Part 10 (1/2)

In Was.h.i.+ngton, J. Edgar Hoover had grown similarly frustrated with the march of events. False reports concerning the Harlem ”hate gang” had reached him, and his suspicion fell on Malcolm, whose rising popularity as a black leader had grown unexpectedly despite his expulsion from the Nation. On Friday, June 5, an irate Hoover sent a Western Union telegram to the Bureau's New York office, with blunt orders: ”Do something about Malcolm X enough of this black violence in New York.”

Malcolm could have chosen a different path, but something within him sought a final resolution between himself and the Nation of Islam. On a personal level, he was las.h.i.+ng out in anger and grief at the father figure who had betrayed him in the basest way. Yet he had become convinced that the successful propagation of orthodox Islam in the United States would not be possible until Elijah Muhammad's infidelities and the internal corruption of the Nation were thoroughly exposed. What may have also prompted Malcolm was his recognition that the racial separatism he had preached as an NOI minister was counterproductive and that African Americans had to reach out, especially to Third World people, to achieve meaningful social change.

The Nation of Islam had not s.h.i.+ed from making its stance plain. Throughout the month of May, Nation leaders and ministers continued to whip up antagonism toward Malcolm at every opportunity. In every NOI mosque, the faithful were obligated to swear fealty to Elijah Muhammad and to denounce Malcolm as a heretic. On May 15 the members of Mosque No. 7 were told that Malcolm was ”a hypocrite and a liar.” They were reminded that their former minister himself ”used to say that he would punch in the mouth anyone saying the wrong thing about Muhammad.” In Buffalo, at New York's Mosque No. 23, members were read a letter from Chicago headquarters indicating that back in 1959 Elijah Muhammad had warned Malcolm not to appear on Mike Wallace's program. ”The wrath of Allah would be brought down on Malcolm X, the letter predicted, ”for his actions in first believing and then not believing in the words of Allah.” At Mosque No. 17 in Joliet, Illinois, on May 31, members were warned that Malcolm had advocated gun clubs; therefore, they were advised not to keep firearms around their homes ”because the 'devil' [white man] is watching.”

In a sense, Malcolm's departure in itself represented a threat to the Nation, and his formation of a new organization that was likely to siphon members prompted a firm response. In May, Raymond Sharrieff had put the Fruit of Islam on guard against any attempt by Malcolm to gain a foothold. At one FOI meeting in Chicago Sharrieff informed members that Malcolm's men were ”drafting brothers” into the MMI. If any Fruit were approached, they were required to report back. ”We want to discover what Malcolm is up to. If his men say they are Muslims and start trouble, they can make us look bad. Find out everything you can and report it to me right away.” The next month, Sharrieff addressed the Mosque No. 7 Fruit members.h.i.+p, telling the crowd that ”Elijah Muhammad used to like former minister Malcolm X more than he did his own son, but Malcolm X hurt Elijah Muhammad deeply.” Sharrieff then predicted, ”Malcolm will soon die out.” An FBI informant told the Bureau that Sharrieff had made clear how Malcolm was to be treated: ”Big Red is the worst of the lot as a defector. He is a hypocrite and a snake in the gra.s.s. . . . If anyone misuses the name of Elijah Muhammad the Muslims should put their fist in the mouth of the infamy to the elbow.”

Whether motivated by strategy, expedience, or something deeper and more personal, in the early days of June Malcolm began to air publicly his grievances against the Nation of Islam. Occasionally, he drew back from this kind of criticism, as if he knew that he was provoking a response he would not be able to contain, but these moments were-like the FBI interview-probably intended to provide himself reasonable cover in his legal quest to keep his home. Yet the attacks, which cut deeply at the Messengers claim of divinity, forced the Nation to a place where retaliation seemed necessary for survival. During the month of June the fight between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam arrived at a point of no return.

