between the Rochester police and local Black Muslims. That meeting and a subsequent one between Malcolm X and the Commissioner for Public Safety in Rochester, Donald Corbett, were amply reported in an attached issue of the news magazine We.

The NOI held its members to strict codes of personal conduct, and enforced its discipline through temporary banishment or "Time Out". The disciplinary process involved the Minister, the FOI Captain and Investigators of both sexes. Some cases were forwarded to Chicago for a decision. The Disciplinary file includes several reports detailing member misconduct. The Police Brutality file deals marginally with New York City. An October 20, 1961 draft resolution in Malcolm X's hand called for the sub-committee on police brutality of the Emergency Committee for Unity on Social and Economic Problems to "disband at once and give back to the entire body of UNITY the gigantic responsibility of forming an Emergency Committee on Law Enforcement". The Emergency Committee was a coalition effort chaired by A. Philip Randolph. A four-page "Program for Correcting and Preventing the Breakdown of Law and Order Enforcement in the Black Community" is also included, along with other documents dealing with police misconduct in New York. On January 2, 1963, Malcolm X sent a telegram to Mayor Wagner, Police Commissioner Michael Murphy and District Attorney Frank Logan, to protest the increased harassment of Muslim street sellers of the Muhammad Speaks newspaper. The telegram called for an immediate investigation of the previous Christmas day arrest of two paper sellers at gunpoint in Times Square. Other documents in this file include a handout entitled "America has become a police-state for 20 million Negroes", a telegram to President Kennedy protesting the detention of a NOI minister and 12 Black Muslims in Rochester, and a press release announcing a February 13, 1963 protest in Times Square.

Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X filed a multi-million dollar damage suit against the Hearst Corporation in 1960, for a New York Journal-American article that characterized Muhammad's Temple of Islam as a "terrorist organization". The article stemmed from Malcolm X's thirty-minute private meeting with Fidel Castro at the Theresa Hotel in Harlem in September 1960. The complaint file by Edward Jacko recalled the context of Castro's stay at the Harlem hotel where he entertained Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev, among others. The two plaintiffs filed another lawsuit against the New York World-Telegram newspaper, following a February 17, 1961 article about "the Muslim Brotherhood, also known as the Black Muslims, Muslim Cult of Islam, Nation of Islam and other Arabic-sounding names". Citing police sources, the article referred to the Muslim Brotherhood as "one of the most dangerous gangs in the city", as a "fanatic Negro cult" responsible for a riot at the United Nations in which some 40 people had been injured, following the assassination of Congolese Prime-Minister Patrice Lumumba.

The remaining New York files relate to Black Muslims in jail and the restriction of their rights as a religious group by prison authorities. The Rikers Island folder refers to a policy prohibiting in-jail conversion to Islam. "The only inmates who are permitted to attend the [Muslim] services are those inmates who previously stated, prior to admittance to the institution, that they are Muslim.... All others are kept out of the services even if the guards have to resort to violence". At Attica, the Rules of Religious Services limited the chaplaincy only to candidates who held a degree from an accredited four-year college or university. This and other requirements disqualified most NOI ministers. In 1962, a group of Muslim inmates who had filed a suit against this discriminatory policy were brought to court in leg chains. A vigorous campaign involving Mosque No. 7, Congressman Adam Clayton Powell and African Americans in Buffalo, challenged Governor Nelson Rockefeller to discontinue these discriminatory practices. The file includes copies of correspondence between Powell and the governor's office, press releases, accounts in local newspapers, and various petitions filed by the plaintiffs. A similar situation at Clinton Prison in Dannemora, NY, led the NOI through its attorney, Edward Jacko, to file a civil rights brief on behalf of three inmates: James Pierce, Martin Sostre and William Marion. Inmates in Greenhaven Prison, Dutchess County, NY, also sought a relief order for the ministration of their faith. The Greenhaven file includes a late 1963 handwritten draft press release penned by Malcolm X, indicating that "two Negro inmates" had "filed a complaint last week with [United Nations] Secretary General U Thant charging violations of their human rights by the U. S. government and by the state of New York". This and other briefs are included here.

On May 4, 1962, Malcolm X issued a press alert in Los Angeles to call attention to an incident that had occurred a week earlier when a police squad forced its way inside the local mosque killing mosque secretary Ronald Stokes and wounding several others. A Grand Jury subsequently brought felony charges against fourteen of the Black Muslims, all of them unarmed at the time of the confrontation. Malcolm X went to L. A. as Elijah Muhammad's national representative, and sought to mobilize support in the local black community for the indicted men and against police brutality. The file includes Malcolm X's initial notes on the case, his "Open Letter to America's Five Negro Congressmen", press releases from the local and national NAACP, correspondence, legal documents, newspaper clippings and publicity material for several NOI-organized protests.

The Philadelphia file consists of correspondence and publicity material pertaining to the October 1962 NOI national convention in that city, and the minutes of a Fellowship Commission on Community Tension meeting on the Black Muslim movement. Also included are material developed by Minister Clifford X on organization and community relations. The Boston file includes three letters by Minister Louis X (Farrakhan) to Malcolm X, to community organizations, and to Massachusetts elected officials on the subject of police brutality in Los Angeles and Boston. In 1963 Malcolm X assumed stewardship of Mosque No. 4 in Washington, D. C. Included in the file for that city are monthly tallies of expenditures and income from May through August, attendance slips for the month of August, correspondence between Malcolm X and the District of Columbia Department of Corrections about the religious rights of Muslim inmates in D. C. jails, and some printed matter.

This subseries consists of articles from the national press and from local newspapers gathered by Malcolm X as he traveled around the country and across the world. The articles are arranged chronologically, according to preexisting headings found in the collection. Malcolm X used current events in his political agitation and as a result paid close attention to the news media. A fair number of articles are annotated and underlined. Malcolm X also expected his associates to write frequent press releases to publicize their events and their views, however when the media covered the events in question, the views expressed were often sensationalized, as if to constantly fuel public fear of the Black Muslims' more radical or extreme views. The nationalist leader understood this dynamic and warned the country in his prophecy of "the Ballot or the Bullet" that the price of denying the accommodationist demands of the civil right movement was the prospect of racial confrontation and unbridled violence.

The Malcolm X file picks up in 1962, as the NOI became "one of the fastest growing mass movements in the United States (Cornell Daily Sun, 3/7/62), and the young Muslim leader its most visible emblem. Articles in the file range from the mainstream New York daily press to local papers like the Ithaca Journal and the Omaha Star, with more coverage after his break from the NOI from the leftwing press and publications in Africa. The next file, Separation from the Nation of Islam, lends credence to claims that a campaign had been underway, prior to President Kennedy's November 22, 1963 assassination to foster division in the Black Muslims' ranks, or at the very least to drive Malcolm X away. The Chicago Defender and two other Chicago newspapers ran stories, in early November 1963, alleging a feud between Malcolm X and Muhammad. The black press sensationalized his silencing, and in the case of the Afro-American declared a "showdown" between the two men, set for the annual NOI Convention on February 26, 1964 in Chicago. The New York Times wrote (2/25/64) that the "chickens coming home to roost" remarks had been used by Muslim officials in Chicago to "cut Malcolm down to size". After the separation, the headlines veered to alleged armed confrontations between Malcolm X followers and NOI members, and to sizzling accounts of Muhammad's extra-marital affairs. Additional materials on Malcolm X are also found in the Black Muslims folder. The file "Mr. Muhammad Speaks" contains copies of the weekly column written by Elijah Muhammad and published in various African-American newspapers. Copies of the weekly column, "The Woman in Islam", published in the New Crusader and written by NOI member Tynetta Deanar are filed under that title. Other files relate to Black Muslims in jail, the L. A. police killing of Ronald X Stokes, the civil rights movement, the Kennedy administration, and racial unrest in the U. S. in 1964.

There is also a box of oversized newspapers featuring articles about Malcolm X and his activities at home and abroad. Printed matter not microfilmed include a Bible and three copies of the Quran, Muslim publications brought back from trips in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and a copy of the book History of Palestine Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine which is said to support Elijah Muhammad's claim that 33-Degree Masons were initially accepted as members of the Shrine, also known as Moslems Sons.

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May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965

As the nation’s most visible proponent of  Black Nationalism , Malcolm X’s challenge to the multiracial, nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King, Jr., helped set the tone for the ideological and tactical conflicts that took place within the black freedom struggle of the 1960s. Given Malcolm X’s abrasive criticism of King and his advocacy of racial separatism, it is not surprising that King rejected the occasional overtures from one of his fiercest critics. However, after Malcolm’s assassination in 1965, King wrote to his widow, Betty Shabazz: “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 the great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem” (King, 26 February 1965).

Malcolm Little was born to Louise and Earl Little in Omaha, Nebraska, on 19 May 1925. His father died when he was six years old—the victim, he believed, of a white racist group. Following his father’s death, Malcolm recalled, “Some kind of psychological deterioration hit our family circle and began to eat away our pride” (Malcolm X,  Autobiography , 14). By the end of the 1930s Malcolm’s mother had been institutionalized, and he became a ward of the court to be raised by white guardians in various reform schools and foster homes.

Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) while serving a prison term in Massachusetts on burglary charges. Shortly after his release in 1952, he moved to Chicago and became a minister under Elijah Muhammad, abandoning his “slave name,” and becoming Malcolm X (Malcolm X, “We Are Rising”). By the late 1950s, Malcolm had become the NOI’s leading spokesman.

Although Malcolm rejected King’s message of  nonviolence , he respected King as a “fellow-leader of our people,” sending King NOI articles as early as 1957 and inviting him to participate in mass meetings throughout the early 1960s ( Papers  5:491 ). Although Malcolm was particularly interested that King hear Elijah Muhammad’s message, he also sought to create an open forum for black leaders to explore solutions to the “race problem” (Malcolm X, 31 July 1963). King never accepted Malcolm’s invitations, however, leaving communication with him to his secretary, Maude  Ballou .

Despite his repeated overtures to King, Malcolm did not refrain from criticizing him publicly. “The only revolution in which the goal is loving your enemy,” Malcolm told an audience in 1963, “is the Negro revolution … That’s no revolution” (Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots,” 9).

In the spring of 1964, Malcolm broke away from the NOI and made a pilgrimage to Mecca. When he returned he began following a course that paralleled King’s—combining religious leadership and political action. Although King told reporters that Malcolm’s separation from Elijah Muhammad “holds no particular significance to the present civil rights efforts,” he argued that if “tangible gains are not made soon all across the country, we must honestly face the prospect that some Negroes might be tempted to accept some oblique path [such] as that Malcolm X proposes” (King, 16 March 1964).

Ten days later, during the Senate debate on the  Civil Rights Act of 1964 , King and Malcolm met for the first and only time. After holding a press conference in the Capitol on the proceedings, King encountered Malcolm in the hallway. As King recalled in a 3 April letter, “At the end of the conference, he came and spoke to me, and I readily shook his hand.” King defended shaking the hand of an adversary by saying that “my position is that of kindness and reconciliation” (King, 3 April 1965).

Malcolm’s primary concern during the remainder of 1964 was to establish ties with the black activists he saw as more militant than King. He met with a number of workers from the  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee  (SNCC), including SNCC chairman John  Lewis  and Mississippi organizer Fannie Lou  Hamer . Malcolm saw his newly created Organization of African American Unity (OAAU) as a potential source of ideological guidance for the more militant veterans of the southern civil rights movement. At the same time, he looked to the southern struggle for inspiration in his effort to revitalize the Black Nationalist movement.

In January 1965, he revealed in an interview that the OAAU would “support fully and without compromise any action by any group that is designed to get meaningful immediate results” (Malcolm X,  Two Speeches , 31). Malcolm urged civil rights groups to unite, telling a gathering at a symposium sponsored by the  Congress of Racial Equality : “We want freedom now, but we’re not going to get it saying ‘We Shall Overcome.’ We've got to fight to overcome” (Malcolm X,  Malcolm X Speaks , 38).

In early 1965, while King was jailed in Selma, Alabama, Malcolm traveled to Selma, where he had a private meeting with Coretta Scott  King . “I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult,” he assured Coretta. “I really did come thinking that I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King” (Scott King, 256).

On 21 February 1965, just a few weeks after his visit to Selma, Malcolm X was assassinated. King called his murder a “great tragedy” and expressed his regret that it “occurred at a time when Malcolm X was … moving toward a greater understanding of the nonviolent movement” (King, 24 February 1965). He asserted that Malcolm’s murder deprived “the world of a potentially great leader” (King, “The Nightmare of Violence”). Malcolm’s death signaled the beginning of bitter battles involving proponents of the ideological alternatives the two men represented.

Maude L. Ballou to Malcolm X, 1 February 1957, in  Papers  4:117 .

Goldman, Death and Life of Malcolm X , 1973.

King, “The Nightmare of Violence,”  New York Amsterdam News , 13 March 1965.

King, Press conference on Malcolm X’s assassination, 24 February 1965,  MLKJP-GAMK .

King, Statement on Malcolm X’s break with Elijah Muhammad, 16 March 1964,  MCMLK-RWWL .

King to Abram Eisenman, 3 April 1964,  MLKJP-GAMK .

King to Shabazz, 26 February 1965,  MCMLK-RWWL .

(Scott) King,  My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. , 1969.

Malcolm X, Interview by Harry Ring over Station WBAI-FM in New York, in  Two Speeches by Malcolm X , 1965.

Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots,”  in Malcolm X Speaks , ed. George Breitman, 1965.

Malcolm X, “We Are Rising From the Dead Since We Heard Messenger Muhammad Speak,”  Pittsburgh Courier , 15 December 1956.

Malcolm X to King, 21 July 1960, in  Papers  5:491 .

Malcolm X to King, 31 July 1963, 

Malcolm X with Haley,  Autobiography of Malcolm X , 1965.

Historical Material

Maude L. Ballou to Malcolm X

From Malcolm X

The Ideological and Spiritual Transformation of Malcolm X

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• Published: 18 July 2020
• Volume 24 , pages 417–433, ( 2020 )

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This paper explores the nexus between incarceration, spirituality, and self-discovery through the literary lens of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

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The Evolving Ideology of Malcolm X

For many African American males inside and outside of prison, Malcolm X embodies the true meaning of manhood, spirituality, and leadership. He personifies the rebel and the reformed, the unsympathetic and passionate, and the incorrigible and scholarly. Malcolm X’s life was one of complexity due to many changes, internal and external, that impacted his evolution as a man as well as his broad influence on African American culture. Some scholars argue that Malcom X inspired a generation of African American men while other misguided souls believe his lasting legacy is one of racial polarization. Whether people revere Malcolm as someone who wanted to uplift his race or suspect him to be a figure who widened the racial divide through his unrestrained critique of the American social order, it is safe to say that even in death, his legacy is still evolving. His story fascinates young readers and continues to inspire prison inmates who see Malcolm’s life as a reflection of their own. This article examines Malcolm X’s spiritual evolution as a former prisoner, Nation of Islam minister, and human rights activist. This work does not explore The Autobiography of Malcolm X from a sentimental gaze but as an avenue to understand many of the deep-seated issues that continue to plague our nation, such as race, incarceration, manhood, and the possibility of conversion behind bars. In addition, I argue that Malcolm X’s spiritual journey and search for ideological soundness remained in a state of flux even at the time of his assassination.

Moreover, people continue to be intrigued by the mystique of Malcolm X, especially because his life was snuffed out before his potential could be actualized. As a result, scholars, spectators, and skeptics are still constructing Malcolm’s life story from his interviews, speeches, and time spent with author Alex Haley. One can argue that while Haley may have written a first account of Malcolm X’s oral history, there still remains an element of mythology to behind Haley’s account, as Malcolm died before his narrative was finished. Shirley K. Rose suggests, “All autobiographical writing contains two distinct literary myths: literacy as a means for achieving individual autonomy and literacy as means of social participation” (Rose 1987 , 3). These literary myths are evident in Malcolm X’s autobiography because Alex Haley superimposes his language onto Malcolm’s words and manipulates how the world at large still views Malcolm’s multifaceted life. One can argue that Haley may have reconstituted some of Malcolm’s narrative accounts to give his story national and global appeal. Nonetheless, Nell Painter argues “Even when the autobiography is not a collaboration, the narrator passes over much in silence and highlights certain themes that become salient . . . [to] what the narrator concludes she or he has become” (Painter 1993 , 433). And at the root of all storytelling is the author’s ability to transcend literary, cultural, and political boundaries. While scholars continue to debate the validity of Haley’s interpretation, Malcolm’s life is still considered a great American story because the narrative intertwines three distinct literary tropes: literacy, the self-made man, and the conversion experience. Nevertheless, the centrality of this research is not an examination of authorship, but an exploration into Malcolm’s life, a controversial American figure, whose life continues to bring attention to incarceration, recidivism, and the probability of transformation in the lives of former convicts.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in the middle of the roaring twenties at the height of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. To combat the onslaught of state-sanctioned terrorism against African Americans, families such as the Littles formed very close bonds with local churches and other religious affiliations. As a young boy, Malcolm witnessed his dad preach fiery sermons in Baptist churches. In addition to preaching, his father also made time to spread the doctrine of Marcus Garvey, the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, who encouraged African Americans to, among other things, return to Africa. According to Malcolm X, “The teachings of Marcus Garvey stressed becoming independent of the white man” (Alex Haley 1965 , 5). Garvey’s philosophy certainly had a profound effect on young Malcolm, as shown by his later choice of a similar path and doctrine that promoted Black solidarity and racial pride. While a large majority of African Americans believed that a higher being would eventually relieve them from their pain and suffering on earth, Malcolm had a hard time placing his confidence in religion or in a supreme being. He states in his autobiography, “I couldn’t believe in the Christian concept of Jesus as someone divine” (Haley 1965 , 7). Although the text does not state this explicitly, one can infer the possibility that the sudden death of his father and his mother’s mental breakdown thereafter contributed to Malcolm’s distrust of religion.

