3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives

had long toanented his people. The venom of his speeches attracted the attention of the
media: in 1959, WNDT-TV, Channel l3 in New York broadcast "The Hate That Hate
Produced," a five-part report by Mike Wallace which brought the Black Muslims, including
Malcolm X, to the attention of the general American public . Three years later, Muhammad
dispatched Malcolm to the NOI mosque in Los Angeles, where police shot seven Muslims ;
one of the victims, Ronald Stokes, died. Malcolm again captured the spotlight . At this time,
rumors of Muhammad's sexual indiscretions were beginning to circulate, and Malcolm's
faith in his leader was tested.
A series of interviews and public appearances confirmed Malcolm's position as a
public figure . Without becoming directly involved, he emerged as an outspoken critic of the
civil rights movement and its leadership . After increasingly strained relations with Elijah
Mohammad, he split with the Nation of Islam, and made a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he
underwent a religious conversion, recognizing the humanity of whites . He founded the
Organization of Afro-American Unity upon his return in June 1964 . On February 21, 1965,
three assassins shot Malcolm to death while he spoke at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.
Elijah Muhammad quickly denied complicity in the murder; but, on March 11, 1966, the New
York Supreme Court found three Black Muslims guilty of the crime . It was rumored that
Louis Farakhan helped orchestrate the assassination .
In his death, as in his life, comparisons to King were common . There were many
obvious differences between the two men . One advocated integration, the other separation .
One was Christian, the other Muslim. The biggest difference seemed to be that one lauded
nonviolence, and the other did not . Looking at the two as halves of the same whole, rather