Part 8 (1/2)

Malcolm continued his hectic pace throughout the remainder of November. On November 20 he addressed a cla.s.s at the journalism school of Columbia University. The short talk, followed by a lengthy discussion period, was an artful dance, incorporating politics, traditional NOI dogma, and cla.s.sical tenets of Sunni Islam.

This cla.s.s discussion represents one of the most revealing sessions ever conducted with Malcolm, because of the broad spectrum of issues covered. For example, in one of his rare comments about the nonblack Islamic community, Malcolm accused this group of largely Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants of not living up to the true tenets of the Islamic faith. These Muslims should give Elijah Muhammad credit for recruiting thousands to Islam and ”not question his religious authenticity,” he said. When one student raised the American n.a.z.i Party's interest in the NOI, Malcolm responded, ”More white people in the county are in sympathy with n.a.z.ism than they are with practicing democracy. . . . I don't think any white is in a moral position to ask me what I think about n.a.z.is in light of the fact you're living in a country which in 1963 permits the bombing of Negro churches and the murder of little innocent and defenseless black children.” Without explaining why the NOI permitted n.a.z.is to attend their gatherings, he insisted that ”Rockwell couldn't do what he's doing . . . if there weren't a large segment of whites in this country who think exactly like Rockwell does.” When asked about the administration's civil rights policy, he stammered, ”What about it?” Once again, he expressed his contempt for Kennedy : ”Any time a man can become president, and after three years in office do as little for Negroes as he has done despite the fact that Negroes went for him 80 percent . . . I'll have to say he's the foxiest of the foxy.”

Even here, Malcolm continued to portray the NOI as a coiled snake ready to strike, despite all the missed chances to do so; he bragged that Muhammad taught Muslims to respect the law, ”but any time anybody puts their hands on us, we should send them straight to the cemetery.” Someone asked about his att.i.tude toward the newly created Freedom Now Party, for which he offered a convoluted quasi-endors.e.m.e.nt. Because the NOIs position was to discourage its members from voting, he could not officially endorse any party, but he noted with interest the eight million unregistered black voters nationally. Imagine what ”presidential candidates and others” would have to do if this group became active. ”Why, they would upset the entire political picture.”

Although Malcolm's responsibilities were now truly national, he tried hard not to neglect racial issues in New York City. Notably, he attended and supported a series of civil rights demonstrations occurring across the city. Herman Ferguson, a thirty-nine-year-old public school a.s.sistant princ.i.p.al who was actively involved in leading civil rights demonstrations in Queens, was pleasantly surprised when a.s.sistant minister Larry 4X and other Muslims offered their support. ”Lots of them [Muslims] I had taught in school,” Ferguson explained. ”They couldn't become [directly] involved because they were not allowed to.” An agreement was reached where the Muslims would show up at the civil rights demonstrations to sell Muhammad Speaks Muhammad Speaks but would also distribute the civil rights coalition's flyers. Malcolm sent word through Larry that he supported the demonstrations, and he extended an invitation to Ferguson and other Queens activists to visit Mosque No. 7. Ferguson and the Queens activists began attending lectures there, and were deeply impressed. It was Ferguson who suggested organizing a major speaking event featuring Malcolm in Queens, an invitation Malcolm accepted. The Nation paid a New Jersey printer to produce attractive posters that were distributed throughout the largely black Queens neighborhood of South Jamaica. but would also distribute the civil rights coalition's flyers. Malcolm sent word through Larry that he supported the demonstrations, and he extended an invitation to Ferguson and other Queens activists to visit Mosque No. 7. Ferguson and the Queens activists began attending lectures there, and were deeply impressed. It was Ferguson who suggested organizing a major speaking event featuring Malcolm in Queens, an invitation Malcolm accepted. The Nation paid a New Jersey printer to produce attractive posters that were distributed throughout the largely black Queens neighborhood of South Jamaica.

