Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N Malcolm X Militant Black Leader Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N Muhammad Ali Frederick Douglass W.E.B. Du Bois Marcus Garvey Alex Haley Langston Hughes Jesse Jackson Coretta Scott King Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X Thurgood Marshall Jesse Owens Rosa Parks Colin Powell Sojourner Truth Harriet Tubman Nat Turner Booker T. Washington Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N Malcolm X Militant Black Leader Jack Rummel With additional text written by Heather Lehr Wagner Consulting Editor, Revised Edition Heather Lehr Wagner Senior Consulting Editor, First Edition Nathan Irvin Huggins Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research Harvard University COVER:Malcolm X prepares to speak to a group in New York in 1964. CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS VP,NEWPRODUCTDEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney DIRECTOROFPRODUCTION Kim Shinners CREATIVEMANAGER Takeshi Takahashi MANUFACTURINGMANAGER Diann Grasse Staff for MALCOLM X: MILITANT BLACK LEADER EXECUTIVEEDITOR Lee Marcott ASSISTANTEDITOR Alexis Browsh PRODUCTIONEDITOR Noelle Nardone PHOTOEDITOR Sarah Bloom SERIESANDCOVERDESIGNER Keith Trego LAYOUT 21st Century Publishing and Communications,Inc. ©2005 by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary ofHaights Cross Communications. All rights reserved.Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica. www.chelseahouse.com First Printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rummel,Jack. Malcolm X :militant black leader / Jack Rummel,with additional text by Heather Lehr Wagner.—Rev.ed. p.cm.—(Black Americans ofachievement) ISBN 0-7910-8162-1—ISBN 0-7910-8336-5 (pbk.) 1.Black Muslims—Biography—Juvenile literature.2.African Americans—Biography— Juvenile literature.I.Wagner,Heather Lehr.II.Title.III.Series. BP223.Z8L577 2004 320.54'6'092—dc22 2004008454 All links and web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time ofpublication. Because ofthe dynamic nature ofthe web,some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. Contents Introduction vi 1 The Cities Are Burning 1 2 The Outsider 7 3 Detroit Red’s Streets 19 4 Awakening 32 5 Fishing for Souls 44 6 The Pure Flame of Allah 54 7 Thunder in the Ghetto 64 8 A Time for Martyrs 76 Chronology 90 Further Reading 91 Index 93 About the Contributors 102 Introduction Nearly 20 years ago Chelsea House Publishers began to publish the first volumes in the series called BLACK AMERICANS OF ACHIEVEMENT.This series eventually numbered over a hundred books and profiled outstanding African Americans from many walks oflife.Today,ifyou ask school teachers and school librarians what comes to mind when you mention Chelsea House,many will say—“Black Americans of Achievement.” The mix of individuals whose lives we covered was eclectic, to say the least. Some were well known—Muhammad Ali and Dr.Martin Luther King,Jr,for example.But others,such as Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, were lesser-known figures who were introduced to modern readers through these books. The individuals profiled were chosen for their actions, their deeds,and ultimately their influence on the lives ofothers and their impact on our nation as a whole. By sharing these stories of unique Americans, we hoped to illustrate how ordinary individuals can be transformed by extraordinary circumstances to become people of greatness. We also hoped that these special stories would encourage young-adult readers to make their own contribution to a better world.Judging from the many wonderful letters we have received about the BLACK AMERICANS OF ACHIEVEMENT biographies over the years from students,librarians,and teachers,they have certainly fulfilled the goal of inspiring others! Now, some 20 years later, we are publishing 18 volumes of the original BLACKAMERICANSOFACHIEVEMENTseries in revised editions to bring the books into the twenty-first century and vi INTRODUCTION vii make them available to a new generation ofyoung-adult readers.The selection was based on the importance of these figures to American life and the popularity of the original books with our readers.These revised editions have a new full-color design and,wherever possible, we have added color photographs. The books have new features, including quotes from the writings and speeches of leaders and interesting and unusual facts about their lives. The concluding section of each book gives new emphasis to the legacy of these men and women for the current generation of readers. The lives of these African-American leaders are unique and remarkable.By transcending the barriers that racism placed in their paths, they are examples of the power and resiliency of the human spirit and are an inspiration to readers. We present these wonderful books to our audience for their reading pleasure. Lee M.Marcott Chelsea House Publishers August 2004 1 The Cities Are Burning On the afternoon of May 21, 1964,nearly 60 newspaper reporters crowded into the VIP lounge at Kennedy International Airport on the outskirts ofNew York City,anxiously awaiting the arrival of militant black leader Malcolm X. The journalists, most of whom were white and worked for the major New York news- papers,were worried about their approaching deadlines.Yet all ofthe reporters preferred to risk being late with their copy than leave without hearing what Malcolm X had to say upon his return from a tour ofAfrica and the Middle East. The 39-year-old civil rights activist had been away from the United States for only five weeks,but during his brief absence racial relations had become even more strained. Many blacks were voicing their anger over how little progress had been made on the issue of civil rights. Many whites strongly opposed the few social reforms that were instituted to bring about greater racial equality. 1