On June 6, Malcolm had the opportunity to engage in a Third World dialogue when three j.a.panese writers, representing the Hiros.h.i.+ma/Nagasaki World Peace Study Mission, visited Harlem. All three were hibakusha hibakusha, atomic bomb survivors, and familiar with Malcolm's activities. A reception was held at the Harlem apartment of j.a.panese-American activist Yuri (Mary) Nakahara Kochiyama, who soon joined the OAAU; Malcolm was invited to attend but never responded. A few minutes after the formal program began at two thirty p.m., however, Malcolm showed up, bringing James 67X, who spoke fluent j.a.panese, and several security people. Following the formal presentation, scores of friendly people surrounded him, wanting to shake his hand. Kochiyama recalled that Malcolm said to the j.a.panese delegation, ”You have been scarred by the atom bomb. . . . We have also been scarred. The bomb that hit us was racism.” Several j.a.panese journalists also attended the event, giving Malcolm a platform. He praised the leaders.h.i.+p of Mao Zedong and the government of the People's Republic of China, noting that Mao had been correct to pursue policies favoring the peasantry over the working cla.s.s, because the peasants were responsible for feeding the whole country. He also expressed his opposition to the growing U.S. military engagement in Asia, saying, ”The struggle of Vietnam is the struggle of the whole Third World-the struggle against colonialism, neocolonialism, and imperialism.”

Several hours later, James 67X boarded a plane bound for the West Coast. His a.s.signment was to obtain the signatures on legal doc.u.ments of several women impregnated by Elijah Muhammad, arranging photographs of the women and setting up interviews with the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch. James completed the a.s.signment; although the women were prepared to file legal charges against Muhammad, they were extremely reluctant to set forth their accusations in the national media.

The next night Malcolm was scheduled to speak at an MMI rally at the Audubon Ballroom; the event had been advertised as a ”Special Report from Africa to the People of Harlem.” In the hours before he was to appear, he made many phone calls to female Muslims in an attempt to find others who would corroborate the stories of Muhammad's illicit lovers. Once onstage, prompted by a question from the audience, he declared that the Nation of Islam would commit murder in order to suppress the exposure of Elijah Muhammad's serial infidelities and out-of-wedlock children, and he told the crowd that he knew of the infidelities from the Messengers very own son, Wallace Muhammad. The rally marked the first time that Malcolm set forth, in a detailed manner, the s.e.xual misconduct of Muhammad before a Harlem audience. Given the size of the crowd-about 450 people-several loyal members of Mosque No. 7 were sure to have been present. One can only imagine the fury of Captain Joseph and his enforcers. News of the comments quickly made its way back to Phoenix and Chicago. The next morning, Betty received an anonymous phone call, the first of what would be hundreds of death threats against Malcolm.

The following day Malcolm contacted CBS News, urging the network to air a nationally televised expose of Muhammad. That evening he appeared on the Barry Gray Show Barry Gray Show on New York radio, yet during a fifty-minute-long appearance, he chose not to mention either the out-of-wedlock children or the infidelities. Instead, Malcolm talked about his African tour, describing the continent as the ”greatest place on Earth”; he also insisted that there was no difference politically between segregationist governor George Wallace of Alabama and President Lyndon Johnson. on New York radio, yet during a fifty-minute-long appearance, he chose not to mention either the out-of-wedlock children or the infidelities. Instead, Malcolm talked about his African tour, describing the continent as the ”greatest place on Earth”; he also insisted that there was no difference politically between segregationist governor George Wallace of Alabama and President Lyndon Johnson.