Malcolm's lecture was scheduled for the evening of Thanksgiving Day. Hundreds came out to attend, and the NYPD was also there in force. ”It was like half the police force in Queens was a.s.signed to that place that day,” Ferguson later recalled. ”We didn't realize the drawing power of Malcolm,” even on the Thanksgiving holiday.

There was an incident that day involving Malcolm that Ferguson would never forget. Shortly before going to the podium to speak, Malcolm was busily scrawling on a yellow legal pad, and Ferguson simply a.s.sumed the minister was making final notes on his speech. So he was truly surprised when Malcolm, looking out at the audience, said, ”'That fellow there is going with that white girl there,'” Ferguson recalled. ”Now, there was quite a distance, a lot of s.p.a.ce between them. . . . There was no indication, n.o.body would have known or suspected that there was anything going on.” Yet Malcolm was absolutely correct. Nearly every great speaker, like Malcolm, must also be a student of people and cultures. ”He observed people and things that were going on around him, and from time to time he would make little comments, to let you know that he had picked up on something that was happening around him.”

Yet the central irony of Malcolm's career was that his critical powers of observation, so important in fas.h.i.+oning his dynamic public addresses, virtually disappeared in his mundane evaluations of those in his day-to-day personal circle. Especially in the final years of his life, nearly every individual he trusted would betray that trust. As late as November 1963, Malcolm did not recognize that the political path he had deliberately chosen would quickly lead to his expulsion from the Nation. This was apparent, even to Ferguson, in 1963: ”I felt that . . . eventually [he] would have to leave the Nation of Islam. He was just too political. . . . He was developing too fast.”

CHAPTER 10.

”The Chickens Coming Home to Roost”

December 1, 1963-March 12, 1964

John F. Kennedy was a.s.sa.s.sinated in the early afternoon of Friday, November 22, 1963. When Elijah Muhammad was told, he was taken aback. He had frequently warned Malcolm of criticizing Kennedy, knowing of the president's considerable popularity with black Americans, and now he took steps to ensure that the NOI would not be caught in the storm of anger and disbelief that was already roiling the nation. He released a short statement expressing shock ”over the loss of our president,” and then arranged for his next column in Muhammad Speaks Muhammad Speaks to be moved to the front page alongside a photo of Kennedy. He informed all NOI ministers to say nothing in public, going so far as to have one of his sons call Malcolm so he could dictate over the phone what he wanted his national minister to say if questioned about the a.s.sa.s.sination. With the stakes high and Malcolm already bridling at Chicago's attempts to control him, Muhammad would leave nothing to chance. to be moved to the front page alongside a photo of Kennedy. He informed all NOI ministers to say nothing in public, going so far as to have one of his sons call Malcolm so he could dictate over the phone what he wanted his national minister to say if questioned about the a.s.sa.s.sination. With the stakes high and Malcolm already bridling at Chicago's attempts to control him, Muhammad would leave nothing to chance.

Yet fate interceded when the Messenger was forced to cancel a long-planned speaking engagement at the Manhattan Center in midtown New York City on December 1. The Nation could not get out of its rental agreement, so Malcolm was selected as a subst.i.tute speaker for what would be the first major speech delivered by an NOI leader since the a.s.sa.s.sination. To make certain that the public program was handled properly, John Ali flew from Chicago to help out, and the decision was made to allow all reporters, including whites, to cover the speech. Malcolm's advertised t.i.tle, ”G.o.d's Judgment of White America,” was deliberately provocative, but he, Ali, and all the other NOI officials involved knew of Muhammad's instruction to avoid any references to Kennedy.

The talk was an important one for Malcolm, and he prepared carefully, first drafting a detailed outline of the key issues he wanted to cover, then typing out the actual lecture he planned to deliver. The lecture reflected the two divergent realms of black consciousness that Malcolm occupied: the spiritual domain of the Nation of Islam and the political worlds of black nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and Third World revolution. He was sufficiently astute to express the obligatory remarks of homage to Elijah Muhammad, but also clearly visible was the militant political language of ”Message to the Gra.s.sroots,” along with calls for a black global revolution and the destruction of white power. He knew that John Ali would be in the audience and would immediately report back to Muhammad with a negative review of the speech. By choosing to be provocative, Malcolm would push the NOI toward a more militant posture.

