3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives
3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives 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
than as separate entities, seenKd quite natural, and led to an easy dichotomization. Furthermore, the teachings of Elijah Muhammad reinforced a tendency to view the world in Manichean terms . Muhammad's message was "couched in starkly fundamentalist terms, in extremes and contrasts-black versus white ; sin versus righteousness, utter depravity versus pure holiness :'9 In the Nation of Islam, there were few gray areas . The Black Muslims' stern moral code and conservative appearance led many civil rights activists to conclude that they were fundamentalist and austere. For example, James Farmer observed : `"The Muslims are all black and CORE is interr~ial . The Muslims arc separationists and CORE is integrationist . The Muslims do not reject violence as a solution ; CORE does ."~° The press and the American public contributed to the same bifurcation . Either unwilling to disseminate the complexities of the movement or unable or both, the media produced easily digestible information for whites trying to understand what was happening on America's troubled racial front . ~ ~ It was much simpler for most Americans, black and white alike, to know that King was nonviolent and integrationist, and that Malcolm was violent and segregationist . As a result, the public's impressions of each man became binary ; that is, they became reflective of the other, and more true to a publicly manufactured image than to the ideas and personalities of the men themselves . This mirror-effort represented another manifestation of the "violenVnonviolent" dichotomy . ~'Thelwell, quoted in David Gallon, ed ., Malcolm X : As They Knew Him (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc ., 1992), 33 . °Farmer, quoted in August Meier and Elliot Rudwick, CORE: A Study in the Civil Rights Movement . 1942-1%8 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), 206. ~ See note 4 . 87
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- Page 127 and 128: Malcolm reveled in ambivalence, and
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than as separate entities, seenKd quite natural, <strong>and</strong> led to an easy dichotomization.<br />
Furthermore, the teachings of Elijah Muhammad reinforced a tendency to view the<br />
world in Manichean terms . Muhammad's message was "couched in starkly fundamentalist<br />
terms, in extremes <strong>and</strong> contrasts-black versus white ; sin versus righteousness, utter<br />
depravity versus pure holiness :'9 In the Nation of Islam, there were few gray areas . The<br />
Black Muslims' stern moral code <strong>and</strong> conservative appearance led many civil rights activists<br />
to conclude that they were fundamentalist <strong>and</strong> austere. For example, James Farmer observed :<br />
`"The Muslims are all black <strong>and</strong> CORE is interr~ial . The Muslims arc separationists <strong>and</strong><br />
CORE is integrationist . The Muslims do not reject violence as a solution ; CORE does ."~°<br />
The press <strong>and</strong> the American public contributed to the same bifurcation . Either<br />
unwilling to disseminate the complexities of the movement or unable or both, the media<br />
produced easily digestible information for whites trying to underst<strong>and</strong> what was happening<br />
on America's troubled racial front . ~ ~ It was much simpler for most Americans, black <strong>and</strong><br />
white alike, to know that King was nonviolent <strong>and</strong> integrationist, <strong>and</strong> that Malcolm was<br />
violent <strong>and</strong> segregationist . As a result, the public's impressions of each man became binary ;<br />
that is, they became reflective of the other, <strong>and</strong> more true to a publicly manufactured image<br />
than to the ideas <strong>and</strong> personalities of the men themselves . This mirror-effort represented<br />
another manifestation of the "violenVnonviolent" dichotomy .<br />
~'Thelwell, quoted in David Gallon, ed ., Malcolm X : As They Knew Him (New York:<br />
Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc ., 1992), 33 .<br />
°Farmer, quoted in August Meier <strong>and</strong> Elliot Rudwick, CORE: A Study in the Civil<br />
<strong>Rights</strong> Movement . 1942-1%8 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), 206.<br />
~ See note 4 .<br />
87
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