While he leveled his criticisms against the Nation of Islam, he continued to push his new organization. On June 9 the first decisive organizational meeting of Malcolm's secular political advisers was held at the Riverside Drive apartment of Lynne s.h.i.+fflett. Unlike previous clandestine discussions, it finally brought together the idealistic young activists and the seasoned Harlem veterans. In the latter group were the historian John Henrik Clarke, the photographer Robert Haggins, the novelist John Oliver Killens, and the journalist Sylvester Leeks. It was Clarke's suggestion to give themselves the name Organization of Afro-American Unity, modeled after the Organization of African Unity, founded on May 25 the previous year. He thought that the OAUs charter might provide a blueprint for the OAAU. This may have been a little ambitious. First, the OAU was a bloc of African nations joining together to achieve strategic objectives, not an ad hoc coalition of individuals. The OAAU was not even a united front of black American groups but resembled more a top-down sect, with Malcolm as charismatic headman. Second, there was little consideration about how decisions would be made and who would be responsible for organizing-and paying for-public events.

Malcolm handled these difficult questions in characteristic manner: by dumping them into James 67Xs lap. Driving over to s.h.i.+fflett's apartment, he curtly explained to James that ”he didn't form” this group, but ”he wanted it formed. He told me that I was responsible for it being formed.” James immediately sensed trouble, and when he reached s.h.i.+fflett's his suspicions were quickly confirmed. ”I went up to [s.h.i.+fflett's] apartment there thinking the thing is being formed,” he recalled, ”and they're sitting around talking about what great organizers each of them is.” Malcolm later made s.h.i.+fflett the OAAUs organizing secretary, a role equivalent to James's for the MMI. Their compet.i.tive positions fostered an animosity so deep that even decades later James 67X could barely utter her name. From the beginning, James recalled, ”Malcolm treated them in an entirely different manner than he treated us.” The OAAU people never contributed funds ”in charity” to help support Betty and the household. MMI loyalists ”were accustomed to be told what to do and doing it. We didn't quarrel with Brother Malcolm. If he said such and such, if he hinted hinted at something, I was on it and I told the brothers to do it.” at something, I was on it and I told the brothers to do it.”

On the same day as the OAAU meeting, Malcolm was the featured guest on a Mike Wallace news program, broadcast by NBC in New York City, on which he emphasized his new position on race-and blamed his ”previous antiwhite statements” on his former members.h.i.+p in the Nation of Islam. As the weekend approached, Malcolm prepared to depart for Boston, where that Sunday at Ella's house he was to speak to a large number of potential supporters, including representatives from the National Urban League and CORE. By Friday the public campaign against the Nation had reached fever pitch, and when he appeared on the radio to blame his departure on ”a moral problem” within the sect, the show's host told listeners that Malcolm had arrived at the studio under armed guard for fear of attack. Malcolm went into detail on Muhammad's misconduct and reported that Wallace Muhammad had confirmed the behavior that ”was still going on.” He estimated that Muhammad had at least six out-of-wedlock children. That evening he went on to repeat these charges on the Jerry Williams program, aired in Boston on WMEX radio, and claimed that Louis X had known about them first.

The appearances ratcheted tensions in Boston, but the next morning Malcolm quietly departed the city ahead of schedule; a hastily organized meeting of civil rights insiders and prominent black entertainers at Sidney Poitiers home in upstate New York on June 13 called him away. This meeting was unprecedented in several respects. First, it brought together individuals, or their representatives, who reflected major currents within the Black Freedom Movement. Dr. King, at that moment in a Saint Augustine, Florida, jail for leading desegregation protests in that city, was represented by attorney Clarence Jones, the general counsel for the Gandhi Society for Human Rights; Jones had been ”authorized to speak for King.” Also in attendance were Whitney Young of the National Urban League, representatives of A. Philip Randolph and CORE, Benjamin Davis of the Communist Party, and artists Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Sidney Poitier. Their conversation was probably focused on ways to build a common agenda between divergent groups within the Black Freedom Movement. It was Malcolm, however, who presented the most attractive proposal: his plan, as Ossie Davis put it, was ”to bring the Negro question before the United Nations to internationalize the whole question and bring it before the whole world.” The tactic was similar to that of the black communist leader William Patterson, who in the late 1940s sought to present evidence of lynchings and racial discrimination in the United States before the UN. Clarence Jones was taken with this approach, suggesting that they should present their case to the United Nations that September. Malcolm was given the task of contacting those governments in Africa and the Middle East that might be expected to endorse the initiative. His subsequent activities abroad in the second half of 1964 were an attempt to implement this strategy.