While his father exited his life in a literal sense, his mother departed both physically and mentally. Malcolm X’s father’s death was considered by many in the African American community an unsolved homicide because his body was found severed on streetcar tracks. Consumed with grief and unable to care for her family, Malcolm X’s mother collapsed emotionally from the anguish and the enormity of having to care for her seven children. She was eventually placed in a mental institution. These two unfathomable losses for Malcolm X are the first in a series of incidents that served as turning points in his life. At such a young age, Malcolm X experienced what most adults dread, yet also understand is imminent. He suffered the literal death of his father at the age of six and the (figurative) passing of his mother at the age of twelve.

The absence of his mother and father left him vulnerable to the lure of the streets and mischievous behavior. As a result, Malcolm X spent time in a foster home and later a reform school. On the way to reform school, a male welfare worker expressed to Malcolm the true meaning of the word reform , which proved to be a foreshadowing to Malcolm’s mission in life. In the autobiography, the welfare worker Mr. Maynard Allen asserts, “The word reform means to change and to become better” (Haley 1965 , 31). Malcolm was about to undergo a series of changes in a new home, school, and town. One incident in particular that served to remind Malcolm of his place or position in society occurred in the eighth grade, when his Caucasian teacher told him to abandon any dreams of becoming a lawyer. His teacher insisted, “A lawyer is no realistic goal for a nigger” (Haley 1965 , 43). These words spoken by Malcolm’s teacher devastated Malcolm and caused him to question the importance of an education. Theologian Ryan LaMothe contends, “No matter how bright or gifted Malcolm was, he now knew that all that was left to him was the lowest sphere of economic and cultural life” (LaMothe 2009 , 531). The world that his white classmates had privy to by virtue of their race was not available to Malcolm. He recalls this pivotal time as an adolescent when learning became no longer a priority. Malcolm states, “It was then that I began to change inside” (Haley 1965 , 44). His desire to learn and to cooperate with those around him was replaced by disappointment that weighed heavy on his mind. This incident caused Malcolm to become even more disillusioned with church and God. Malcolm may have wrestled internally with the following question: How could a loving God allow one race of people to thrive and another race of people to go through life under the cloak of racism and segregation? LaMothe argues, “Malcolm X’s withdrawal from and rebellion against the white world and its concomitant expectations of African American submission included his rejection of Christianity” (LaMothe 2009 , 531). As a result, Malcolm gave his full attention to the world outside of the classroom, where he gained acceptance and access to life on the streets in Harlem.

Without a father or mother to affirm his humanity and identity, Malcolm gained approval from peers who were only interested in acts of deception and corruption. For instance, one lesson he learned early after his arrival in Boston to live with his half-sister Ella was that far too many people lead fraudulent lives, and everything in the world is a hustle (Haley 1965 ). Malcolm thrived in the hustler lifestyle, pedaling narcotics, robbing homes, and engaging in prostitution. Archie Epps claims, “He lived up to his nickname-the tough urbane, devil-like Detroit Red” (Epps 1993 , 64). While Malcolm was far from the attorney, he once dreamed of becoming, he was gaining notoriety fast between the streets of Boston and Harlem in 1943. (the writer needs to introduce to the reader when Malcolm found himself in Harlem). Like most young people in their teens, he lived with the notion of invincibility. His foreboding sense of indestructability heightened every time he escaped being caught or outwitted his peers on the streets. In Malcolm’s autobiography, he recalls this period in his life as a very empty existence. He states, “Through all this time in my life, I really was dead, mentally dead” (Haley 1965 , 145). Malcolm’s eventual arrest in 1946 for burglary awakened him to the severity of his crime and to the irony of finally being out-hustled.

Sitting inside a jail cell brought Malcolm to face to face with the hopelessness and depravity that was far more sinister than the life he knew as a criminal on the streets. He notes, “Behind bars, a man never reforms” (Haley 1965 , 176). Malcolm believed locking men away in cages only intensified their propensity for lawless acts because he too took part in illegal activities for a time while incarcerated. Also, his disdain for white people increased, because in his mind, they were the ones that destroyed his family and life: “The white people who kept calling my mother crazy . . . the white people to the Kalamazoo asylum . . . the white judge and others who had split up the children . . . .” (Haley 1965 , 184). Malcolm’s internal anger also manifested itself in the way he viewed himself as well. For instance, there was a period of his incarceration where fellow inmates referred to Malcolm as Satan, due to his rejection of anything or anyone spiritual in nature. However, his perception of himself and others changed once he submitted his life to Allah.

While Malcolm was not quite twenty-one and facing a lengthy prison sentence, his life shifted once again when he was introduced to Allah and the Nation of Islam (NOI) by his brother Reginald, who visited Malcolm in prison. Through their lengthy conversation about God (Allah) and a subsequent letter from his brother Philibert, after months of soul-searching, Malcolm decided to adopt their Islamic faith. Malcolm’s brothers had aligned their philosophical beliefs with the prophet Elijah Muhammad, who created his own sect of Islam based partly on myths of the African American race and bits and pieces of Orthodox Islam as practiced in Middle East countries.

This was not an easy transition for Malcolm because his former life was entrenched in his thinking and actions. However, over a period of learning more about the Nation of Islam (NOI) and Allah, Malcolm was persuaded to adopt this new belief system that elevated African Americans, instead of reducing them to lowest level of existence. Malcolm X notes, “Christian religion . . . taught the ‘Negro’ that black was a curse [and] it taught him to hate everything black, including himself” (Haley 1965 , 188). And for Malcolm, reading and studying about Africans and African Americans in the context of the NOI affirmed his humanity. Malcolm paralleled his spiritual conversion to that of the biblical figure Paul on the road to Damascus: “I do not now, and I did not then, liken myself to Paul . . . But I do understand his experience” (Haley 1965 , 189). This statement is somewhat ironic in that Malcolm would compare his spiritual awakening to that of a Christian prophet considering he vehemently rejects Christianity throughout his narrative. One can also argue that this comparison is a foreshadowing of Malcolm’s lifelong search for truth as well as an indication of the internal warring with which he wrestled until his death. Nevertheless, this revelation for Malcolm would now begin to inform his thoughts and actions inside of prison as well as how he perceived others. A pivotal part of Malcolm’s salvation experience or surrendering his life to a higher power was his willingness to begin writing letters to Elijah Muhammad and family members to gain a greater understanding of the NOI. This is not surprising because Malcolm was a student of life, and his classroom was now a jail cell instead of the streets of Harlem. Nonetheless, Malcolm was arrested in Boston. In his autobiography, he reflects on the use of a dictionary as the teaching tool that liberated him to freely express himself. Malcolm referred to it as his homemade education. He notes, “Between Mr. Muhammad’s teachings, my correspondence, my visitors . . . and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned . . . In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life” (Haley 1965 , 199). This moment in text illustrates not only Malcolm’s mental awakening but also the spiritual stirring to know Allah.

Furthermore, the most difficult aspect of submitting to Allah for Malcolm was learning to pray. This meant becoming completely vulnerable and admitting that he needed help from a higher power if he was going to make it through his prison experience. Malcolm contends, “I had to force myself to bend my knees and waves of shame and embarrassment would force me back up . . . For evil to bend its knees, admitting its guilt, to implore the forgiveness of God was the hardest thing in the world . . . Again, again, I would force myself back down into the praying-to-Allah posture” (Haley 1965 , 197). This act of submission by Malcolm helped him to understand that his life consisted of not just the experiences of his past, but that there was also a future awaiting his rise from obscurity. In addition, as Malcolm continued to grow in his faith and understanding of the NOI, the more he wanted to learn and apply the doctrine to his life.

Elijah Muhammad’s brand of Islam was based on an individual by the name of W.D. Fard, who was seminal to the movement in the 1930s. Fard reportedly knocked on the doors of African American families and proclaimed that their true religious identity was Islam. Religious historian Edward Curtis contends, “Fard stayed in Detroit only a little while before disappearing from the city, but his movement would have an impact on the entire country” (Curtis 2006 , 2). Elijah Poole, who embraced Fard’s brand of Islam, changed his name to Elijah Muhammad and eventually began to follow the earlier teachings of Fard. Curtis points out, “Elijah Muhammad’s movement would cement itself in American historical memory as a black nationalist organization committed to racial separation and ethnic pride” (Curtis 2006 ). Muhammad began proselytizing in the same geographical region of Detroit where W.D. Fard mysteriously vanished; however, Muhammad’s separatist message soon spread to other regions of the USA and even abroad. African Americans were drawn to Muhammad’s message of racial solidarity because it affirmed their humanity, in time of extreme social and racial oppression. This message was not only preached in the ghettos and urban spaces of America but also spread to prisons as a theology of liberation for the African American male. The NOI reached many Black males in prison because the organization addressed issues of racism and poverty in Black communities, the breakdown of the Black family, rising rates of prisoners of color, and a lack of spiritual guidance. These issues were pertinent to both incarcerated and free Blacks, thus making Muhammad’s message of liberation viable to hopeful new converts and intriguing to those somewhat skeptical.

