Malcolm X may well be Elijah Muhammad’s Charlie McCarthy, but it was Charlie McCarthy who made Edgar Bergen rich and famous. By the same token, observers are convinced that whereas Elijah Muhammad is the maximum leader of the movement, Malcolm X is the man who will have to save the Black Muslims from becoming just another sect or cult. Malcolm’s role rests on more than his indisputable ability and public presence; it is augmented by the absence of other talented men in the movement. I have met and talked with every major figure in the Black Muslim hierarchy, and there is not one among them who can do the job that must be done if the organization is to make a continuing impression on non-Muslim Negroes. This is not to say that there are no able administrators within the movement; on the contrary, I, for one, am convinced that Malcolm is not a good administrator, that men like John X are better suited than he for this role. But John X cannot capture the mind and imagination of TV viewers as Malcolm X has done. Both of Muhammad’s sons are extremely able, but they cannot cause the nation’s press to beat a path to Muhammad’s door, as Malcolm has done. Malcolm X now holds down three jobs: he is minister of Temple Number Seven, New York; minister of Temple Number Four, Washington, D.C.; and traveling bishop-trouble shooter for the entire movement. Malcolm roams the nation holding press conferences and being the _official presence_ wherever Muslims get into trouble with the police; he moves between temples, making sure that internal problems are handled correctly; he moves from town to town organizing new temples and addressing mass rallies; he has spoken at most major universities outside the South and fills the air waves with his beguiling jargon. Then Malcolm commutes several times a month to Phoenix, Arizona, where the asthma-stricken Elijah Muhammad now lives, for further guidance and policy conferences. Hardly a day passes that Malcolm does not speak with the Messenger from wherever he is by telephone. I know from many personal experiences that even so trivial a request as one for Malcolm to sit for an interview is cleared with The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I also know that Muhammad sometimes says “no” and that Malcolm obeys. Many commentators make much over what they call the “New York-Chicago” cleavage within the Black Muslim movement. I am inclined to doubt the reality of that cleavage, but I am also convinced that there are stresses and strains within the movement, the same kinds of stresses and strains that afflict any organization that involves human beings.