- Moe Factz with Adam Curry for September 27th 2023, Episode number 94 - "Helping Our People"
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- You've been ready for us! And we deliver!!!
- I'm Adam Curry coming to you from the heart of The Texas Hill Country and it's time once again to spin the wheel of Topics from here to Northern Virginia, please say hello to my friend on the other end: Mr. Moe Factz
- Moe and Adam bring you part two of the history of Hip Hop
- Chapter Architect: Dreb Scott
- Associate Executive Producers
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- Shownotes
- Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five '' The Message Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's ''The Message'' may not have been the origin of conscious-rap in the early '80s, but it took the idea, ran away with it, married it, had several children and bought a farm in upstate Idaho with it.
- ''The Message'' was the 7th rap song to ever appear on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, peaking at #62. It went gold within 11 days. It was also selected by the New York Times as 'the most powerful pop single of 1982' and NME named it their #1 track of the year.
- In 2017, Rolling Stone named it the best hip-hop record of all time. But perhaps the song's biggest honor was in 2002 when the US Library Of Congress began archiving recordings that are ''culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'' in its National Recording Registry. ''The Message'' was included because ''of its focus on urban social issues'', and thus shows it is regarded as significant as other recordings also archived that first year '' like ''Stars and Stripes Forever'', ''God Bless America'' and Martin Luther King's ''I Have a Dream'' speech.
- Though it's credited to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, ''The Message'' was primarily written by Ed ''Duke Bootee'' Fletcher and producer Jiggs Chase, with the only contributing member of GF & TFF being Melle Mel who wrote the final verse. At the suggestion of Sylvia Robinson, the then-head of Sugar Hill Records, both Duke & Mel rapped on the track.
- There are many different versions of this song with different numbers of verse. Often, Verse 4 is omitted. This is the original, and longest, version.
- It has been sampled and quoted many times, often imitated, but never matched.
- Five-Percent Nation - Wikipedia
- American black nationalist religious movement
- The Five-Percent emblem, also known as the Universal Flag of Islam (I-Self Lord and Master).[1]Allah the Father (formerly Clarence 13X), the founder of the Nation of Gods and EarthsThe Five-Percent Nation, sometimes referred to as the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE/NOGE) or the Five Percenters, is a Black nationalist movement influenced by Islam that was founded in 1964 in the Harlem section of the borough of Manhattan, New York City, by Allah the Father, who was previously known as Clarence 13X and, before that, Clarence Edward Smith.
- Members of the group call themselves Allah's Five Percenters, which reflects the concept that ten percent of the people in the world are elites and their agents, who know the truth of existence and opt to keep eighty-five percent of the world in ignorance and under their controlling thumb; the remaining five percent are those who know the truth and are determined to enlighten the eighty-five percent.[2][3]
- The Nation of Gods and Earths teaches the belief that Black people are the original people of the planet Earth and are therefore the fathers ("Gods") and mothers ("Earths") of civilization.[2] The Nation teaches that Supreme Mathematics and Supreme Alphabet, a set of principles created by Allah the Father, is the key to understanding humankind's relationship to the universe. The Nation teaches that the black man (insofar as the Nation defines this race) is himself God, with the black race thus being a race of actual gods.[2]
- History [ edit ] Founding [ edit ] The Nation of Gods and Earths was founded by Clarence 13X after he left the Nation of Islam's Temple Number Seven in Harlem, New York, the same temple where Malcolm X was a minister from 1960 to 1963. Multiple stories exist as to why Clarence and the NOI parted ways: Some state he refused to give up gambling; others state he questioned the unique divinity of Wallace Fard Muhammad, whom the NOI deified as the true and living God in person; or that he questioned Fard's godhood due to the fact that Fard was born of a white mother.[5][6] One story states that he was disciplined by the NOI and excommunicated in 1963, but another version of events says that he left of his own free will.
- After leaving the NOI, he renamed himself "Allah the Father". He was joined by Abu Shahid (formerly John 37X), who agreed with Allah's questioning of Wallace Fard Muhammad. Allah the Father and Shahid were nicknamed "High Scientists" due to their intense study of lessons.[5] Allah was also joined by Justice (formerly James 109X, and before that, James Howell) who would become one of Allah's closest associates until his death.[8]
- Allah proselytized the streets of Harlem to teach others his views based on his interpretation of NOI teachings. After failing to reach elder adults whom he saw as already set in their ways, he found success with street youth.[10][11][12][13][14] On October 10, 1964, this young group formed the First Nine Born of what became known as the Five-Percent Nation, or later the Nation of Gods and Earths.