This new belief system set Malcolm on a path toward self-actualization. He was drawn to the NOI along with many other African American male inmates because this religious organization placed a heavy emphasis on Black identity and manhood. Sociologist Magnus O. Bassey suggests, “Islam, according to Malcolm, [meant] freedom, justice, and equality” (Bassey 1999 , 50). Also, Islam offered African Americans a position of authority in the creation story, whereas Christianity reduced them to a cursed existence. Bassey further contends, “Christianity had brainwashed African Americans and left them mentally, morally and spiritually dead” (Bassey 1999 , 50). In addition, Christianity encouraged its followers to seek their resolve and rest from life’s challenges in the afterlife. Bassey also insists, “Malcolm recognized that Christianity misdirected black rage away from white racism and toward another world of heaven and sentimental romance” (Bassey 1999 ). One can reason that prison inmates are more concerned with addressing their current needs and frustrations than with looking to a heaven that may or may not exist. The NOI was able to capitalize on the emotional vulnerability of inmates by promising them a salvation that addressed issues of incarceration, poverty, family, and spirituality. In doing so, Muhammad was able to appeal to the prisoner’s sense of loss of self as well as his culture. Malcolm and many other inmates were imprisoned physically and emotionally by what they perceived to be an all-white judicial system with little to no empathy for the Black man. Muhammad knew many of the men he targeted in prison to convert were from impoverished backgrounds and the victims of a racist judicial system, so he took advantage of their vulnerable emotional state and lured many of them to the NOI by demonizing the white race.

One of Malcolm’s first letters from Muhammad underscores the plight of the Black prisoner from his vantage point. Muhammad wrote, “The black prisoner symbolized white society’s crime of keeping black men oppressed and deprived and ignorant, and unable to get decent jobs, turning them into criminals” (Haley 1965 , 195). While Muhammad’s letters and methods for recruiting men in prison were divisive, he was able to shift the focus of the prisoner’s responsibility back to the problem of race in America. Zoe Colley contends, “The influence of the imprisoned Muslims stretched across the prison walls to help shape the NOI’s critique of white privilege and its ideological appeal within ghettos” (Colley 2014 , 396). The NOI’s doctrine went to great lengths to parallel the existence of Black prisoners to free Blacks living under an oppressive and racist regime.

In addition, Muhammad promised his new converts if they prayed to Allah, a change in their lives would occur. Muhammad’s Islam was predicated on the following core values: uplift of the Black race, manhood, and moral transformation. Magnus Bassey suggests, “By becoming a Muslim, the African American becomes a man . . . [and] his lost identity is rediscovered, his never-experienced dignity dawns and he enters life” (Bassey 1999 , 53). The promise of manhood or the affirming of an inmate’s manhood is what caused the NOI to appeal to so many convicts who lived at the lowest level of existence inside a jail cell and who were also told by the Christian religion that their race was cursed. Anna Hartwell argues, “The Nation offered a nexus of identifications that seemingly existed outside US structures of oppression that nurtured the devastating conjunction of racism and urban poverty” (Hartwell 2008 , 209). One of the primary goals of the NOI was to empower African American males by providing them with opportunities for personal growth. Furthermore, Muhammad drew from his own imprisonment in the 1940s for refusing to register for the World War II draft (Colley 2014 ). Muhammad made sure he appealed to the prisoner’s deepest need for human connection and support. Black inmates who felt demoralized and unable to survive emotionally under oppressive penal institutions gravitated toward the NOI because the organization validated their humanity. Colley further asserts, “For African American prisoners, the crucial element of this philosophy was the promise of redemption and hope for the future” (Colley 2014 , 402). The NOI did not completely ignore Black criminality; however, the organization chose to place a greater emphasis on the goodness they believed every prisoner was capable of demonstrating.

Also, Muhammad and his followers understood the problem of recidivism that was all too common among inmates, so they worked very hard to present a religious philosophy that addressed every aspect of man’s existence. NOI members were instructed to adhere to moral decency, respect authority, work hard, live frugally, avoid certain foods, and abstain from alcohol and drugs. Moreover, the NOI also called for political, economic, and social separation from White America (Colley 2014 ). This separation drew Malcolm, as well as other Black inmates who were intrigued by a religion that refuted societal claims that they were inferior to other races and destined to live as second-class citizens all their lives. Anna Hartwell suggests, “The Nation offered a vehicle through which US blacks might shake off the post-slavery legacy of endemic racism – racism that some brands of Christianity had so enthusiastically justified – by opposing, rather than attempting to assimilate with, dominant notions of Americanness” (Hartwell 2008 , 210).

As Malcolm and other inmates accepted the religious ideology espoused by the NOI, many prison officials believed the organization was fashioned to create antagonistic relationships between white prison guards and Black inmates. The fears or distress of prison guards over this religion that captured the minds and hearts of Black inmates through sermons of empowerment and pride in the Black race troubled prison officials to the point that some penal sites forbade inmates to practice Islam. As the NOI’s membership in prisons increased, so did the resistance from prison officials, which resulted in Black protest movements in prisons during the late 1950s. Sociologist James B. Jacobs argues, “Prison officials saw in the Muslims not only a threat to prison authority but also a broader revolutionary challenge to American society” (Jacobs 1979 , 6). Prison inmates protested against personal, social, and religious injustices. Many of the same injustices that catalyzed racial and social movements outside of prison mirrored the movements that were then taking place inside American prisons.

Moreover, as Black Muslim inmates continued to protest for their rights to practice their beliefs and to proselytize, prison officials persisted in their efforts to hinder them. Prison administrators believed racial hatred was at the core of Black Muslim ideology, which resulted in anarchy. Contrary to the thoughts and feelings of prison officials, Black Muslims claimed white prison officials routinely continued the oppression of American Blacks (Jacobs 1979 ). What made Black Muslims such a force inside of prisons was that they challenged the caste system, defied penal policies, and initiated litigation. As a result of their willingness to fight for religious and social freedom behind bars, many inmates were politicized in prison in the late 1950s and 1960s. This politicization also stemmed from civil rights groups that did not share all the values of Black Muslims but still recognized the importance of fighting injustice in all areas of society. As Malcolm experienced what he believed to be the sting of injustice, he also went through a spiritual transformation that helped him to see the plight of Black prisoners and Black men in general from a new perspective.

Once he accepted Allah as his God, his mission shifted to sharing the liberating truths of The Nation of Islam with other inmates. Upon his release from prison in 1952, Malcolm immersed himself in the teaching of Muhammad’s and the work of the NOI. A year later, he was appointed by Muhammad as Detroit Temple Number One’s Assistant Minister (Haley 1965 ). This appointment allowed Malcolm X to spread the message of Black pride and racial uplift on a fulltime basis. This was yet another pivotal moment in Malcolm’s journey because he abandoned a former life on the streets and embraced a spiritual charge to transform himself and his community.

In doing so, he also further distanced himself from the white race and Christianity because, from his vantage point, they both represented oppression. Malcolm’s early messages to Black Muslims and bystanders were reminiscent of those of his father Earl Little, who also preached a controversial religious and political ideology. Anna Hartwell argues, “The Nation’s appropriation of Garveyism – as well as other sources of 19th century as well as 20th century black nationalism – thus hung onto its central symbols while displacing the Christian account of divine authority” (Hartwell 2008 ). Malcolm believed that Islam was a special religion for African American males, who in his opinion were misguided and conditioned to view themselves as inferior beings through the eyes of the white race. One can argue that Malcolm’s rejection of the white cultural-political ethos and religion signified an attempt to find a Black political (and, more latently, religious) subjectivity that would support his self-worth and agency (LaMothe 2009 ). This was evident in Malcolm’s desire as a teenager and young adult to fully fit into the Black urban spaces of Harlem and Boston, where Black subjectivity was affirmed and celebrated. In these spaces, Malcolm absorbed the Black ethos with its idioms and values and its rich stories and rituals though this did not include the Black Christian ethos (LaMothe 2009 ). From his perspective, Christian teachings and practices hampered the advancement of Blacks whereas Islam promoted Black empowerment and self-reliance.

Under the tutelage of Muhammad, Malcolm immersed himself in a new way of thinking and living as one of the organization’s ministers. In addition, his apprenticeship with Muhammad stirred within Malcolm a reverence that was far greater than any feelings he had ever experienced for another human being. As a result of such a great adoration, Malcolm worked very hard to prove his loyalty to Muhammad as well as his devotion to Allah. Everything Malcolm learned through the reading of the Quran and his time with Muhammad, he shared with parishioners and potential converts on the streets of Detroit and in other cities.