Through illegal wiretaps and informants, the FBI was intensely aware of this clandestine meeting. On June 13 the Bureau's New York office teletyped the director that it ”consisted of a discussion of [the] general future of [the] civil rights movement in US . . . the best idea presented was subject's idea to internationalize the civil rights movement by taking it to the United Nations.” A note attached to this report from the Domestic Intelligence Division dated June 14 indicated that it was being disseminated ”to the Department, State, CIA and military intelligence agencies.”

In Boston the following day, a crowd of 120 people packed Ella's home to hear Benjamin 2X, whom Malcolm had a.s.signed to replace him. After the meeting, Benjamin set out to fly back to New York. He was accompanied by seven local supporters, who drove a convoy of three automobiles, with Benjamin in the first car. En route, a white Lincoln attempted to crash into the lead car, nearly forcing it off the road. Minutes later, as the convoy entered the Callahan Tunnel, which connects the downtown center to Logan airport, a Chevrolet packed with NOI members sped past Benjamin's car and then attempted to force it into the tunnel's concrete wall. One of the pa.s.sengers in Benjamin's car brandished a shotgun at the would-be a.s.sailants, who then eased back. Still carrying the shotgun for protection, the group entered the airport, where they were promptly arrested before the ticket counter. All eight men were arraigned in East Boston District Court on June 15 and released on one thousand dollars bail each.

The attempted ambush marked the first time that an NOI crew made a serious attempt to wound or kill Malcolm or his key lieutenants in a public setting. Moreover, the Nation recognized that most police departments held such animosity toward Malcolm that they would not aggressively investigate a.s.saults against him or those a.s.sociated with him.

News of the arrests quickly reached Malcolm in New York as he prepared for a Sunday rally at the Audubon. Onstage that night, eight MMI brothers with rifles flanked him as he bluntly laid out the case of Muhammad's s.e.xual misconduct. He also indicated that while he was still in the Nation, he had consulted with Louis X, Captain Joseph, Maceo X, and several others to resolve the scandal privately. Between 1956 and 1962, Elijah Muhammad had ”fathered six to seven” out-of-wedlock children, he explained. The Messenger justified his actions by claiming that ”Allah told him to do it.” Those Malcolm had consulted then ”conspired” to expel him from the Nation. By expanding his grievance from Muhammad and the Chicago headquarters to include Louis X and other prominent ministers, Malcolm was declaring war on the entire leaders.h.i.+p group of the Nation of Islam.

It was in this toxic atmosphere that the civil suit filed by the Nation was finally heard, the next morning, June 15, in Queens County Civil Court. The trial, which lasted two days, was heard by Judge Maurice Wahl; the Nation was represented by Joseph Williams and Malcolm's attorney was Percy Sutton. Several local newspapers revealed that Malcolm's life recently had been threatened; the NYPD responded by placing thirty-two officers at the trial for his protection. Muslim Mosque, Inc., sent a modest group of ten to the trial, while Mosque No. 7 was represented by a phalanx of fifty Fruit, who stared angrily at Malcolm's people. One of Malcolm's supporters was observed outside the crowded courtroom carrying a rifle. When questioned, he was found to be carrying two unloaded rifles and no ammunition, so no arrest was made.

Malcolm's game plan at the trial was to take advantage of the general lack of interest in Muslim affairs on the part of the white media by suggesting that, contrary to much evidence, he was still a loyal follower of Elijah Muhammad, but his faith had been rewarded with perfidy and betrayal. The Queens house-which he had done nothing to lose-was bought for him and should remain his. At the beginning of his two-hour-long testimony, Malcolm noted that Mosque No. 7 had been incorporated in the state of New York in 1956, that he was one of ”the original incorporators,” and that his services to that organization had ”never been terminated.” His central argument was that not only had he not resigned from the Nation of Islam, but ”no Muslim minister has ever resigned.” He described to the court his relatively recent appointment as acting minister of the Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., mosque. The mosque's former minister had been removed from his post, but had been permitted to defend himself in a hearing before the entire congregation, which Malcolm had chaired.

