Minister Malcolm
X
T H E E A R L Y Y E A R S
My Dear Holy Apostle, July 19, 1960
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"I have been following you for 12 years (since '48 and an active helper for about six years). From the start, I have studied those in the Bible who did most to help spread the 'Gospel of Jesus' and tried my best to copy them....I figured the best way to be a successful follower (and helper) to you is to imitate their tactics and efforts...I've secretly tried to be a Fisherman, a Gospel Spreading Paul, a letter writing (Journalist) Paul, a traveling Paul, a diplomat to all classes of people. I would never tell this to anyone but you because no one else would understand me...I have found that, whenever you send me and tell me what to say yourself, most people look upon me as being extremely gifted, but what they really fail to see is that all of my success or fame has come from saying what 'Mr. Muhammad Says'...They've continued to class you as a Ku Kluxer, so we've ceased begging them now and are challenging them to clarify their reluctant stand. The people of Harlem think we've been too easy on these Uncle Tom leaders. If they don't come out, they will be the loser...”
As-Salaam Alaikum, Your Brother and Servant
Malcolm X
1952 . detroit . 1955
“...Despite the Temple’s humble location, across the street from a hog slaughterhouse, they carry themselves with pride and show love and respect to their fellow members. At the front of the Temple’s worship space is a blackboard. On one side of the blackboard is painted the U.S. flag, a cross and a picture of a black man hanging, along with the words, “Slavery, Suffering, and Death.”
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On August 7, 1952, Malcolm X was paroled from prison, took a bus to Detroit and moved in with his brother Wilfred at 4336 Williams Street in Inkster, Michigan. After joining Detroit‘s Temple No. 1, he quickly moved up the ranks becoming assistant minister and tripling Temple membership.
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“Wednesday, Friday and Sunday were the meeting days of the relatively small Detroit Temple No. 1. Near the Temple, which was actually a store front, were three hog slaughtering pens. The squealing of hogs being slaughtered filtered into our Wednesday and Friday meetings. I’m describing the conditions the Muslims were in back in early 1950's. The address of Temple No. 1 was 1470 Frederick Street. The first Temple to be formed back in 1931 by Master W.D. Fard was formed in Detroit, Michigan. Lemuel Hassan, then, was the minister at Temple No. 1. ‘As-Salaam,’ he greeted us. ‘Walaikum Salaam,’ we returned."
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"Minister Lemuel stood before us near a black board...For more than an hour, Minister Lemuel lectured about Elijah Muhammad’s teachings. I sat rapidly absorbing Minister Lemuel’s every syllable and gesture. I thought it was outrageous that our small Temple still had some empty seats. I complained to my brother Wilfred that there should be no empty seats with the surrounding streets full of brainwashed Black brothers and sisters.” Malcolm X
-The Autobiography of Malcolm X
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Malcolm Little's Massachusetts mug shot February 28, 1946
Malcolm Little; August 7, 1952 certificate of parole from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts issued as parole triplicate No. 20842. His sentence expired on February 26, 1956.
"...While I was in prison, I was indulging in all types of vice, right within the prison. And I never was ostracized as much by the penal authorities while I was participating in all of the evils of the prison, as they tried to ostracize me after I became a Muslim." - Malcolm X
"...While I was in prison, I was indulging in all types of vice, right within the prison. And I never was ostracized as much by the penal authorities while I was participating in all of the evils of the prison, as they tried to ostracize me after I became a Muslim."
Malcolm Little; August 7, 1952 certificate of parole from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts issued as parole triplicate No. 20842. His sentence expired on February 26, 1956.
"...Malcolm X found a loyal follower and a quick study in Jeremiah Pugh, and Brother Jeremiah soon rose to the rank of captain in Temple 12’s Fruit of Islam guard. Jeremiah and Malcolm became virtually inseparable, and roomed together at 2516 W. Nicholas Street in North Philadelphia until Malcolm moved to New York." Sean P. Griffin
For over two decades a former trade school at Susquehanna and Park Avenues served as a center of worship and community programming for the Nation of Islam after Malcolm X moved Temple #12 there in 1962. Built 114 years ago for a trade school, the building came to prominence in the early 1960s when it was leased by the Nation of Islam and placed under the direction of Malcolm X.
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Minister Malcolm & Jeremiah X inside Temple No. 12, 1959
Original Temple of Islam No. 12 at 1319-21 West Susquehanna Avenue in North Philadelphia.
In 1974, the Nation of Islam acquired the property from Our Lady of Mercy. Temple #12 continued mosque-related activities in the old Students’ Chapter Hall until selling the building to the current owners, Hyderabad House Inc., for $33,000 in 1985. Temple #12 is currently located at 2508 North Broad Street, Philadelphia. Hyderabad House Inc. is a non-profit organization with a mission to engage Muslims with education and community-related pursuits.
Malcolm X's personal Mosque No. 1 donation book, signed on the front cover, "F.O.I., Mr. Malcolm X, 4336 Williams St," for the year 1953.
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Malcolm X's personal Mosque No. 1 donation book, signed on the front cover, "F.O.I., Mr. Malcolm X, 4336 Williams St," for the year 1953.
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Within months of Malcolm's membership, Elijah Muhammad invited Malcolm’s entire family to his Chicago home for dinner and he is a very gracious host to them all. As they talk during dinner, Malcolm asks for Elijah’s advice on the recruitment of new members. When Elijah tells him to go for the youth and to recruit “thousands,” Malcolm resolves to do just that.
Malcolm, with Minister Lemuel Hassan’s blessing, immediately goes to work back in Detroit, “fishing” in the local bars, poolrooms and on the street corners for new members, using his familiarity with lower class slang to pull people in. While he works hard, it is several months before the Temple’s numbers begin to grow significantly. Elijah continues to praise Malcolm’s good work, and Malcolm in turn “worships him.” Meanwhile, Malcolm is granted the “X” at the end of his name, symbolizing his original African name he never knew and marking him as a member of the Nation of Islam.
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At his dinner table, Elijah begins to speak often about his need for enthusiastic young ministers to spread his word farther and faster than its current pace. Shortly thereafter, Malcolm’s Temple minister asks him to address the congregation, and then to give a lecture. Nervous and humble, Malcolm agrees hesitantly, mostly speaking on slavery and Christianity, the topics he knows well. Then, in the summer of 1953, he is named Assistant Minister.
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Malcolm, after days spent “fishing” for converts with no success, would dream of what he would say in his next address. In his talks, he would discuss how black people had been made blind to their riches and control exercised by white people over them and how they should be proud of their beautiful, black bodies and nappy hair, alluding to his own hatred of his white grandfather whose complexion was still visible in Malcolm’s fair skin.
One day, at his new job at the Gar Wood factory (manufacturing garbage trucks), the F.B.I. comes in and asks Malcolm to come to their office. After asking why he hadn’t registered for the draft, he proclaimed he didn’t think ex-cons were supposed to register. They believe him and tell him he must go register immediately. When he does, he marks the “conscientious objector” box, which gets him an audience before a review panel. After a fairly condescending interview, they tell him his case is pending - he hears nothing for seven years.
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From 1953-1959, Malcolm X was rapidly ascending within the Nation of Islam, transitioning from a local minister to a national representative under Elijah Muhammad's leadership. By 1960, Malcolm X was the leading national recruiter for the Nation of Islam, having established temples in cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Springfield and Hartford earlier in the decade. As minister of Harlem's Temple No. 7, he propelled Nation of Islam membership to tens of thousands, transforming it into a major national movement.