In 1959, a nationally televised documentary The Hate That Hate Produced gave Americans their first intimate view of the NOI and its philosophical teachings. Before the documentary, the NOI existed in obscurity from a large portion of the American public. The documentary brought more notoriety to the NOI as well as critics who believed the organization was encouraging hatred toward people who were not of African descent. Edward Curtis claims, “The [expose] on the NOI was generally negative, criticizing the movement as an anti-American or black supremacist group” (Curtis 2006 , 4). The undesirable portrayal of the NOI caused many national leaders, Black, and white, to condemn the organization for its separatist ideology. According to Manning Marable, “Malcolm himself thought the show had demonized the Nation, and likened its impact to what happened back in 1938 when Orson Wells frightened America with a radio program describing, as though it was happening, an invasion by men from Mars” (Manning  2011 , 162). While detractors attacked the Nation for its controversial beliefs and practices, Malcolm remained steadfast to his convictions and loyalty to the NOI’s mission. He continued to represent the Nation even though some members within the organization began to view his charismatic approach and motives as self-serving.

Malcolm placed a great emphasis on illustrating the teachings of Elijah Muhammad’s version of Islam. Muhammad always explained at length the atrocities of slavery in building his case that all white men are inherently evil and are devils. Malcolm used this same approach with a style and rhetoric similar to Western tent revival preachers except that he admonished listeners to abandon a Christianity he believed condoned the enslavement of the Black race and to adopt a religion that promised true freedom. For example, in a speech entitled “Black Man’s History” in 1962 at New York’s Mosque #7, Malcom spoke at length on the importance of African Americans learning their history if they were to successfully overcome the mental and societal assault on their psyche from being viewed as inferior and as second-class citizens. In addition, he argued that the Bible needed to be recovered from the mythic overlays of (white) Christianity in order for its historical veracity to be displayed (Terrill 2001 , 30). His objective was to declare that Christian teachings were shrouded in mythology for the purpose of masking the truth of liberation. In doing so, Malcolm filled the role of the prophet to cure the defective vision of the people by debunking and stripping away insidious mythology that renders people blind (Terrill 2001 ). Malcolm spoke from a prophetic discourse to provoke both a response and action from his audience.

This type of visionary speech is what rhetoricians refer to as jeremiad or apocalyptic rhetoric, terms used to characterize African American protest speech. The first type of discourse examines the following: a consideration of the freedom America promises, a detailed criticism of America’s failure to fulfill its promise, and a prophecy that America will eventually achieve its promised greatness (Terrill 2001 ). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream” is an example of this type of rhetoric. Also, jeremiad prophecy is more inclusive than exclusive while apocalyptic prophecy declares that the ultimate fulfillment of America’s promise will be in a battle between good and evil. This is evident in Confessions by Nat Turner, where he uses apocalyptic rhetoric to rouse listeners to revolutionary action. Robert Terrill suggests, “Characteristic of such texts is an ambivalent role for human agency, for while the fate of the world is not in human hands, this rhetoric does generally advocate some form of human action” (Terrill 2001 , 28). Malcolm sought to stir listeners as well to move them past complacency to engagement.

For instance, in his “Declaration of Independence,” a statement of freedom from the NOI, Malcolm asserts, “We should be peaceful, law-abiding-but the time has come for the American Negro to fight back with self-defense whenever and wherever he is being unjustly and unlawfully attacked” (Harper 1971 , 395). One can argue that by Malcolm suggesting that African Americans, more specifically males, use firearms to fight racial injustices; he is helping to affirm Black manhood. Moreover, men with guns was a symbol of manliness dating back to the old South when white males engaged in military combat as evidence of their courage. Historians Craig Thompson Friend and Lorri Glover suggest, “In the South, no other act more conclusively demonstrated an individual’s masculinity than his prowess on the battlefield” (Friend and Glover 2004 , 10). A century after the Civil War, Malcolm rallied African American males to engage in the ongoing struggle for human rights and to stand up and be men. Malcolm’s extreme rhetoric provoked many in the African American community to defend themselves if necessary while others chose to engage in nonviolent protests. Maria Josefina Saldana-Portillo argues, “Through his words, acts, gestures, and desire, Malcolm X performs the coherence, ‘the organizing principle of identity of cause’ of the tropic American subject” (Saldana-Portillo 1997 , 304). Malcolm is no longer speaking or acting from a space of obscurity, but he has reclaimed his position as a man and inspired other Black males to do so as well.

Regardless of how Malcolm’s contentious rhetoric was received by hearers, his words continued to resonate with listeners looking for practical ways to address oppression. Moreover, a lot of people who attended Malcolm’s meetings could relate very well to his discussions on the economically and socially disadvantaged because many of them were from impoverished backgrounds or Northern ghettos or were poor or poorly educated or a combination of all the aforementioned (Terrill 2001 ). In Malcolm’s reiteration of the speech “Black Man’s History,” the Black race triumphs in the end. However, this did not mean the struggle for equality and civil rights would suddenly disappear.

In addition, whether Blacks listening to Malcolm fully ascribed to his theological doctrine of Islam, mentioning slavery was his way of appealing to his audience’s emotions to get them to reflect on past and current racial acts of violence. “The dramatization of slavery never failed intensely to arouse Negroes . . . and once I had them fired up with slavery, I would shift the scene to themselves” (Haley 1965 , 245). He seized the opportunity to create a narrative that elevated Blacks to a place of social and historical significance. Malcolm accomplished this by combining what he learned from Muhammad with his own life experiences and his discoveries about American slavery and the civilizations of Africa (Condit and Lucaites 1993 , 295). Furthermore, using a historical framework in his speeches, Malcolm also spoke out against modern-day injustices, such as police brutality and economic and political disparities in the Black community.

Malcolm joined the conversation on Black nationalism and encouraged Blacks to take back their communities through social and political involvement. In doing so, he transferred control of Black politics, economics, and morality from Allah and white America to a reconstituted community of socially and economically self-dependent Blacks (Condit and Lucaites 1993 ). The NOI as an organization did not typically engage in political and social conversations in public forums; however, Malcolm catapulted the NOI onto the national stage through his controversial rhetoric and approach to social activism. Historian Moshik Temkin argues, “Malcolm X knew full well how important the civil rights movement was to many American blacks, but this to him, was a source of agitation: he saw these blacks as hoodwinked and wanted to bring them around to his view” (Temkin 2012 , 275). In addition, Malcolm believed that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who advocated for equality alongside him approached civil rights from a one-sided perspective. Temkin notes, “It signified a critical difference in how one viewed American blacks: whereas King and the rest of the civil rights mainstream saw American blacks first and foremost as U.S. citizens, deserving full rights and equality as such, Malcolm spoke of ‘Afro-Americans,’ by which he meant all people of African origin in the Western Hemisphere” (Temkin 2012 , 275–276). Malcolm wanted to expand African Americans’ view of their domestic struggle beyond US borders and back to the origins of their predicament in America. Temkin further contends, “The civil rights struggle, as Malcolm saw it, kept blacks under the control of America’s domestic jurisdiction; he wanted to transform the black issue in the United States into a geopolitical concern” (Temkin 2012, 276).

Moreover, Malcolm’s style of expression drew large crowds because followers and skeptics were mesmerized by his ability to synthesize the national problem of race with what he perceived as moral depravity. As Malcolm moved away from talking solely about religion, his life’s trajectory shifted once again, this time into the realm of politics and direct action. And while Elijah Muhammad sought to evade the political sphere, Malcolm appeared to be drawn to it by the hand of providence. Although Malcolm’s new direction of thought conflicted with Elijah Muhammad, his reverence for his former teacher never waned. In addition, as Malcolm’s world view expanded so did his realization that Elijah Muhammad was not the dutiful minister he proclaimed to be before his parishioners. This revelation resulted in their relationship severing over Muhammad’s behavior of having children outside of his marriage. Another contributing factor was Muhammad’s inability to contain his young protégé. For example, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Malcolm was very unsympathetic to Americans grieving the national loss. When asked by a reporter his thoughts on Kennedy’s assassination after giving an address at the Manhattan Center, he compared the president’s assassination to chickens coming home to roost even though he was advised by Muhammad not to speak on the President’s tragic end (Manning  2011 ). This infraction drew sharp criticism from Muhammad and the entire nation, and Malcolm was silenced for 90 days, which led to his eventual separation from the NOI.

When Malcolm departed from the NOI amid death threats and organizational hypocrisy, he illustrated once more that his search for religious understanding was still in process because he made the decision to embark on a spiritual journey, the Hajj. Louis A. DeCaro, Jr. states, “The Hajj is a profound statement of the [the Hajji’s] devotion to God, rejection of sin, and a celebration of the brotherhood of all Moslems [and] it is considered one of the most potent unifying factors in the world of Islam” (Decaro 1996 , 203). This voyage for Malcolm would come to signify one of the most pivotal transitions in his life as well as his evolving search for truth.