An audience of about seven hundred attended, a majority of them congregants of Mosque No. 7, but a significant minority were non-Muslim blacks. Captain Joseph had ordered Larry 4X to serve on Malcolm's security detail; as instructed, he drove out to the minister's home in Queens and tailed Malcolm's Oldsmobile on its way to the Manhattan Center. Once Malcolm was secure in the building, Larry directed other Fruit of Islam to bar any whites, except reporters, from entering.

”G.o.d's Judgment of White America” began with a sophisticated argument about political economies. ”The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us . . . it was the evil of slavery that caused the downfall and destruction of ancient Egypt and Babylon, and of ancient Greece, as well as ancient Rome,” Malcolm told his audience. In similar fas.h.i.+on, colonialism contributed to ”the collapse of the white nations in present-day Europe as world powers.” The exploitation of African Americans will, in turn, ”bring white America to her hour of judgment, to her downfall as a respected nation.” Malcolm's core argument was that America, like the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome, was in moral decline. The greatest example of its moral bankruptcy, Malcolm argued, was its hypocrisy. ”White America pretends to ask herself, 'What do these Negroes want?' White America knows that four hundred years of cruel bondage has made these twenty-two million ex-slaves too (mentally) [Malcolm's parentheses] blind to see what they really want.”

”G.o.d's Judgment” made an effort to put the NOI's religious practices and beliefs within the larger Muslim world. Malcolm explained that Elijah Muhammad's ”divine mission” was essentially that of a modern prophet, not unlike ”Noah, Moses, and Daniel. He is a warrior to our white oppressor, but a savior to the oppressed.” This claim that Elijah merited the status of prophet directly contradicted orthodox Islam's interpretation of Muhammad of the Qur'an as being the Seal of the Prophets. Despite this deviation, Malcolm insisted that ”the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us not only the principles of Muslim belief but the principles of Muslim practice.” Nation of Islam members, he insisted, adhered to the five pillars of Islam, including prayer five times daily, t.i.thing, fasting, and making ”the pilgrimage to the Holy City, Mecca, at least [once] during our lifetime.” He observed that Elijah and two of his sons had visited Mecca in 1959, adding that ”others of his followers have been making [the Mecca pilgrimage] since then.” He deliberately avoided presenting Islam as a black religion, portraying it as a faith with an emanc.i.p.atory message for African Americans.

There was an urgent emphasis on the coming apocalypse, which, while part of the Nation of Islam's theology, was merged into a political jeremiad of destruction. A Muslim world could not come into existence unless G.o.d himself destroyed ”this evil Western world, the white world, a wicked world, ruled by a race of devils, that preaches falsehood, practices slavery, and thrives on indecency and immorality.” America had now reached ”that great Doomsday, the final hour,” where all the wicked would perish and only those who believed in Allah as G.o.d and who affirmed Islam as their faith would be saved.