Under cross-examination by NOI attorney Williams, Malcolm argued that Muhammad's involvement in the matter disqualified him from chairing such a committee over his own case. He blamed Captain Joseph for ”poisoning the community here to the point where there could not be a hearing. They just put me in limbo until they had a chance to solidify their position with false information and this is why they could never give me a hearing in front of the Muslim[s].”

But Williams was unsatisfied with Malcolm's arguments. ”Isn't it a fact,” he asked Malcolm, ”that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad can remove any minister he wants to?” Malcolm reluctantly agreed, explaining that Muhammad ”is a divine man. . . . He always follows the divine religious procedure. He is a stickler . . . it has always been his policy never to handle a person in any way that a person could accuse him of an injustice.”

Williams countered ”that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad removes ministers with or without cause and that has been the custom since the movement started.” Malcolm vigorously disagreed. ”No. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has never removed a minister without cause.”

Williams then took a different tack. ”When this suspension without cause was taken,” he asked, ”did you ever seek any legal remedy to restore you to your position?”

”I tried to keep it private,” Malcolm replied. ”I tried to keep it out of the court and I tried to keep it out of the public and I asked for a hearing in private . . . because there were facts that I thought would be destructive to the Muslim movement.”

”You are making it public now,” Williams replied.

”Yes,” Malcolm acknowledged, ”only because they have driven me to the point where I have to tell it in order to protect myself.”

”Isn't it a fact that you have organized another mosque?” Williams asked.

Malcolm at first dodged the question, but finally admitted that he had started Muslim Mosque, Inc., ”to spread the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's teaching among the twenty-two million non-Muslims.”

As Williams continued to hammer away, the framework of Malcolm's argument-that he continued to be a faithful follower of Elijah Muhammad-fell apart. The evidence against him was simply all too plain for anyone willing to look closely. Williams noted, for example, that many MMI members were former NOI members. He pointed out that Malcolm had announced to the press that he was ”no longer affiliated” with Mosque No. 7, and that he had renounced the leaders.h.i.+p and spiritual authority of Muhammad. Therefore, he concluded, the East Elmhurst duplex rightfully belonged to the Nation of Islam.

But Malcolm wasn't yet ready to concede. He pointed out that he actually held two formal positions within the NOI: minister of Mosque No. 7 and national minister. He had been suspended, technically, as Mosque No. 7's head, but Muhammad had never abolished the national ministers office. He argued that the East Elmhurst residence agreement was exclusively ”between me and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad,” that the place had been ”purchased for me,” and that the Messenger ”told me the house should be mine.” Elijah himself had emphasized that this was truly a gift to him personally: ”He told me over and over that it should be in my name, that it was for me because of the work I was doing and had been doing.”

Williams tried to undercut this argument by implying that Malcolm had been skimming money from the Nation for years-much of his public speaking honoraria surely had gone into his pocket. He tried to present Malcolm's life in the Nation as a long, cushy ride on the organization's dime, asking, ”Isn't it also a fact that every mosque you go to, that the mosque themself [sic] takes care of your expenses?” Malcolm fought back, denying such claims as slanderous, and a.s.serting that the real reason for his ”suspension” in December 1963 was due to a ”very private” matter. ”I never sought to gain anything personally from the Nation of Islam. This is why I lived [at the beginning of his ministry] in a room and then lived in three rooms.” But Williams continued to question Malcolm's motives. ”Now, sir, when this house was being purchased,” he noted, ”you were not even around when they met to buy this house. When they had the first discussion in the mosque about the house, you weren't around, were you?” He was astutely using Malcolm's proselytizing travels to establish his lack of interest in the acquisition of the property.