However, before his departure to Mecca, he made one of his more memorable speeches, entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet,” on April 3, 1964. This speech signaled not only his split from the NOI but his growing concern for human rights worldwide. Malcolm presented a series of political scenarios, urging and pleading with African Americans to take part in the electoral process. He also warned audience members of the impending violence that might ensue in communities if the social and economic issues pertinent to their well-being were not addressed. He began this speech by addressing the rumors behind his leaving NOI by stating, “Although I’m still Muslim, I’m not here tonight to discuss my religion, [nor] to change your religion” (X 2003 , 51). Malcolm did not waste any time in pushing the issue of his Muslim affiliation to the forefront of his speech so as to move to the heart of the lecture and his unified vision for domestic rights as well as a growing interest in international rights.

In many ways, this speech symbolized the internal struggle Malcolm faced as an NOI member, desiring to be part of the political action, yet restrained under the headship of Elijah Muhammad. In the absence of restrictions from the NOI, Malcolm told a crowded audience that he no longer considered himself an American because America had become a hypocritical nation. He asserted, “I’m not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag saluter, or a flag waver, no, not I” (James 2003, 52). He rejected the idea of an equitable and democratic society due to the suffering and marginalization of so many of its citizens: “I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare” (James 2003, 52). Malcolm argued further that there were Americans who were waking up to the reality that they had been left out of the political and social progress of the nation by virtue of their race and position in society. Also, some men and women who were aware of the racially exclusive practices by the government also began to realize injustices were occurring beyond the US borders as well.

Malcolm believed participation in the voting process would not only begin to challenge the reality of America’s Black and poor citizens but also put pressure on leaders in other nations to treat their citizens more humanely. He continues: “That’s why in 1964, it’s time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what we’re supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we don’t cast a ballot, it’s going to end up in a situation where we’re going to have to cast a bullet” (James 2003, 55). Malcolm was speaking to the endless number of incidents where racism had prevailed over human decency. This discrimination had been in the form of racial acts of violence and governmental policies enacted to oppress certain races and cultures.

While Malcolm never explicitly advocated violence, this rhetoric does seem to encourage violent action (Terrill 2001 ). His rhetoric made him a polarizing figure to listeners who only heard the aggression in his words without a clear understanding of the suffering and bloodshed that preceded his lecture and that was occurring even while he spoke. Malcolm responded to those who may have seen him only as someone trying to incite violence: “Well, we’re justified in seeking civil rights if it means equality and opportunity, because all we’re doing there is trying to collect for our investment; our mothers and fathers invested in sweat and blood” (James 2003, 56). Many elderly individuals in attendance were wary of using violence while some young people interpreted his rhetoric to solely mean killing. Malcolm was fully aware of the skewed interpretations of his speech; hence, he sought to clarify his statement or at the very least to make it more palatable: “Any time you know you’re within the law, within your legal rights, within your moral rights, in accord with justice, then die for what you believe in” (James 2003, 58). Beyond a reciprocal reaction to violence, Malcolm also understood the importance of having allies outside of the USA to speak up on behalf of the disenfranchised in America. He redirected the ending of his speech back to the ballot and the power of voting.

Furthermore, he pushed his audience to think about the needs and injustices within the global society by challenging listeners to consider civil rights - a human rights issue. This shift in Malcolm’s thinking was yet another change in his philosophical ideology and in his approach to tackling domestic affairs. He points out, “When you expand the civil-rights struggle to the level of human rights, you can then take the case of the black man in this country before the nations of the UN” (James 2003, 58). Once Malcolm separated from the NOI, his worldview broadened; he envisioned indicting the USA but needed the support of voters and global allies to do so.

Moreover, as Malcolm nears the end of his oration, he reiterates his deep abiding religious convictions as a Muslim but also signals to his followers and cynics that the time for political action is now. Malcolm notes, “It’s true we’re are Muslims and our religion is Islam, but we don’t mix our religion with our politics and our economic and our social activities anymore” (James 2003, 60). Malcolm was no longer bound to Muhammad’s brand of Islam that disengaged from the civil rights movement; instead, he outlined the responsibility of every citizen to engage in the process of fighting for equality on every level of human existence: “We become involved with anybody, anywhere, any time and in any manner that’s designed to eliminate the evils, the political, economic and social evils that are afflicting the people of our community” (James 2003, 60). Malcolm’s objective was to provoke his audience not only to political action here in the USA but to also consider the struggles of indigenous people all over the world in the fight for human rights. Moshik Temkin argues, “Malcolm saw the oppression of American blacks as one part of a Western phenomenon – colonialism/imperialism; they happened to be living in the United States because of the historical crime of slavery, and their affinity was not to other US citizens, but rather to a global community” (Temkin 2012, 276). Malcolm’s worldview is in part why he left the country 10 days after delivering this speech on a journey to Mecca. This particular religious pilgrimage is encouraged by Orthodox Muslims because of its transformative effect on disciples. While this was not Malcolm’s first trip out of the country, the voyage helped to reshape his spiritual outlook from the exclusion of non-whites to the inclusion of all races. Taking part in the hajj brought Malcolm X face to face with Orthodox Islam, a doctrine that was not espoused by the NOI.

Orthodox Islam does not separate its followers based on race. Orthodox Islam is the belief in God (Allah) and the Quran. Religious historian Seyyed Hossein Nasr reasons, “Islam is a return not only to the religion of Abraham, but even to that of Adam, restoring primordial monotheism with identifying it with a single people, as in the case of Judaism, or a single event of human history, as one observes in the prevalent historical view of incarnation in Christian theology” (Nasir  2003 , 5). Muslims believe Jesus Christ was a prophet and not the Godhead in the flesh, nor the savior of the world worshipped by Western Christians. Nasr further notes, “The Quran is central to the Islam faith, the verbatim Word of God revealed to the Prophet by the archangel Gabriel and transmitted by him . . . later assembled in its present order under the instruction of the Prophet and written down in several manuscripts” (Nasir 2003 , 37). Also, Islamic faith centers on Allah and not a messenger nor the Prophet that is considered the perfect model of human existence.

Moreover, Islam is a religion that encourages unity among its followers. Nasar argues, “Islam’s great emphasis on unity . . . integrates a vast segment of humanity with diverse ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds in its diverse interpretations of its teachings” (Nasir  2003 , 37). Orthodox Islam unites many schools of Islamic thought together in search of and discovery of Allah. These truths were eye opening to Malcolm as he traveled through Muslim countries and witnessed people of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds in pursuit of a deeper understanding of Allah. This whole experience was surprising and affirming for Malcolm. He fondly remembers, “Packed in the plane were white, black, brown, red, and yellow people; blue eyes and blond hair, and my kinky red hair – all together, brothers” (Haley 1965 , 372)! As he moved further along in his journey, he began to experience the oneness between his brothers as well as the oneness of their God: “Everything about the pilgrimage accented the Oneness of Man under God” (Haley 1965 , 380). The interactions with men and women from all over the world contradicted his American experiences and caused him to reevaluate his faith and personal perspective. In the USA, Malcolm faced social, economic, and racial hostility as an African American male, but in the Middle East, he was treated with dignity. This may have been due solely to his religious affiliation with the men and women also taking part in the hajj or to the fact that some global communities were more socially advanced than the USA in 1964. Either way, his acceptance while on the pilgrimage highlighted the extent of the race problem in the USA. And he equated his feelings of liberation to stepping out of a prison (Haley 1965 ). For the first time, Malcolm X experienced the white man not as his enemy but as his friend.

As a result, Malcolm became less judgmental toward white men because of the genuine kindness and hospitality they displayed to him in the Middle East; no longer willing to make blanket statements accusing the white man as the devil. Also, he learned after dining with a Muslim white scholar that wherever there was an issue with color in the Middle East, it was almost always the result of Western influence. After spending a great amount of time eating, talking, traveling, and praying with Muslims, Malcolm began to let go of some skepticism he may have brought with him from America in regard to other races: “The color-blindness of the Muslim world’s religious society and the color-blindness of the Muslim world’s human society: these two influences had each day been making a greater impact, and an increasing persuasion against my previous way of thinking” (Haley 1965 , 389). Malcolm remembers this time in his journey where his core belief system began to change, and he came to loathe the 12 years he spent under the tutelage of Muhammad as well as his American persona. For Malcolm, the hajj caused him to not only reflect on the divisive spiritual training of Muhammad but also on the antagonistic choices he made in carrying out Muhammad’s form of Islam. As Malcolm accepted a new all-encompassing way of practicing Islam, he also changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz to reflect this pivotal conversion in his life. In his autobiography, Malcolm stated, “The true Islam has shown me that a blanket indictment of all white people is as wrong as when whites make blanket indictments against blacks” (Haley 2003, 416). His feelings of empathy toward all mankind remained with him once he returned to America and so did his political vigilance to hold America accountable for its refusal to address the race problem that continued to divide its people.

Historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith suggest, “Malcolm’s beliefs that whites were not inherently evil developed gradually, but this realization did not alter his political ideology . . . At his core, Malcolm X was a Black Nationalist, a soldier at war searching for allies in the black liberation movement” (Roberts and Smith 2016 , 247). One can argue that at this juncture in Malcolm’s life, he still had a tremendous amount of animosity in his heart against white Americans, due to the history of slavery and other racial atrocities.

