WHEN THE WORD IS GIVEN ... By Louis E. Lomax THE RELUCTANT AFRICAN THE NEGRO REVOLT WHEN THE WORD IS GIVEN ... LOUIS E. LOMAX _When the Word is Given_ ... A REPORT ON ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, MALCOLM X, AND THE BLACK MUSLIM WORLD [Illustration] THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY CLEVELAND AND NEW YORK Published by The World Publishing Company 2231 West 110th Street, Cleveland 2, Ohio Published simultaneously in Canada by Nelson, Foster & Scott Ltd. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 63-21624 FIRST EDITION WP963 Copyright © 1963 by Louis E. Lomax. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, except for brief passages included in a review appearing in a newspaper or magazine. Printed in the United States of America. Design by Larry Kamp To James Leonidas Lomax, consecrated preacher, dedicated teacher, and devoted parent. What little love there is among men today is due to men like Uncle James. CONTENTS Introduction 11 =PART ONE=: _The Coming of the Prophet_ 1. MAKE IT PLAIN, MR. MINISTER! 17 2. FROM MOSES TO MALCOLM X 35 3. THE NATION OF ISLAM 59 4. THE BLACK MUSLIMS AND THE NEGRO REVOLT 85 =PART TWO=: _The Prophet’s Voice_ 1. MUHAMMAD AT ATLANTA 109 2. MALCOLM X AT HARVARD 130 3. MALCOLM X ON “UNITY” 149 4. MALCOLM X’S “UNIVERSITY SPEECH” 159 5. MALCOLM X AT QUEENS COLLEGE 172 6. MALCOLM X AT YALE 179 =A SUMMING UP=: _Louis Lomax Interviews Malcolm X_ 197 Suggested Additional Reading 213 Index 215 INTRODUCTION This book comes at a time when the American race issue seems at a climax. Disturbing though it may be, it is encouraging that such a book as this can be written, that a group like the Black Muslims not only lives among us but that it can be investigated and studied. This means that at long last we are about to become honest about the race question. Negroes are saying what they think; white people are pausing to listen. These are the prerequisites of dialogue in a free society, and I predict that on the whole the Black Muslims will have a healthy influence on our social structure.