Malcolm must have been in anguish, sitting before a white judge, listening to himself being accused of theft and corruption in an organization for which he once would have gladly sacrificed his life. He could accept many things, but not dishonor. And the legal maneuvering was merely a way of avoiding the central issue, the real reason for the split, which he remained hesitant to bring up on the record. He told Williams that the funds purchasing the residence never came from the incorporated Mosque No. 7; no mosque trustees met to issue a check covering the home's down payment. ”It came from the spiritual body from the Muslims.”

Then, after nearly two hours, he finally told the court that ”the Honorable Elijah Muhammad had taken on nine wives besides the one that he had. . . . This is the reason for my suspension.” He emphasized that he had been prepared to keep ”the whole thing secret and private if they would give me a hearing. . . . They would rather take the public court than keep it quiet among Muslims.”

What Malcolm may not have fully appreciated until the trial was that the ideological campaign against him was turning into a religious jihad, and the issues raised by the Queens trial only increased the tensions between the two camps. On the first day of courtroom proceedings, 180 men attended Mosque No. 7's regular FOI meeting, whose topic was ”So What if He [Elijah Muhammad] Is Not All Pure, Look What He Did for You and I [sic]. During this lecture, the speaker a.s.serted, ”We should destroy Malcolm.” An FOI captain at the meeting-probably Joseph-instructed the Fruit, saying, ”Malcolm is not to be touched, the rest is okay”-a statement that amounted to a declaration of open season on any Malcolm loyalist.

The next evening, shortly after eleven p.m., six of Malcolm's followers, believing rumors that their leader had been either kidnapped or murdered, drove to Mosque No. 7, at 102 West 116th Street. The man instigating the confrontation was William George, who was armed with a .30 caliber M-1 carbine rifle containing a clip with thirty rounds of ammunition. Fifty-one-year-old Herbert Dudley, another Malcolmite, brought a 6.75 Beretta rifle. About thirty to thirty-five Nation members rushed out into the street to confront the attackers with improvised weapons of self-defense, such as broom handles. For a few minutes there was a tense standoff, since neither side was prepared to start the hostilities. The NYPD raced to the street scene and largely concurred with the NOI group that Malcolm's people had provoked the incident. The Malcolmites were arrested and their firearms seized. A day later, at Mosque No. 24 in Richmond, Virginia, Minister Nicholas of Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., declared that ”Malcolm X really should be killed for teaching against Elijah Muhammad.”

For as much as the trial and the increasing threats on his life consumed Malcolm, they did not keep him from maintaining a hectic schedule of speeches and organization building. Already he sensed that his days were numbered-”I'm probably a dead man already,” he'd candidly told Mike Wallace-and as the summer progressed he pushed through events with great speed, straining to accomplish his goals. He accepted many speaking invitations, including one from Henry Kissinger at Harvard, and continued to work at simultaneously building the size and credibility of both Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Chairing an MMI business meeting in Harlem, he announced that he was considering asking MMI members to t.i.the ten dollars weekly, for a period of six months. A report would then be circulated on ”all the money taken in” along with all expenditures. His plan was to establish a newspaper similar to Muhammad Speaks Muhammad Speaks. MMI branch organizations were also to be established in Boston and Philadelphia, then in other cities. It was finally clear that Malcolm envisioned a national Islamic network that one day could be truly compet.i.tive with the Nation of Islam. At an MMI rally in late June he praised Islam as ”the only true faith” for black people and promoted the OAAU, which would develop ”an educational program” to highlight blacks' contributions to history. This new formation would not engage in sit-ins, he promised, but instead ”they will take what is rightfully theirs.”