In addition, he wanted African Americans to take a more active role in fighting for their rights in this great nation as opposed to waiting for the American government to automatically dispense equality to its marginalized citizens. And while Malcolm X understood the urgency of his rhetoric, he also realized the danger in rallying masses of people to take a stand against worldwide injustices. The NOI was not pleased with Malcolm’s new brand of Islam nor his propensity to make known the organization’s moral and social contradictions. Therefore, Malcolm became a target of ridicule and hatred. As such, in every NOI mosque, the faithful were obligated to swear fealty to Muhammad and to denounce Malcolm as a heretic (Manning  2011 ). Muhammad now viewed Malcolm as a traitor to NOI as well as a threat to its doctrine.

Furthermore, Malcolm predicted his haunting death in his autobiography: “In any city, wherever I go, making speeches, holding meetings of my organization or attending to business, black men are watching every move I make, awaiting their chance to kill me” (Haley 1965 , 438). On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while giving the opening greetings before his speech was to commence before a large crowd at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Manning Marable suggests, “Most Malcolmites thought the Nation of Islam was actively conspiring to kill their leader, many also suspected the U.S. government as being behind the murder attempts” (Manning  2011 , 429). Whether the Nation or the government orchestrated the death of Malcolm X, his untimely demise left a void in African American culture, and more specifically, in the lives of African American males who revered him for his unapologetic reflection of manhood, intellectual prowess, and spiritual complexity. For instance, when actor Ossie Davis eulogized Malcolm, he made sure to illustrate Malcolm’s ability to make African American males feel like men. Davis pointed out, “I knew the man personally, and however much I disagreed with him, I never doubted that Malcolm, even when he was wrong, was always that rarest thing in the world among us Negroes: a true man” (Haley 1965 , 527). These sentiments still resonate today with so many African Americans who view Malcolm as an iconic figure who was ahead of his time in regard to how he saw and thought about the world and the manner in which he approached issues of injustice. Also, The Autobiography of Malcolm X has become one of the leading texts in prisons libraries because Malcolm’s life demonstrates to inmates the power of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, and the courage to face the unknown.

Moreover, Malcolm’s autobiography proves instructional when examining the prison writings of Eldridge Cleaver, George Jackson, Huey Newton, Stanley Tookie Williams, and Dr. Rubin Hurricane Carter. From the perspective of these former inmates, Malcolm epitomized the ideal revolutionary and spiritual philosopher. The narratives explored in subsequent chapters in this study all mirror in some aspect the ideas of identity, activism, and spirituality that Malcolm was still uncovering or realizing at the time of his death. For example, the life of Eldridge Cleaver as chronicled in Soul on Ice illustrates in several ways his connection and admiration for Malcolm’s evolution as a man. Cleaver believed, “Malcolm X had a special meaning for black convicts [as] a former prisoner himself . . . for this reason he was a symbol of hope, a model for thousands of black convicts who found themselves trapped in the vicious PPP cycle: prison-parole-prison” (Cleaver 1968 , 81). Malcolm was a hero for many Black prisoners incarcerated in the 1960s and 1970s because the life he exhibited and words he spoke once he was released from prison compelled others to stand up and be men. Eldridge Cleaver further argues, “When he spoke under the banner of Elijah Muhammad he was irresistible [and] when he spoke under his own banner he was irresistible . . . had he continued to give voice to the mute ambitions in the black man’s soul, his message would still have been triumphant: because what was great was not Malcolm X but the truth he uttered” (Cleaver 1968 , 82).

In addition to Cleaver’s admiration for Malcolm, political prisoner George Jackson also revered him. For Jackson, Malcolm represented everything he was endeavoring to become as a political activist and truth seeker. Although Jackson’s life was cut short in prison, his narrative Soledad Brother urged African Americans to remain engaged in the fight for social and political equality. Moreover, he highlights in great detail the disenfranchisement and oppression of the Black prisoner and why he was willing to use any means necessary to fight against state-sanctioned repression. And while the methods Jackson used to contest prison subjugation were radical and merciless, his contribution, or the lack thereof, in examining incarceration and racism in America, continues to point to the militant ideology of Malcolm X. Unlike George Jackson who became politicized in prison and lived out Malcolm’s unforgiving rhetoric, Tookie Stanley Williams and Rubin “Hurricane” Carter show through their narratives that transformation is possible for inmates.

Both Williams and Carter had similar experiences to Malcolm growing up in homes where the family unit was dysfunctional, thereby, contributing to their adolescent delinquency and eventual incarceration. What is strikingly similar in the narratives Blue Rage, Black Redemption by Williams and The Eye of the Hurricane by Carter to Malcolm’s autobiography is that Williams and Carter attest to the transforming power of educating oneself in prison and to adopting a spiritual or religious belief. While Williams and Carter learned to use their fists before they understood the authority that words can carry, they both struggled as did Malcolm X with their position as men in a segregated society. To combat their frustrated feelings of inferiority, they created their own brand of manhood and bravado based on their ability to physically overpower anyone who stood in their way. Williams co-founded the L.A. gang Crips, and Carter became a well known boxer who was unjustly convicted of triple homicide and spent close to 20 years in prison.

However, beyond their questionable past and convictions is the hard work, these men engaged in to move their lives in a new direction of thought once they understood their release from prison was improbable. Stanley Tookie Williams alluded to this difficulty in his narrative: “Everything was working against me: I was an imprisoned black man: condemned to die; co-founder of the infamous and hated Crips; and no one believed I could change; I even had my doubts” (Williams 2004 , 271). Even with self-doubt lingering in his mind, Williams continued to re-educate himself in hope of personal liberation and to serve as an agent of freedom for others. Williams made it a point through his writing and rare opportunities to speak to caution others of the dangers that accompany gang affiliation and life behind bars: “I warn black men and women everywhere: beware of these tombs for the living called prisons” (Williams 2004 , 293). The prison narratives by Williams and Carter are more than mere cautionary tales but are literal blueprints for incarcerated men and women who are seeking to change their lives. The Autobiography of Malcolm X sets the precedent for African American prison narratives in the 1960s, and the stories that follow in this study each address in some way the overarching question of incarceration: Is it possible for inmates to change? While Malcolm X is the personification of a transformed life, the other prisoners highlighted in this project prove that change is possible. In conclusion, individual transformation cannot be evaluated by outward conduct alone but must also take into consideration the emotional and spiritual evolution that can only be judged by one’s God.

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Jones, T. The Ideological and Spiritual Transformation of Malcolm X. J Afr Am St 24 , 417–433 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-020-09487-2

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THE INFLUENCE AND IMPACT OF MALCOM X'POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY ON THE RACIAL EMANCIPATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND BEYOND

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This comparative study between Malcolm X's speech "The Ballot or the Bullet" and his Ford Auditorium address reveals a shift in rhetoric. Malcolm X's rhetoric changed from being separation-laden, calling for a black counter-cultural hegemonic orientation of black nationalism, into being more inclusive of all races and advocating for the "brotherhood of all men." This paper explores the process, the reasons, and the implications of this shift in rhetoric.

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This essay both reviews Manning Marable’s Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention and reflects more broadly upon Malcolm X’s political trajectory and human rights activism in the context of American, African-American, and international history. The essay seeks to analyze the meanings of Malcolm X’s rhetoric, social background, and global ambitions, in particular vis-à-vis the civil rights movement, the geopolitics of the Cold War, and the place of the United States in the wider world. The essay also focuses on the strengths and limitations of Marable’s approach to Malcolm X’s career and on the distinctions between humanizing Malcolm X and historicizing him. The essay concludes with some speculations on the implications that Malcolm X’s life and death might have for understanding public affairs today.

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Revisiting Malcolm X's Life and Legacy: Remote Resources for Readers of All Ages

Portrait of Muslim minister and activist Malcolm X

Portrait of Muslim minister and activist Malcolm X. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 57824065

El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz yes. they have taken your tongue still you speak yes. you dared and were damned by your own skin black hands took you but have not taken you  bullets slew you but have not slain you blood spilled out of you that day blood running out and spilling into us where you live where the black phoenix rises in our hearts forever

—Wanda Coleman from  Heavy Daughter Blues: Poems & Stories 1968-1986

Orator, activist and leader Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 and died in 1965. Malcolm X was one of the most iconic figures to emerge in the mid-twentieth century. The Schomburg Center houses materials in its research divisions on Malcolm X, some of which may be accessed remotely, that document his evolution and efforts to liberate people of African descent from oppression, racism and colonialism. 

Some of the unique items on Malcolm X at the Schomburg include The Malcolm X Collection: Papers, 1948-1965 , which contain correspondence, diaries, writings, clippings and other items.  The notes from Malcolm X's speech, "The Ballot or The Bullet," which are included in this collection have been digitized and  may be viewed here .  The Malcolm X Manuscripts  contains an unpublished Autobiography of Malcolm X chapter, “The Negro,” as well as manuscript versions of published chapters and fragments of chapters from his autobiography. Both of those collections may be accessed via the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division . Published primary and secondary source materials can be found in the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division and audiovisual recordings may be found in the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division.  Photos may be found in the Photographs & Prints Division .