- Allah taught his Black male students that they were Gods, just as he was. He taught them that the astral twin of the Black man is the Sun. In Supreme Mathematics, the Black man is symbolized as "Knowledge." The Black women who came into Father Allah's growing movement to study along with the males were taught they were symbolic of the planet Earth because women produce and sustain human existence as does the Earth. Female Five Percenters are also referred to as "Wisdom." The Nation of Gods and Earths' Supreme Wisdom states: "Wisdom is the Original Woman because life is continued through her cipher (womb)."[17] The NGE does not consider itself a religion; its position is that it makes no sense to be religious or to worship or deify anyone or anything outside of oneself because adherents, themselves, are the highest power in the known universe, both collectively and individually. Allah the Father developed a curriculum of eight lessons that included the Supreme Alphabets and Mathematics, which he devised, as well as lessons developed by the Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad and Wallace Fard Muhammad. The eight lessons were taught in this order, which follows below:
- Supreme Mathematics (1''10)Supreme Alphabets (1''26)Student Enrollment (1''10)English Lesson C-1 (1''36)Lost-Found Muslim Lesson No. 1 (1''14)Lost-Found Muslim Lesson No. 2 (1''40)Actual Facts (13)Solar Facts (9)Each Five Percenter was required to fully "master" each lesson and was expected to be able to "think and reason by forming profound relationships between the lessons and significant experiences within life." Five Percenters were also required to share what they had learned with others, and thereby recruit new members.
- Social and political influence [ edit ] The FBI opened a file on the Five Percenters in 1965, the height of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements in the United States. In "Disturbance by Group Called 'Five Percenters,'" the FBI refers to the organization as a "loosely knit group of Negro youth gangs. ... These particular gangs emanate from New York City Public School Number 120 which is a junior high school."[22] The FBI file stated that the organization's name meant "The five percent of the Muslims who smoke and drink."[22] 1965 New York newspaper articles referred to the Five Percenters as a "gang," "hoodlums," and "terror group."[22] Allah the Father and the Five Percenters "had a reputation for being unreachable, anti-white criminals."[23] With the goal of preventing New York from having a race riot or uprising, New York Mayor John V. Lindsay sent Barry Gottehrer, the head of the mayor's Urban Task Force, to meet with the organization the FBI had called a "gang" and "terror group."[23] Gottehrer stated Allah the Father was non-violent, "but was dedicated to his community's well-being."[23] Gottehrer and Allah began organizing picnics and airplane rides for the Five Percenters that were funded by New York City through the Urban Task Force.[23] Wakeel Allah's book In the Name of Allah includes a photo captioned: "Allah (in background) along with Mayor Lindsay (holding baby) on airplane ride with Five Percenters." In 1967, Father Allah, with Gottehrer's assistance, opened the Urban League Street Academy, which would become known as the Allah School in Mecca.[23]
- In 1967, shortly after Allah and Justice started holding classes at the Street Academy, Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin and Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke visited Father Allah at the Academy. In an article titled "The Five Percenters," published in The New Amsterdam News, Rustin wrote
- We might all applaud the Street Academy as one of the most constructive contributions to the maintenance of stability in the Harlem Community, as well as creating an effective instrument for the rehabilitation of young men who might otherwise have no choice but the streets. ... Besides their academic and social activities, the Five Percenters told me that they pursue a spiritual ideal of "helping others discover a true knowledge of themselves." They said they are "neither anti-white nor pro-black."
- Allah the Father stated that he was "neither pro-black nor anti-white."[27] In his "National Statement" given at Brookdale College in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in 1998, Dumar Wa'de Allah, National Spokesman for the NGE,[28] stated "we are not anti-white, nor pro-black. In fact, we have white Five Percenters."[29] NGE websites and articles state, "We as a collective are not anti-white nor pro-black. We are pro-righteous and anti-devilishment."[30][31][32]
- There have been from the organization's inception Five Percenters of various ethnicities. The most well-known Caucasian Five Percenter is John Michael Kennedy, who met Allah in 1965. Allah proclaimed Kennedy a "righteous man" and renamed him Azreal.[33] Michael M. Knight's The Five Percenters includes a photo of a gathering of Five Percenters that includes Barkim, who Knight describes as "one of the earliest white Five Percenters" and his siblings.[34] Knight's book also includes two photos of Allah with Gottehrer, who Allah called "Moses."[35]
- In 2018 members of the Five Percent Nation and Harlem community members applied to the Transportation/Historic Preservation & Landmarks Committee of Manhattan Community Board 10 to have the northwest corner of 126th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd in Harlem, New York co-named ''Allah, Justice & The Five Percenters Square.''[36][37] The application and subsequent proposal were approved by Manhattan Community Board 10 and the New York City Council.[37] In March 2019 the intersection of 126th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd in New York was officially co-named "Allah, Justice & The Five Percenters Square."[37][38]
- Conflicts [ edit ] After the founding of the Allah School, the Gods and Earths became more influential '' upon the April 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it quelled a potential rebellion inside Harlem.[40] Allah was assassinated 13 June 1969 at 21 West 112th Street in Harlem, the residence of his wife and children.[42] There have been rumors and theories about assailants and motives,[44] but the murder remains unsolved. The murder was a blow to the movement, but according to the direct orders of Allah before his death, some of his earliest disciples, a group of nine men who were called the First Nine Born carried on the teachings, and his friend Justice assumed an acting leadership role.
