MALCOLM X: Any time you put too many sparks around a powder keg, the thing is going to explode, and if the thing that explodes is still inside the house, then the house will be destroyed. So The Honorable Elijah Muhammad is telling the white man, “Get this powder keg out of your house--let the black people in this country separate from you, while there’s still time.” If the black man is allowed to separate and go into some land of his own where he can solve his own problems, there won’t be any explosion, and the Negroes who want to stay with the white man, let them stay with the white man--but those who want to leave, let them go with The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. LOMAX: Now that you have mentioned the Messenger, I would like to ask you about this article in the [New York] _Amsterdam News_.... MALCOLM X: It’s a lie. Any article that says there is a “minor” difference between Mr. Muhammad and me is a lie. There is no such thing as a “minor” difference with the Messenger. Any difference with him is _major_. It is a lie, a lie, a lie somebody paid [the author] to write. I was up there in his office yesterday and I was ready to waste [harm, or kill] him for that. He planted a false seed, and it could start trouble. He [the author] knows my telephone number. If he ran on talk of a difference between me and the Messenger, he could have called me. No, he went ahead and printed this lie. He was not there, but I told the editor of the paper that I was out to find him; I told them to call the police then, because as soon as I found the man who wrote this I was going to do him in. How could there be any difference between the Messenger and me? I am his slave, his servant, his son. He is the leader, the only spokesman for the Black Muslims. But I will tell you this: The Messenger has seen God. He was with Allah and was given divine patience with the devil. He is willing to wait for Allah to deal with this devil. Well, sir, the rest of us Black Muslims have not seen God, we don’t have this gift of divine patience with the devil. The younger Black Muslims want to see some action. LOMAX: What kind of action? MALCOLM X: Some things are better done than said. LOMAX: According to your own newspaper, one of the things you Muslims may _do_ in the near future is vote. MALCOLM X: Yes. After long and prayerful consideration, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad allowed us to announce the possibility of Muslims voting. The announcement came at our annual Saviour’s Day convention in Chicago. LOMAX: What does it mean? MALCOLM X: Mr. Muhammad is the only one who can explain that fully. However, I can say that we may register and be ready to vote. Then we will seek out candidates who represent our interests and support them. They need not be Muslims; what we want are race men who will speak out for our people. LOMAX: There are rumors that you may run against Adam Clayton Powell.