Midway through this apocalyptic vision, however, Malcolm did an about-face, turning from eschatology to racial politics. He accused the government of ”trying to trick her twenty-two million ex-slaves with promises she never intends to keep.” To retain power, liberals and conservatives alike cynically manipulate civil rights issues and Negro leaders who align themselves with white liberals ”sell out our people for just a few crumbs of token recognition and token gains.” He equated the approximately three million blacks who were registered to vote as of 1960 with the ”black bourgeoisie,” ”who have been educated to think as patriotic 'individualists' with no racial pride, and who therefore look forward hopefully to the future integrated-intermarried [Malcolm's emphasis] society promised them by white liberals and the Negro 'leaders.' ” But no racial progress was possible so long as those in power listened to this ”white-minded minority” of Negro leaders and registered voters. ”The white man should try to learn what the black ma.s.ses want . . . by listening to the man who speaks for the black ma.s.ses of America”-that is, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm's attempt to make the Messenger a black working-cla.s.s hero and to equate bourgeois status with the act of voter registration were clever, if fraudulent. He certainly was aware that in 1963 millions of African Americans who wanted to vote were being denied franchis.e.m.e.nt, through hara.s.sment, intimidation, and murder, as in the case of Medgar Evers. The overwhelming majority were demanding access to public accommodations and full voting rights, issues that had nothing to do with upward cla.s.s mobility or a lack of ”racial pride.” This was Malcolm's easy way to attack middle-cla.s.s blacks. [Malcolm's emphasis] society promised them by white liberals and the Negro 'leaders.' ” But no racial progress was possible so long as those in power listened to this ”white-minded minority” of Negro leaders and registered voters. ”The white man should try to learn what the black ma.s.ses want . . . by listening to the man who speaks for the black ma.s.ses of America”-that is, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm's attempt to make the Messenger a black working-cla.s.s hero and to equate bourgeois status with the act of voter registration were clever, if fraudulent. He certainly was aware that in 1963 millions of African Americans who wanted to vote were being denied franchis.e.m.e.nt, through hara.s.sment, intimidation, and murder, as in the case of Medgar Evers. The overwhelming majority were demanding access to public accommodations and full voting rights, issues that had nothing to do with upward cla.s.s mobility or a lack of ”racial pride.” This was Malcolm's easy way to attack middle-cla.s.s blacks.

Finally, he argued that it was the U.S. government and white liberals that controlled the Negro revolution. But far greater was the ”black revolution . . . the struggle of the nonwhites of this earth against their white oppressors.” Black revolutionaries had already ”swept white supremacy” out of Asia and Africa, and were about to do so in Latin America. ”Revolutions,” Malcolm explained, ”are based on land land [Malcolm's emphasis]. Revolutionaries are the landless against the landlord.” In an obvious reference to King, he echoed his language from ”Gra.s.sroots”: ”Revolutions are never peaceful, never loving, never nonviolent. Nor are they compromising. Revolutions are destructive and b.l.o.o.d.y.” The apocalypse would come about through the black ma.s.ses and the wretched of the earth seizing the citadels of power. It was a powerful vision, but not one that Elijah Muhammad had in mind. [Malcolm's emphasis]. Revolutionaries are the landless against the landlord.” In an obvious reference to King, he echoed his language from ”Gra.s.sroots”: ”Revolutions are never peaceful, never loving, never nonviolent. Nor are they compromising. Revolutions are destructive and b.l.o.o.d.y.” The apocalypse would come about through the black ma.s.ses and the wretched of the earth seizing the citadels of power. It was a powerful vision, but not one that Elijah Muhammad had in mind.

Throughout his speech, Malcolm had been careful to avoid references to the late president, but in the question and answer session following the talk, his sense of humor and his tendency to banter with representatives of the press got the better of him. When asked about the a.s.sa.s.sination, he initially charged that the media had tried to trap the Nation of Islam into making a ”fanatic, inflexibly dogmatic statement.” What the press wanted from the Muslims, he declared, was a remark like ”Hooray, hooray! I'm glad he got it!” Members of the audience laughed and applauded, and the crowd's encouragement led Malcolm down the path from which Elijah Muhammad had tried to steer him. Now he was fired up, finally unmuzzled, and the criticism began to flow freely. Kennedy had been ”twiddling his thumbs” when South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu were murdered recently. The Dallas a.s.sa.s.sination, Malcolm said, was an instance of ”the chickens coming home to roost.” America had fomented violence, so it was not a surprise that the president had become a victim.

Had Malcolm stopped there, he might have escaped unscathed, or at least invited less trouble than would soon unfold for him. These comments, while certainly offensive, could at least be understood in the context of previous speeches and the generally understood opinions of the Nation of Islam. But then he added, with a rhetorical flourish, ”Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they've always made me glad.” There was further laughter and applause by audience members, but this extra sentence condemned him as gleeful and celebratory over the president's death. When the FBI later noted the speech in a report, it characterized the ”chickens” remarks as suggesting that the a.s.sa.s.sination brought Malcolm pleasure, which, if not quite the thrust of his much quoted phrase, was certainly the sentiment driven home by the ”old farm boy” quip that followed.