- The FBI's labeling the Five Percenters as a "gang" in 1965 has caused much trouble for Gods and Earths in the United States. The "gang" label has caused individuals with even remote NGE affiliation to be designated as security threats in jails and prisons in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina.[46] NGE literature has been banned from penal institutions in these and other states, and inmates have been denied privileges enjoyed by those of other persuasions. Such rules were relaxed in 2004 in New York to allow registered "sincere adherent(s)" to study teachings personally but not share with unregistered inmates during their incarceration.[47]
- Its newspaper The Five Percenter condemns the states who impose restrictions on their practice as those who "attempt to define us in ways that seek to criminalize us."[48] In Michigan, the Nation challenged a ban on the group's literature among prison inmates after an inmate was designated a security threat until he renounced his membership. Judge Steven Whalen found no evidence that the group advocated violence and recommended that it be recognized as a legitimate belief system.[49]
- Beliefs [ edit ] Basis [ edit ] The men of the Five Percent Nation view themselves as Gods (both individually and collectively as the Original Man).[10] According to the Five Percenter Newspaper, "God first means that it is no longer a judicial argument; centered means everything we do is about God. Culture is the practices and principles of a people at any given time."[50] Gods and Earths sometimes refer to themselves as scientists, implying their search for knowledge and proof.[51][52]
- The teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths are passed on through a modern oral tradition. The advancement of a God or Earth is based on his or her memorization, recitation, comprehension, and practical application of the Supreme Mathematics and the Supreme Alphabet and also the 120 Lessons, sometimes referred to as degrees, a revised version of the Supreme Wisdom lessons of the NOI, originally written by Wallace Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad.[12][53][54] The anthology Knowledge of Self: A Collection of Wisdom on the Science of Everything in Life by Supreme Understanding details the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths.[55][56] Wakeel Allah has written In the Name of Allah: A History of Clarence 13X and the 5 Percenters and The Naked Truth: From the Goal Mind of Abu Shahid, the Elder of the Nation of Gods and Earths.[57]
- "Five Percent" [ edit ] The term "Five Percenter" is taken directly from the "Five Percent" who are described in "Lost-Found Muslim Lesson No. 2" of the Nation of Islam. The lesson groups the people of the world into three categories. Eighty-five percent of the world's population are described as "uncivilized people; poison animal eaters; slaves from mental death and power, people who do not know the Living God or their origin in this world, and they worship that which they do not know. ... [They] are easily led in the wrong direction, but hard to lead into the right direction." Ten percent of the world's population are described as "The rich; the slave-makers of the poor; who teach the poor lies'--to believe that the Almighty, True and Living God is a spook and cannot be seen by the physical eye. Otherwise known as: The Blood-Suckers of the Poor." Five Percent of the world's population are described as "the poor, righteous Teachers, who do not believe in the teachings of the 10%, and are all-wise; and know who the Living God is; and Teach that the Living God is the Sun of man, the supreme being, the (Black man) of Asia; and Teach Freedom, Justice and Equality to all the human family of the planet Earth."[58]
- The Universal Language [ edit ] The Supreme Mathematics and Supreme Alphabet are key concepts in the Five Percent Nation. The Supreme mathematics is a system of understanding numerals alongside concepts and qualitative representations that are used along with the Supreme Alphabet.[12][54] The Supreme Mathematics is thought to be the highest system of numerology in the NGE, used to give qualitative value to numbers in addition to quantity. How the values associated with each number were derived are currently unknown. The numerals are as follows:[59][60]
- 1. Knowledge2. Wisdom3. Understanding4. Culture or Freedom5. Power or Refinement6. Equality7. God8. Build or Destroy9. Born (Birth)0. CipherThe Supreme Alphabet is a system of interpreting text and finding deeper meaning from the NOI Lessons by assigning actual meanings to the letters of the Latin script. For example, the first letter, A, stands for Allah; the 12th letter, L, stands for Love, Hell, or Right; and the 13th letter, M, stands for Master. The Supreme Alphabet was developed by Allah the Father and Justice. The method by which letters were associated with certain values is unknown.
