_As the crowd cheered, a long black limousine pulled up to the auditorium and Elijah Muhammad--a five-foot-five, unimpressive little man--along with a retinue of some six members of his family swept into the building down the corridor formed by The Fruit. The applause inside the temple was loud and sustained; nervously adjusting his bow tie, Elijah Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, took several bows before the people resumed their seats._ _After a long and impassioned introduction by Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad rose to speak. Most of that long, rambling lecture follows. It is a full statement of Black Muslim doctrine replete with attacks on Negro leaders--Negro preachers in particular. Herein we will find a detailed account of how the evil black scientist Yakub created the white world; we learn why the white race has endured for so long; but most of all Elijah used the Atlanta Speech to make an impassioned plea to Negroes to become “fearless.” [Observers feel that Muhammad’s repetitious urging that Negroes cease to fear white people is one of his strongest attractions for the Negro masses.]_ _Of particular interest, at least to me, is the Paulinean stance Elijah Muhammad assumes in this speech. He begins by offering greetings of peace and the good life; then he goes on to thank his local minister, Jeremiah X, for having arranged this meeting. This done, Muhammad links the Black Muslims with the “725 million more brothers and sisters in the World of Islam,” and issues a special note of thanks to those of his followers who have come from as far away as California._ _Finally, I wish to underscore the closing of this speech: “I am God’s last Messenger to you. You must accept Allah as God.” This is the only time I have encountered the doctrine of Elijah as the last Messenger. But it bolsters my suggestion that when he dies, Muhammad will still be “The Messenger” and that the new leader of the movement will be a younger man, a titular head, while strong men like Malcolm X and Raymond Sharrieff carry the load._ AS-SALAAM-ALAIKUM: In the name of Allah, the most Merciful God, to whom all holy praises are due, the Lord of all the worlds; the most Merciful Finder (of) and Lifegiver to the Lost-found, mentally dead so-called Negroes here in the Wilderness of North America. * * * * * My Beloved Brothers and Sisters: I am more than honored by your presence here this afternoon and your sincere welcome to me and to my followers here in this great city of Atlanta. I thank Allah for Minister Jeremiah, my faithful minister here whose tireless efforts in Atlanta and throughout the South have made this great gathering here today possible. The work that Minister Jeremiah has been doing here in the South has pleased Allah, and it has pleased me too.