Though the comments would almost instantly cause a furor outside the Manhattan Center, inside the reaction was almost entirely the opposite. ”The crowd just started applauding,” remembered Larry 4X. ”When he made the statement, I didn't think anything about it.” Herman Ferguson, the a.s.sistant school princ.i.p.al who had arranged Malcolm's Thanksgiving speech in Queens the previous month, was also in attendance, and saw little to get agitated about: ”It was an innocuous comment, and n.o.body paid any particular attention to it.”

n.o.body, perhaps, except for John Ali and Captain Joseph, who had been standing only a few feet away from Malcolm as he delivered his remarks. Ali was livid, and within moments he was searching for a phone to call Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm had challenged a direct order, jeopardizing the interests of the Nation. The comments would certainly intensify the scrutiny of the FBI and local law enforcement, making it harder for the Nation to operate without being ha.s.sled, and the blowback threatened to bring a halt to the recruitment gains made over the last five years. Chicago headquarters had other worries as well. By now there were hundreds of Muslims inside federal and state prisons, all of them vulnerable to hara.s.sment and physical abuse. If correction officials believed that the Black Muslims celebrated Kennedy's murder, these Muslim prisoners could become targets for retribution. Finally, Ali probably raised with Elijah Muhammad what would have been, for him, the disturbing second half of Malcolm's address. The news of Malcolm's speech wounded the Messenger. His most trusted minister had directly disobeyed him; challenged, he would have no choice but to push back hard. Yet it undoubtedly also gave comfort to Malcolm's enemies within the Nation: here was a chance for Sharrieff, Ali, Elijah, Jr., Herbert Muhammad, and others to freeze Malcolm out. His inflammatory statement had given them a wedge by which he might be forced from the Nation of Islam. They counseled Muhammad immediately to establish a public distance between Malcolm and the Nation. By disciplining the Nation's national spokesman, Elijah Muhammad would rea.s.sert his personal authority throughout the sect. And if Malcolm chose to challenge him, he would give Ali and others sufficient reason to push for his expulsion.

The next day, Monday, December 2, Malcolm flew to Chicago for his regular monthly meeting with Muhammad. That morning, the New York Times New York Times headlined its story ”Malcolm X Scores U.S. and Kennedy: Likens Slaying to 'Chickens Coming Home to Roost.'” When he arrived, as customary the two men embraced, but Malcolm immediately sensed that something was wrong. ”That was a very bad statement,” Muhammad told him. ”The president of the country is our president, too.” This was an odd formulation, given that NOI members had been discouraged from voting in elections. Muhammad then told Malcolm that he was suspended for the next ninety days, during which time he would be removed from his post as minister of Mosque No. 7. Though he would not be allowed to preach or even enter the mosque, he was expected to continue performing the administrative tasks of the minister-approving invoices, answering correspondence, and maintaining records. Marilyn E.X., his secretary, would continue working for him. headlined its story ”Malcolm X Scores U.S. and Kennedy: Likens Slaying to 'Chickens Coming Home to Roost.'” When he arrived, as customary the two men embraced, but Malcolm immediately sensed that something was wrong. ”That was a very bad statement,” Muhammad told him. ”The president of the country is our president, too.” This was an odd formulation, given that NOI members had been discouraged from voting in elections. Muhammad then told Malcolm that he was suspended for the next ninety days, during which time he would be removed from his post as minister of Mosque No. 7. Though he would not be allowed to preach or even enter the mosque, he was expected to continue performing the administrative tasks of the minister-approving invoices, answering correspondence, and maintaining records. Marilyn E.X., his secretary, would continue working for him.