- Customs [ edit ] The Five-Percent Nation holds events known as Universal Parliaments in various cities'--usually once a month'--to build on their interpretation of the Supreme Mathematics, lessons, and to discuss business concerning the NGE. These meetings usually take place in public areas and can be held anywhere.
- Because the NGE defines itself as a way of life and not a religion, the Nation generally does not observe religious holidays, including those associated with Christianity or Islam.[65] Many Five Percenters honor Allah the Father's birthday (February 22) and/or the official founding of the Nation (October 10) with special events and parliaments.[66] The Show and Prove is an annual event that takes place in Harlem every second weekend in June.[67]
- Similar to adherents of denominations of traditional Islam, Five Percenters abstain from eating pork or any pork-based by-products. According to Five Percenter Universal Shaamguadd, Allah the Father stated Five Percenters should avoid eating "small scavengers, such as shrimp," and also avoid "lobsters, crabs, clams, and oysters." Some Five Percenters take further steps and eschew meat altogether, often opting for "strict" vegetarianism.[69] Allah the Father advocated "eating one meal a day, every other day or every third days, as prescribed in the Nation of Islam." Allah was also a proponent of fasting and many new adherents fast as part of "an induction process."
- Teachings on race [ edit ] The teachings of Five-Percent Nation have been accused of promoting Black supremacy. As in the Nation of Islam, Five Percenters believe that the original inhabitants of the world were Black (which they refer to as the "Asiatic Blackman" and believe had inhabited the earth for "66 trillion years") who ultimately descended from the Tribe of Shabazz, while the white race are evil "devils" who were created 6,000 years ago on what is today the Greek island of Patmos by a ''rogue bigheaded scientist'' named Yakub (the Biblical and Qur'anic Jacob) who was of the Meccan branch of the tribe. After the whites attempted to rise up against their creators, they were exiled to the caves of "West Asia" '' what would later be known as Europe. The Yakub origin story is the basis for all Five Percenter racial understanding.[71]
- Gender perceptions [ edit ] Some Five Percenters have been accused of promoting male chauvinism and misogyny.[72][73][74] According to Prince Allah Cuba, since the death of Allah the Father, some Gods have grown preoccupied with male supremacy, and this preoccupation has resulted in the minimization of all things female: from the crescent moon on the nation's flag being made smaller and eventually placed under the number seven, to the lack of parity in the God-Earth dyad.[75] According to the Five Percent Nation, each member constitutes a divine being in his or her own right.[69][76] Some males promote the minimization of women, as with Lord Jamar's lyric that woman is "secondary but most necessary."[77] Others describe the Black woman as the Black man's equal: In X Clan's song "Wiz Degrees," Five Percenter Brother J describes his partner as "Wisdom and the Goddess manifest."[78] Ladybug Mecca, a Five Percenter and the female member of the hip hop group Digable Planets, offers her view of gender and divinity:
- We need to know that there is a feminine and masculine principal or consciousness that is considered the God or the Creator. It's not a male, like religion will tell you. It's a mother/father principle, a masculine/feminine principle. /. . . ./ The feminine principle is what gives birth to the universe. It's what brings creation forth, so there has to be an acknowledgement and respect for her in order to bring back the balance. In religion, in Christianity and in Islam, in all religions ... it's a perverted piece of the truth, when it doesn't hold the woman on a pedestal.[79]
- Five Percenter Just I C Equality Allah asserts that gender equality is an inherent aspect of ALLAH: "How can woman not be God as well as man? First of all, we are the Arm Leg Leg Arm Head (Allah). There is no gender type, we all have the components that make the physical. Allah is the all in all. How can we be the all in all if "all" isn't included?"[80] When Allah the Father was alive, some female Five Percenters referred to themselves as Goddesses.[81] A Five Percent female named Tawanna referred to herself as God. When challenged by some male Five Percenters, Tawanna defended her position and was declared by Justice to be "more God than some of the men!"[81]
- Hip hop [ edit ] The majority of allusions to Islam in American hip-hop, either conscious or otherwise, spawn from adherents of the Five Percenters.[82] In its article on Five Percenter Jay Electronica, Vice Magazine stated in regard to the Five Percent Nation: "It's a movement that's been affiliated with hip-hop from the very beginning, coining terms like 'ciphers' and 'dropping science' and influencing everyone, World's Famous Supreme Team, Big Daddy Kane,Busta Ryhmes, J. Cole, Jay-Z, Method Man, Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, Brand Nubian, Nas, Common, Poor Righteous Teachers, Erykah Badu, and AZ. With these artists, and any others associated with the Five Percenters, music was more than just a message."[83]
- The Nation of Gods and Earth has propagated its teachings throughout the United States and abroad. In the early 1980s, this spread was in part due to early adherents teaching when away at college or in the military and, more famously, because of the rise of hip hop music. The main theme of the NGE doctrine spoken on hip hop records were the teachings that black people were the original or first human life to walk the planet, that the Blackman is God, the Blackwoman is Earth, and through the inner esoteric powers of the Gods and Earths, the youth can transform and possess its true potential, which aspires to overthrow the overbearing oligarchy by becoming just rulers of themselves. This especially meshed well with conscious themes found in other golden-age hip hop recordings.
