Nation of Islam Movement “God is black. All black men belong to Islam; they have been chosen. And Islam shall rule the world” (Baldwin 319). This is the principal message of the Nation of Islam movement. Although the movement has existed since the early 20th century, it gained a lot of momentum in America in the 1960’s, according to African-American essayist and novelist James Baldwin. In his essay, Down At The Cross, Baldwin conveys that the movement reached more blacks during the sixties because time was ripe for it. During the 1960’s, black and white Americans began actively questioning and challenging the status quo. Baldwin believes the Christian world had become “morally bankrupt and politically unstable” (316), and that this opened the door to radical ideas which would have been considered madness in an earlier timeframe (316). Although he does not agree with Muslim doctrine, Baldwin recognizes the power of the Nation of Islam movement, particularly during a period of tremendous civil unrest. Research supports that Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Black Muslims in the 1960’s, also found that time period to be very opportunistic for the Nation of Islam movement. In an article from the New York Times written by M.S. Handler in the early sixties, Muhammad quotes that he “…is confident that his organization, and his alone, stands to gain from the racial turmoil in the United States” (Handler 14). Like Baldwin, Muhammad recognizes that in a world where racial segregation is being challenged and the entire path of black history is being reevaluated and denounced, radical ideas are more likely to flourish. Baldwin does not support the radicalism of the Nation of Islam movem... ... middle of paper ... ...rtheless, he recognizes that civil violence in post-war America might have provided an opportunity for a radical movement such as the Nation of Islam to reach more black Americans, since violence was considered to be an acceptable means to a desirable end. By the 1960’s, black Americans were better able to inure themselves to the violence that surrounded them daily and latch onto a new message of hope and freedom. Works Cited Baldwin, James. “Down At The Cross.” 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Handler, M.S. (1963, June 17). Muhammad Predicts Final Victory for Muslims. Retrieved from Proquest Historical Newspapers The New York Times pg. 14 Lilyveld, J. (1964, June 29). Elijah Muhammad Rallies His Followers in Harlem. Retrieved from ProQuest Historical Newpapers The New York Times pg. 1
In 1961 James Baldwin met Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam movement at the time. Baldwin’s experience within the Christian Church prior to his meeting with Elijah helped him analyze the Nation of Islam. This also allowed him to draw parallels between the Nation of Islam movement and the Christian Church. How James Baldwin understood the way the Christian Church worked, and a close look at the Nation of Islam, brings to light the credibility of organized religions.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. During his campaign he had promised to lead the country down the right path with the civil rights movement. This campaign promise had brought hope to many African-Americans throughout the nation. Ever since Lincoln, African-Americans have tended to side with the democrats and this election was no different. The Kennedy administration had noticed that the key to the presidency was partially the civil rights issue. While many citizens were on Kennedy’s side, he had his share of opposition. Malcolm X differed on the view of the President and observed that the civil rights movement wasn’t happening at the speed Kennedy had pledged. Malcolm X possessed other reasons for his dislike of John F. Kennedy and his brothers, especially Robert. The Kennedy government stood for racial liberalism and Malcolm X argued their true intentions for the civil rights movement weren’t in the best interest of the black population. This tension streamed both ways. John Kennedy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation felt that Malcolm X had become a threat to national security. James Baldwin has written essays that have included the repeated attacks on the white liberal and supports Malcolm in many of his theories and actions.
Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 2004, 124.
Baldwin was given the opportunity to become an influential figure in the Nation of Islam movement, he rejected Elijah Muhammed's offer. He was totally against the belief that the movement held. Baldwin says, "love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and we know we cannot live within." (95) Whites cannot love because they fear "to be judged by those who are not white.".
Like his essay “Notes of a Native Son,” James Baldwin’s “Down at the Cross” offers a three-part essay involving Baldwin’s personal adolescent experience, a specific event in Baldwin’s life, and a final analysis concluding with a warning to the readers. Baldwin describes a general experience throughout his life, and his sense of the public’s overall experience, to discuss the progression of America throughout history; the progression of America is the advancement of the American Negro according to Baldwin: “[The American Negro] is the key figure in his country, and the American future is precisely as bright or as dark as his” (Baldwin 340). The Nation of Islam and its leader, Elijah Muhammad, play an important role in Baldwin’s analysis. Baldwin’s early religious involvement prepare him for his experience at Muhammad’s residence, and his combined experiences instigate reflections upon the progress of black and white America since the emancipation of blacks during the Civil War.