In the decades following Malcolm X’s death researchers continue to study his legacy and seek inspiration from writings and teachings. In 2019 a six-part documentary series Who Killed Malcolm X ?  was released and in it, Abdur-Rahman Muhammad who is a lay historian and activist conducted his own investigation into the assasination of Malcolm X. The documentary renewed interest in the re-examination of Malcolm’s role with the Nation of Islam (NOI), his split from this organization and the conspiracies surrounding his murder. View a segment from a 2020 episode of PBS NewsHour featuring  Phil Bertelsen (director of Who Killed Malcolm X? ) and Abdur-Rahman Muhammad discussing the documentary series  here .

We are highlighting resources that readers of all ages may use remotely (including databases, e-books, audiobooks and streamed programs) to get started on their research about Malcolm X and discover more about the man, as well as the global impact he had during his lifetime and beyond.

Online Resources

Databases including African American Experience and Biography in Context are a helpful place to start for students to locate biographical resources about Malcolm X. Malcolm X, A Search For Truth, is an online exhibit that was curated by the Schomburg Center that chronicles Malcolm X and includes a detailed timeline arranged by major events in Malcolm X’s life.  

Researchers can locate newspaper and magazine articles on Malcolm X from the Black and ethnic press by searching databases that contain digitized versions of African American newspapers African American Periodicals 1827-1998 , ProQuest Historical African American Newspapers , African American Newspapers and Ethnic NewsWatch .    

Scholarly journal articles on Malcolm X can be found in the databases Project Muse , ProQuest Research Library , JSTOR , Periodicals Index Online and America: History and Life .

Chicago Daily Defender, Feb 6, 1964, p. 5

ProQuest Historical African American Newspapers

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

 as told to Alex Haley

Originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time. The Autobiography of Malcolm X stands as the definitive statement of a movement and a man whose work was never completed but whose message is timeless. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand America.

The End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches

by Malcolm X

The End of White World Supremacy contains four major speeches by Malcolm X, including: "Black Man's History," "The Black Revolution," "The Old Negro and the New Negro," and the famous "The Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost" speech ("God's Judgment of White America"), delivered after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This new edition bundles with the book an audio download of Malcolm's stirring delivery of "Black Man's History" in Harlem's Mosque No.7 and "The Black Revolution" in the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X

by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

This 2021 Pulitzer Prize winning book offers "a revisionary portrait of the iconic civil rights leader draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with surviving family members, intelligence officers and political leaders to offer new insights into Malcolm X’s Depression-era youth, religious conversion and 1965 assassination."  

On The Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X

by Louis A. DeCaro, Jr.

“This book recounts Malcolm X’s life, places it in the context of Black nationalist religion, and describes his conversions to the Black Muslim faith and to orthodox Islam and their effects on his teachings.”

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

by Manning Marable

An authoritative biography of Malcolm X draws on new research to trace his life from his troubled youth through his involvement in the Nation of Islam, his activism in the world of Black Nationalism, and his assassination.

A Lie of Reinvention, Correcting Manning Marable’s Malcolm X

edited by Jared A. Ball and Todd Steven Burroughs

Two books were published in response to Marable's controversial biography. One was  By Any Means Necessary: Malcolm X Real, Not Invented; Critical Conversations on Manning Marable's Biography of Malcolm X   edited by Herb Boyd. The other is  A Lie of Reinvention Collecting Manning Marable's X   and "in this collection of critical essays, editors Jared Ball and Todd Steven Burroughs lead a group of established and emerging Black scholars and activists who take a clear stance in this controversy: Marable’s biography is at best flawed and at worst a major setback in American history, African American studies, and scholarship on the life of Malcolm X.

Growing Up X

by Illyasah Shabazz with Kim McLarin

February 21, 1965–Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem’s Audubon ballroom... June 23, 1997–After surviving for a remarkable twenty-two days, his widow, Betty Shabazz, dies of burns suffered in a fire set by her own grandson. In the years between, their six daughters reach adulthood, forged by the memory of their parents’ love, the meaning of their cause, and the power of their faith. Now, at long last, Ilyasah Shabazz has recorded that touching and tumultuous journey in an unforgettable memoir, Growing Up X.

Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X

by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith

The book "draws on previously untapped sources to illuminate the secret friendship and disastrous estrangement between Cassius Clay and Malcolm X, sharing insights into Malcolm's alleged role in shaping Clay's double life as a patriotic athlete and Islamic reformer."

The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Peniel Joseph

This dual biography of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King upends longstanding preconceptions to transform our understanding of the twentieth century's most iconic African American leaders.

E-Books and Audiobooks for Young Readers

Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary

by Walter Dean Myers

This biography “traces the life of the controversial Black leader, describes his involvement with the Nation of Islam, and looks at his speeches and assassination.

by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon

Co-written by Malcolm X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, this riveting and revealing novel follows the formative years of the man whose words and actions shook the world.

Betty Before X

by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renee Watson

Collaborating with author Rene̲e Watson, Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four poignant years in her mother's Betty Shabazz’ childhood, painting a beautiful and inspiring portrait of a girl overcoming the challenges of self-acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today.

Malcolm Little: The Little Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X

by Ilyasah Shabazz, illustrated by AG Ford

An inspiring picture book profile of the iconic civil rights leader's childhood, written by his daughter, describes how young Malcolm's optimism and faith were challenged by intolerance and a series of tragedies that compelled him to learn self-reliance and how to embrace his individuality to reach his highest potential.

The Indelible Influence of Malcolm X

A notable who’s who of participants including Kathleen Cleaver, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Esther Armah, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Ismael Beah, Bryonn Bain, and others read the writings of Malcolm X.  Watch the livestream here.

The Life and Times of Malcolm X

View an abridged concert performance of  The Life and Times of Malcolm X  opera by Anthony Davis and Christopher Davis and a post-performance talk with the opera’s creators.   Watch the livestream here.

Remembering Malcolm X

In this video participants who attended the Schomburg Center’s annual celebration of Malcom X in February 2020 shared how Malcolm X’s writings and activism made an impact on their lives.  Watch the livestream here.

A Special 50th Anniversary of Commemoration of the Assasination of Malcolm X

Viewers can watch a conversation that focuses on Malcolm X’s legacy and impact from an international perspective featuring Les Payne, Azizah al-Hibri, Dr. Hisham Aidi, Dr. Saladin Ambar, Dr. Ahmed Osman, and filmmaker Stephen Page. Sister Aisha Al-Adawiya, a founding member of the Malcolm X Museum, and a long time Schomburg Center staff member appears in the program. Akimi Kochiyama, the granddaughter of the late Yuri Kochiyama who was an activist and friend of Malcolm X, and Sam Anderson (of the Malcolm X Museum) also make appearances in the program.  Watch the livestream here. 

Women Speak About Malcolm X 

Scholars Sylvia Malik-Chan, Johanna Fernández and Esmerelda Simmons gathered to discuss human rights, social justice and transformation from the perspective of women of color. The program featured a special appearance by poet, activist and educator Sonia Sanchez.   Watch the livestream here.

For more resources about Malcolm X, in addition to the above resources, click  here  to view the titles of materials across the Schomburg Center collections about Malcolm X and  here  to view titles authored by him. 

Penn State University Libraries

Malcolm x: selected resources.

• Find Articles
• Encyclopedias and Other Reference Works
• Bibliography | Biographies
• Books By and About Malcolm X
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• Selected Articles about Malcolm X

Selected Dissertations about Malcolm X

• The Contemporary Rhetoric about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X in the post-Reagan Era Burrow, Cedric Dewayne. Miami University. 2005,
• Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam: two moments in his religious sojourn DeCaro, Louis Anthony, Jr.. New York University. 1994.
• Uses of Heroes: Celebration and Criticism in the interpretation of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Dyson, Michael Eric. Princeton University. 1993,
• The Rhetorical Strategies and Tactics of Malcolm X Gay, John Franklin. Indiana University. 1985.
• Malcolm X and the Rhetoric of Transformation: 1948-1965 Lee, Andrew Ann Dinkins. University of Pittsburgh. 1995.
• Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela: the motivations and attributes of their political leadership Meeks, Daris Deshon. Regent University. 1997.
• The Transformational Leadership and Educational Philosophic Legacy of Malcolm X Muhammad, Najee Emerson. University of Cincinnati. 1999.
• The Dual Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: the heroic narratives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X Owens, Kerry Paul. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College. 1995.
• The Oratory of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X: a study in linguistic stylistics Rudzka-Ostyn, Brygida Irena. The University of Rochester. 1972.
• Malcolm X and the Organization of Afro-American Unity: a case study in Afro-American nationalism Sales, William W, Jr.. Columbia University. 1991.
• Justice Born Through Struggle: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) and Angela Yvonne Davis Thurston, William Anthony. Emory University. 1994
• Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X: a comparative analysis of their thought Williams, Anthony C. Florida Atlantic University. 1985.
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