- Early hip-hop acts affiliated with the Five Percenters, and who spread its teachings through hip hop, include two MCs of the late 1980s''early '90s conscious-rap era'--Rakim of Eric B. & Rakim[84] and Big Daddy Kane. These two acts, as well as some of their other contemporaries, infused Five-Percent teachings and symbolism throughout their music and videos. This reputation brought fans of Rakim in particular to refer to him as the God MC. After Rakim and Kane's heyday rose acts that were even more explicit with allegiance to the NGE, most notably Brand Nubian, Poor Righteous Teachers, Wu-Tang Clan, Killarmy, Sunz of Man, Gravediggaz and Busta Rhymes.[86][87][88] The popularity of these acts sparked a boom of new NGE students. The hip hop group 3rd Bass, whose MC's Prime Minister Pete Nice and MC Serch were white and Jewish, respectively, cited NGE lessons in the song "Triple Stage Darkness" and other songs.[89]
- Five Percenters were the innovators behind early hip-hop slang, including "word is bond," "break it down," "peace," "droppin' science," and "represent."[3][90] Many MCs employ the technique and terminology of the Supreme Alphabet to create acrostics, acronyms and backronyms in their rhymes. For example, in the song "Wildflower," Ghostface Killah rhymes, "I'm God Cipher Divine," spelling G-O-D in the Supreme Alphabet.[91][92] Furthermore, RZA directly rhymes the Twelve Jewels of life's objectives on his later work with Gravediggaz, rhyming in succession: knowledge, wisdom, understanding, freedom, justice, equality, food, clothing, shelter, love, peace, happiness.[93] He regularly wears an eight-pointed star pendant with a number seven and a crescent, which can be seen on the cover of his album The World According to RZA.
- Five Percenters in New York City were a visible presence at parties during hip hop's formative years of the 1970s. Scene pioneer DJ Kool Herc recalled that while there was a heavy gang presence in attendance, the Five Percenters were also there as a de facto peace-keeping element.[94]
- Other examples of hip hop and R&B acts who are (or have been) associated with Five Percent teachings include Killah Priest, Digable Planets, J-Live, Nas, Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, SZA, Planet Asia, and Guru.[95]
- Notable current and former members and associates [ edit ] Allah Mathematics '' Hip hop producer and DJ of Wu-Tang Clan[96]AZ[97]Big Daddy Kane[98][99]Brother J '' frontman and lyricist of X Clan[78][100][101]Busta Rhymes[102]Black Sheep[103]Brand Nubian[98][99]Cipha Sounds '' DJ and radio personalityDJ Kay Slay[98][99]Digable Planets '' Grammy Award-winning jazz-rap group[104]Erykah Badu '' her Grammy Award-winning song "On & On" features teachings of the Five-Percent Nation[105]God Shammgod '' former NBA playerGravediggaz[106]GzaRakim[98][99]Jay-Z '' has teachings but not confirmed member[citation needed ]Just-Ice[98][99][107]Nas[97] was influenced by the Five-Percent Nation but does not claim to represent the culture.[108]Wu-Tang Clan '' Ghostface Killah[109] and Raekwon[110] have since converted to traditional IslamLakim Shabazz[97]Freedom Williams '' Lead vocalist of the group C+C Music Factory[111]Jus Allah '' Former member of the rap duo Jedi Mind Tricks[112]The World's Famous Supreme Team[113]MC ShanPlanet Asia[98][99]Poor Righteous Teachers[114]Large Professor[115]Positive K[98][99]St. Lunatics[98][99]J-Live[98][99]John Fort(C) '' Fugees-affiliated emcee[98][99]GQ '' an R&B and disco group, best known for its 1979 hit "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)"[116][117]Tragedy Khadafi[118]LL Cool J '' Stated in his autobiography that he joined the Five-Percent Nation in school and took the name "Lord Supreme Shalik", but he also said, "At [the Five Percent Nation's] core there is a strict religious doctrine, but we weren't following that. We were just using the Five Percenter label as a shield to do our dirty work '' fighting and eventually robbing."[119]Carmelo Anthony '' NBA player for the Los Angeles LakersPHASE 2 '' Graffiti writer, originator of the "bubble letter" style[120]Kase2 '' Graffiti writer and innovator featured in the documentary Style WarsRammellzee '' Graffiti writer, Hip-Hop musician and emcee featured in the film Wild Style[121]Raz Fresco '' Canadian emcee and music producer[122]RzaJay Electronica[123]References [ edit ] ^ Muhammad Knight, Michael (January 8, 2013). "What I Learned from the Five Percenters". VICE. Archived from the original on May 28, 2017 . Retrieved August 30, 2017 . ^ a b c "God, the Black Man and the Five Percenters". NPR.org. NPR. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012 . Retrieved February 13, 2012 . ^ a b Chandler, D. L. (June 28, 2012). "The Meaning of the 5%: A Look at the Nation Of Gods And Earths". Hip-Hop Wired. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013 . Retrieved October 11, 2013 . ^ a b Knight, Michael M. (2007). The Five Percenters. Oneworld. pp. 35''36. ISBN 9781851686155. ^ Miyakawa, Felecia (2007). Five Percenter Rap. Indiana University Press. pp. 15''16. ISBN 978-0253217639. ^ Beloved Allah. "The Founding of the Nation Of Gods And Earths". Thetalkingdrum.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012 . Retrieved February 13, 2012 . ^ a b Jane I. Smith (1999). Islam in America. Columbia University Press. pp. 101''103, 206. ^ Mattias Gardell (1996). In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 225. ^ a b c Juan Williams (2003). This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religious Experience. Amistad/HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 286''288. ^ McCloud, Aminah (2014). African American Islam. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. pp. 59''60. ISBN 978-1-136-64930-1. OCLC 884017193. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020 . Retrieved April 23, 2019 . ^ Knight, Michael Muhamad. The Five Percenters: Islam, Hip Hop, and the Gods of New York. Oxford, England, UK: Oneworld Publications, 2007. Chapter 16 ^ Nation of Gods and Earth. "Supreme Mathematics." Supreme Wisdom. page 8. https://www.scribd.com/doc/302750576/NGE-Supreme-Wisdom Archived April 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine ^ a b c "Five Percenters: Part 01 of 01". FBI Records: The Vault. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019 . Retrieved April 4, 2019 . ^ a b c d e Miyakawa, Felicia (2005). Five Percenter Rap. Indiana University Press. pp. 19. ISBN 0-253-21763-6. ^ Knight, Michael (2009). The Five Percenters. One World. pp. xiii, 142, 227. ^ "R.I.P. God Dumar Wa'de Allah". Amsterdamnews.com. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020 . Retrieved April 4, 2019 . ^ Allah, Dumar Wa'de (1998). "A National Statement by Dumar Wa'de Allah". Archived from the original on May 30, 2018 . Retrieved May 29, 2018 . ^ Allah, Jerule. "Welcome to the Love Allah website of the Gods and Earths!". Archived from the original on May 29, 2018 . Retrieved May 29, 2018 . ^ See also: Allah, Immortality Exegetical 120 (Randal Best) (November 28, 2013). "State and federal prisons persecute Nation of Gods and Earth (Five Percenters)". Archived from the original on May 29, 2018 . Retrieved May 29, 2018 . ^ Keiler-Bradshaw, Ahmon J. (2010). Voices of the Earth: A Phenomenological Study of Women in the Nation of Gods and Earths. Georgia State University: M.A. Thesis. p. 101. S2CID 151078180. ^ Knight, Michael M. (2007). The Five Percenters. One World. pp. 85''86. ISBN 978-1-85168-615-5. ^ Knight, Michael M. (2007). The Five Percenters. One World. Plate 2. ISBN 978-1-85168-615-5. ^ Knight, Michael M. (October 2008). The Five Percenters. One World. Plates 6 & 7 and page 112. ISBN 978-1-85168-615-5. ^ "General Board Meeting of City of New York Manhattan Community Board" (PDF) . www1.nyc.gov. November 7, 2018. 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"Judge: No sign that Nation of Gods is prison risk". Victoria Advocate. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019 . Retrieved September 9, 2009 . ^ Five Percenter Newspaper, Vol 16.8, p.2 ^ White, Ed (September 9, 2009) "Nation of Islam sect allowed in prison", The Associated Press. ^ Five Percenter Newspaper volume 16.5 p.2 ^ Miyakawa, Felicia (2005). Five Percenter Rap. Indiana University Press. pp. 30, 68, 157. ISBN 0253217636. ^ Miyakawa, Felicia (2003). "The Duty of the Civilized is to Civilize the Uncivilized: Tropes of Black Nationalism in the Messages of Five Percent Rappers". In Jackson, Ronald, Ronald L. and Elaine B. Richardson (ed.). In: Understanding African American Rhetoric: Classical Origins to Contemporary Innovations. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 174, 179. ISBN 978-1-136-72729-0. OCLC 881034429. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020 . Retrieved April 23, 2019 . ^ Knight, Michael Muhammad (2007). 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Sources [ edit ] Allah, Wakeel (2007). In the Name of Allah: A History of Clarence 13X and the Five Percenters, Vol. 1. Atlanta, GA: A-Team Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59916-200-3. OCLC 137272467 . Retrieved April 23, 2019 . External links [ edit ] The official Web site of the Nation of Gods and Earths (archived)A paper presented at the American Anthropological Association's Annual Meeting (Nov 1996) about Five Percenters and its influence on hip hop music, as well as its divergence from traditional IslamFBI files on the Five PercentersThe Five Percent Solution '' By SpinThe Daily Show with Trevor Noah Interviews Talib Kweli and Five Percenters '' The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Interviews Talib KweliOfficial YouTube Channel