The gears turned quickly to spread news of the punishment. Late that afternoon, as Malcolm was returning to the Chicago airport to fly back to New York City, Ali and his aides contacted press organizations throughout the country about Malcolm's ”silencing.” In a widely circulated telegram to media outlets, the NOI stated, ”Minister Malcolm did not speak for Muhammad or the Nation of Islam or any of Mr. Muhammad's followers. . . . The correct statement on the death of the President is: 'We with the world are very shocked at the a.s.sa.s.sination of President Kennedy.'” An Amsterdam News Amsterdam News reporter reached Malcolm at his home and asked for a comment. Technically his ”silence” should have meant that he had no direct contact with the media, but instead, in a small act of defiance, he responded, saying, ”Yes, I'm wrong. I disobeyed Muhammad's order. He was justified 100 percent. I agree I need to withdraw from public appearance.” The news about Malcolm's suspension from the Nation of Islam was widely covered in the white press. The reporter reached Malcolm at his home and asked for a comment. Technically his ”silence” should have meant that he had no direct contact with the media, but instead, in a small act of defiance, he responded, saying, ”Yes, I'm wrong. I disobeyed Muhammad's order. He was justified 100 percent. I agree I need to withdraw from public appearance.” The news about Malcolm's suspension from the Nation of Islam was widely covered in the white press. The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times story, for example, was t.i.tled ”Malcolm X Hit for Glee Over Kennedy Death.” story, for example, was t.i.tled ”Malcolm X Hit for Glee Over Kennedy Death.” Newsweek Newsweek speculated that the suspension had left Malcolm ”only with his intramural duties as New York's Muslim minister-and even that job reportedly was in doubt. speculated that the suspension had left Malcolm ”only with his intramural duties as New York's Muslim minister-and even that job reportedly was in doubt.

When Mosque No. 7 learned about Malcolm's ninety-day suspension, there was uncertainty but not panic. Putting individuals ”out of the mosque” for disciplinary reasons was routine. Veteran members could recall Captain Joseph being ousted from his privileged post as head of the Fruit of Islam back in 1956. Nearly everyone a.s.sumed that the minister would simply acquiesce to the decision and three months later resume his customary role. Much continued as it had before. Larry 4X continued to make sure that Malcolm received his office mail. ”He would go to the restaurant, he would talk to the staff,” recalled Larry, ”but he would make no public speeches.”

Yet during the initial days of the suspension, many mosque members were unsure about the boundaries that should be set for the minister. James 67X was at the speakers rostrum, opening a meeting at the mosque, when Malcolm walked through the double-door entrance at the back of the hall only to have Captain Joseph quickly step forward and block him. ”Malcolm had to turn around and go back out,” recalled James, ”and I said, 'Oh-oh, something funny is going on.' ”

By this time James was the mosque's circulation manager for Muhammad Speaks Muhammad Speaks, responsible for managing thousands of dollars in revenue each week. His close working relations.h.i.+p with Malcolm had let him see just how great a toll the internal tumult had taken. In the fall of 1963, he had sensed that Malcolm was physically and mentally exhausted, and took it upon himself to write a letter to Muhammad, requesting leave for the minister. He wrote a second letter to Captain Joseph, who treated it with ridicule. Now he found it difficult to get further details on what was happening with Malcolm. He and other office staff were simply told that the minister had been expelled for only ninety days; no mosque member in good standing was permitted to speak to him. ”At first,” said James, ”I figured, well, Mr. Muhammad is making an astute political move.” But within several weeks, James began hearing complaints about Malcolm. Some said, ”Big Red, yeah, he never was with the Messenger.” Others blamed him for the public fiascos with the American n.a.z.i Party.

The situation was extremely difficult for Betty, too. As of January 1964, she was three months pregnant with their fourth child. Her husband was increasingly the object of ridicule and open condemnation, but as a Muslim in good standing she was expected to attend mosque functions, making it hard to avoid awkward situations. All the warnings she had given Malcolm about reckoning his future beyond the Nation seemed prophetic, and any hesitation he may have shown now about distancing himself financially or otherwise surely heightened the tension between them. But there was no way for Malcolm to s.h.i.+eld his wife from the gathering storm, or the consequences when his salary stopped.