He also returned to his correspondence with a renewed sense of urgency. News of a workers' strike in Nigeria had reached Malcolm, so he wrote to his friend Joseph Iffeorah, of the Ministry of Works and Surveys, asking for information. Malcolm was also highly attentive in efforts to recruit new followers. A letter he wrote on June 22 to a young, single African-American woman working at the New Yorker New Yorker magazine displayed charm and flattery. ”Your recent correspondence is really one of the best written letters that I've ever received,” she replied. It was ”very poetic, but at the same time your thoughts were very clear.” The young woman told Malcolm that she did not want to join any organization because she wanted to feel ”free.” Malcolm reminded her that it takes ”organization to coordinate the talents of various people.” He urged her to come to the OAAUs founding public gathering at the Audubon on June 28: ”Even if you have no desire to become an active partic.i.p.ant, I do wish you would come out Sunday as a spectator.” The young woman, Sara Mitch.e.l.l, not only attended that rally, but within several months became an invaluable leader of the OAAU. magazine displayed charm and flattery. ”Your recent correspondence is really one of the best written letters that I've ever received,” she replied. It was ”very poetic, but at the same time your thoughts were very clear.” The young woman told Malcolm that she did not want to join any organization because she wanted to feel ”free.” Malcolm reminded her that it takes ”organization to coordinate the talents of various people.” He urged her to come to the OAAUs founding public gathering at the Audubon on June 28: ”Even if you have no desire to become an active partic.i.p.ant, I do wish you would come out Sunday as a spectator.” The young woman, Sara Mitch.e.l.l, not only attended that rally, but within several months became an invaluable leader of the OAAU.

The progress Malcolm made in these weeks was constantly under threat of being undone by the growing violence of his increasing public feud with the Nation. In the streets, things were getting out of control. In the Corona neighborhood of Queens, a.s.sistant minister Larry 4X Prescott had recently established a Muslim restaurant on Northern Boulevard. On June 22 seventeen-year-old Bryan Kingsley, a Malcolm supporter, was loitering at the restaurant's entrance, talking tough. Larry went outside and smacked the boy hard across the head before-along with other NOI members-he chased Kingsley down the street. The boy telephoned Tom Wallace, Ruby Dee's brother and a strong advocate of Malcolm's. Wallace drove his station wagon to the restaurant, pulled out a rifle, and confronted Larry and another NOI member. ”Thomas and I [had] worked together, and I knew something about [his] character,” Larry 4X recalled in a 2006 interview. ”I said, 'Well, go ahead and shoot if you're going to shoot me.' ” Wallace warned him not to approach him, but Larry walked toward him, convinced he would not pull the trigger. When he got close enough, Larry grabbed the rifle and, turning the weapon b.u.t.t-first, ”beat him with it. And then I broke out all of his car windows.” His face shattered and b.l.o.o.d.y, Wallace filed charges with the NYPD, which arrested Larry; Larry in return filed a.s.sault charges against Wallace, who was also arrested. Both men were charged five hundred dollars bail, with their cases remanded to the Queens Criminal Court.

Malcolm was extremely disturbed by Wallace's beating. From a personal perspective, it was a deep betrayal: Larry 4X had been one of his trusted proteges. Perhaps worse, the incident threatened to damage connections he needed for his political work, as Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee had become pivotal to his access to the black arts and entertainment community. To the Amsterdam News Amsterdam News, Malcolm a.s.serted that Muhammad was responsible for the escalating violence. ”The followers of Elijah Muhammad,” Malcolm explained, ”will not do anything unless he tells them to.”

Larry 4X clearly recalled his Queens Criminal Court appearance because he had ”my suit on, and bow tie.” All the other prisoners began to laugh. ”They said, 'Look at this guy, and he's clean as a pimp, and he has a.s.saulted somebody!'” Soon after Larry was taken to court, Malcolm entered the chamber: ”He came over to me,” Larry recalled. ”He said-and this is the part where I have lost my respect for him-he said, 'Larry, you're dead.' ” The court dismissed the charges against both men, but the damage was done. ”That was the last time I had any words with Malcolm,” Larry stated. ”Then things just got progressively worse.”