- Clarence 13X - Wikipedia
- Founder of The Nation of Gods and Earths
- Clarence 13X standing between two of his followers
- BornClarence Edward Smith
- ( 1928-02-22 ) February 22, 1928DiedJune 13, 1969 (1969-06-13) (aged 41)Cause of deathAssassination by gunshotsOther namesAllah, the Father, Father AllahKnown forFounding the Five-Percent NationSpouseDora SmithPartnerWillieen JowersChildren2Clarence Edward Smith (February 22, 1928 '' June 13, 1969), better known as Clarence 13X[a] and Allah, was an American religious leader and the founder of the Five-Percent Nation.[b] He was born in Virginia and moved to New York City as a young man, before serving in the United States Army during the Korean War. After returning to New York, he learned that his wife had joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) and followed her, taking the name Clarence 13X. He served in the group as a security officer, martial arts instructor, and student minister before leaving for an unclear reason in 1963. He enjoyed gambling, which was condemned by the NOI, and disagreed with the NOI's teachings that Wallace Fard Muhammad was a divine messenger.
- After leaving the NOI, Clarence 13X formed a new group with other former members. He concluded that all black men were divine and took the name Allah to symbolize this status. He rejected the belief in an invisible God, teaching that God could be found within each black man. In his view, women were "earths" that complemented and nurtured men; he believed that they should be submissive to men. He and a few assistants retained some NOI teachings and pioneered novel interpretations of them. They devised teachings about the meaning of letters and numerals: understanding the meaning of each letter and number was said to provide deep truths about God and the universe. Clarence 13X referred to his new movement as the Five Percenters, referencing a NOI teaching that only five percent of the population knew and promoted the truth about God. One way that he distinguished his group from his previous faith was by rejecting dress codes or strict behavioral guidelines'--he allowed the consumption of alcohol, and at times, the use of illegal drugs.
- Clarence 13X was shot by an unknown assailant in 1964 but survived the attack. After an incident several months later in which he and several of his followers vandalized stores and fought with police, he was arrested and placed in psychiatric care. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He referred to himself as "Allah", which had become his preferred name. He was released from custody after a 1966 ruling by the Supreme Court placed limits on confinement without trial. Although he initially taught his followers to hate white people, he eventually began to cooperate with white city leaders. They gave him funding for a night school, and in return, he tried to prevent violence in Harlem. Clarence 13X was fatally shot in June 1969; the identity of his killer is unknown. The mayor of New York City and several other prominent leaders expressed condolences to his followers. Although the Five Percenters faltered in the immediate aftermath of his death, the movement rebounded after new leadership emerged. The group took a non-hierarchical approach to leadership, and no single leader replaced Clarence 13X. He has been held in high regard by Five Percenters, who celebrate his birthday as a holiday.
- Early life and Nation of Islam [ edit ] Clarence Edward Smith was born on February 22, 1928, and raised in Danville, Virginia, with his five brothers and one sister. During his childhood, Virginia was racially segregated, and he witnessed incidents of racism, including a fight between his father and a white man that was sparked by racial tensions. In 1946, he moved with his mother to New York City, where they settled in Harlem. He attended only two years of high school.