Autobiography of Malcolm X takes place during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and illustrates the life of an African American man spent majority of his life fighting for equal rights. Throughout the book, Malcolm X expresses his negative perspective toward white supremacy and actively speaks on behalf of his people for equality. One of the most life changing event in his life was when he converted to Islam. Religion played an important role in his awakening because it removed the blindness from his eyes and showed him that white people were the reason African Americans are suffering on a day to day basis. This essay investigates how Malcolm X’s autobiography puts into perspective how race is extremely complex race that no one can truly
Before the civil rights movement gained momentum around 1955, the African-American community was looked upon by many as a group of second-class citizens who were undeserving of rights enjoyed by white Americans. This started to change when men like Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) stood up for the cause and fought back against segregation. He was a man from humble beginnings and who dealt with racism and hatred from a young age, all of which shaped his activism. Malcolm, after his death, was recognized as one of the most important people of the 20th century by TIME Magazine. He watched from a young age as white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) terrorized African-Americans by lynching and torturing them because of their skin color (“Malcolm X”). This among many other racists acts witnessed by Malcolm shaped his philosophical and political views. Malcolm was a controversial figure because he initially supported a violent revolution against whites, but he had many supporters in the African-American community. One of them was Manning Marable, who wrote a biography about Malcolm, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, in 2011. This book brings Malcolm’s story to life through research of his experiences and interviews with his close family and friends. Michiko Kakutani, a New York Times book critic, emphasizes in her review that though the biography is not as intense in details and philosophical views as is Malcolm X’s own autobiography, Marable “manages to situate Malcolm X within the context of 20th-century racial politics in America without losing focus on his...
April 13th, 1964 is the day Malcolm X left the United States on a personal and spiritual trip through West Africa, and the Middle East. During this time, he was able to visit Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, and Algeria. While in Egypt, Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Mecca. In Mecca, Malcolm discovered a bona fide Islam of total respect and brotherhood, which changed his view on the world. Malcolm embraced true Islam and was able to abandon racial separatism for good. Initially, Malcolm believed whites to be evil, but all this beliefs were gone, because he was now a changed man. After accomplishing a pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm discovered an atoning power of Islam of unity and pea...
The FBI called the Nation of Islam the “Moslem Cult of Islam” (Marable 111). In Chapter 4, Marable describes that the name given to the Nation of Islam by the FBI can be found in the FBI’s internal documents. The Bureau’s interest in the MCI was primarily due to the rapid increase in followers. Much of the information they had about the Nation of Islam came from African American informants paid to infiltrate the Nation. In 1958, one those informants described Malcolm as “having a strong hatred for the blue eyed devils” (Marable 139). According to Marable, the FBI failed to comprehend to nature of the sect because it was convinced that the Nation of Islam taught a subversive ideology, which aimed for the destruction of America’s legal and socioeconomic
He agreed with Martin Luther King, Jr. that it would take both blacks and whites to combat racism when he says in The Autobiography of Malcom X that “both races, as human beings, have the obligation, the responsibility, of helping to correct America’s human problem” (HAAL 3090). Unlike Martin Luther King, Jr., in his younger years as a Muslim led by Elijah Muhammad, he believed that white people were devils. He negatively portrays the whites that truly wanted to see blacks treated equally. He said that “white people who want to join black organizations are really just taking the escapist way to salve their consciences” (HAAL 3090). He also said “I never really trust the kind of white people who are always so anxious to hang around Negroes, or to hang around in Negro communities” (HAAL 3091). He uses a violent nature when he talks about whites that the reader can see when he says he could suddenly die because of a white racist but that the white man “will make use of me dead, as he has made use of me alive, as a convenient symbol of ‘hatred’ – and that will help him to escape facing the truth that all I have been doing is holding up a mirror to reflect, to show, the history of unspeakable crimes that his race has committed against my race” (HAAL 3094). By always reflecting on the past and not moving forward, this shows that he is not interested in blacks and whites being united, instead, he seems to keep reminding
The Nation of Islam, which Malcolm X was an important member of, is not a religious organization as the name suggests but rather an organization whose goal was to make the lives of African Americans better instead of actually teaching the proper ethics of Islam. One of the main objectives of this organization was Black Nationalism, through which Black leaders can control the areas where there is a majority of African Americans. This cause was greatl...
In the early 1930’s, in Detroit, when the Nation of Islam was initially founded it was not really widely known. It was a very secluded and introverted religion and community. It was not until they came under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad that the Nation of Islam became a household name in the early 1960’s. The Nation of Islam, during the 60’s, was one of the forerunners for African American unity. They strove for a separate black community. They wanted to be completely separated from the white community only because, according to their beliefs, white people were all devils. Elijah Muhammad being influenced by many people and factors in his life led the Nation of Islam to the point where many blacks started to look toward Islam as a way out. The Nation provided an escape from the harsh racial treatment and discrimination that was going on during the time. The brutality of the police is a great example. Within the Nation, however, some political moves were also taken towards blacks acquiring their civil and human rights. The Nation’s efforts seemed to be at it’s all time high from 1960-1965 during the time Muhammad and Malcolm X, as his right hand man, led the Nation. After that time period however, the nation seemed to fall apart. Once Malcolm X was dismissed from the Nation, the Nation and it’s followers seemed to become a bit quieter. It was more than likely due to the fact that after Muhammad’s death, the Nation split into different paths and even in a new direction.
The above-mentioned essays are: Nihilism in Black America, The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning, The Crisis of Black Leadership, Demystifying the Black Conservatism, Beyond Affirmative Action: Equality and Identity, On Black-Jewish Relations, Black Sexuality: T...
On November 10th, 1963 Malcolm X, later known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, delivered his “Message to the Grass Roots” speech to the Northern Negro Grass Roots Leadership Conference held at the King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. 1963 was a year of change, and a year of turmoil for African-Americans and the nation was in the midst of the (African-American) civil rights movement. Malcolm X’s speech would be one of his last speeches as part of the Nation of Islam, a group that was found 33 years prior.