- In 1949, Smith fathered a child, Clarence Jowers, with Willieen Jowers. Although he married a woman named Dora Smith in 1950, he fathered another child, Otis Jowers, with Willieen in 1951; he also had several sons and daughters with Dora. Smith joined the U.S. Army in the early 1950s and was stationed in Korea from 1952 to 1954, where he served as an infantryman in the Korean War. After returning to the U.S., he lived in Harlem and served in the United States Army Reserve until 1960. During his military service, he became skilled in karate.
- Mosque No. 7 in 2009Dora Smith embraced the Nation of Islam (NOI) while her husband was away and he converted after returning to New York. By 1961, he had registered at Mosque No. 7 and changed his name to Clarence 13X in accordance with NOI practice. Before his conversion, he often smoked marijuana and gambled, activities forbidden by the NOI. After joining the group, he studied the NOI's doctrines and quickly progressed within their organizational structure, possibly thanks to skills learned in the military. His responsibilities included teaching martial arts and serving on the Fruit of Islam security team. He was also recognized as a skilled speaker and reached the rank of "student minister" at Mosque No. 7. By 1963, he had come to the attention of the FBI'--informants recorded his presence at rallies led by Malcolm X.
- The early 1960s were a turbulent period for the NOI; unrest was caused by conflicts between leaders Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. Around that time, Clarence 13X became disenchanted with the organization, although the root of his qualms is not known. NOI members have offered contradictory accounts of the events that caused his exit and whether he left voluntarily. His departure has been variously attributed to doubts about the NOI's theology, violations of their moral code, objections to the luxurious lifestyles of their senior leadership, or Malcolm X's distrust of him. Dora Smith elected to stay with the group, prompting the couple's separation. Before leaving the NOI, Clarence 13X had begun to doubt their teaching that Wallace Fard Muhammad was a divine messenger. He believed that the NOI's teachings were contradictory because they taught that God is black but encouraged reverence of Fard Muhammad, who was not of exclusively African descent. Clarence 13X concluded that divinity was found in all black men, rather than in a single person. Several times before he left the NOI, he was censured by leadership for these assertions. His friend John 37X elected to leave with him. Malcolm X also left the NOI in 1963 and remained on good terms with Clarence 13X. Clarence 13X did not join Malcolm X's newly created group, Muslim Mosque, Inc.
- Founding the Five Percenters [ edit ] After leaving the NOI, Clarence 13X and John 37X continued to study the group's teachings, sometimes while smoking marijuana. They assumed new names: Clarence 13X took Allah, and John 37X, Abu Shahid.[c] After reading an NOI book with 34 riddles, known as the "Lost-Found Lessons", John 37X concluded that numbers represented specific concepts, such as knowledge or wisdom. He referred to this system as "living mathematics". During its development, he was imprisoned on firearms charges. While John 37X was in prison, Clarence 13X taught a system of beliefs he referred to as "supreme wisdom", which he saw as the core of Islam, to groups of young men. He was assisted by his friend James Howard, with whom he developed a modified version of living mathematics, "supreme mathematics", and an accompanying doctrine about letters, the "supreme alphabet". The development of these systems, considered a "divine science" by adherents, may have been influenced by the teachings of Sufism; like some schools of Sufism, they found esoteric meanings in the alphabet. David Smydra of The Boston Globe compares these teachings to Kabbalah; Felicia Miyakawa of Middle Tennessee State University sees similarities to Gnosticism and Kemetism.
- Clarence 13X developed novel teachings, assigning backronyms to familiar words. He stated that the letters of the word "Allah" stood for "arm, leg, leg, arm, head", signifying the human body. This was said to prove that humanity held a divine nature. He named parts of the New York area after locations in the Middle East that are significant to Islam: Harlem was referred to as Mecca, and Brooklyn, Medina. Other disaffected NOI members, including some who served the Fruit of Islam, were soon drawn to his burgeoning group. Several people from the NOI who were unwilling to choose between loyalty to Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X also joined; Clarence 13X incorporated aspects of the theology taught by the feuding leaders. In the group's early years, some Five Percenters attended NOI events, and Clarence 13X's theology had much in common with the teachings of the NOI, although there were notable differences. He taught his followers that he was an incarnation of God, and they each were gods. His followers were thus encouraged to look within themselves in their search for God. Clarence 13X taught that there was an inherent greatness in those of African descent not found in Europeans and their descendants, echoing statements made by Elijah Muhammad. He did not enforce the NOI's strict moral rules: one way that the group appealed to potential converts was by allowing many practices condemned by the NOI, including gambling, alcohol consumption, and drug use. Clarence 13X told his followers to avoid developing addictions but that drug use was not inherently wrong. He strictly forbade the consumption of pork, arguing that pigs were similar to animals that are not eaten in the United States, such as rats and dogs, and hence should not be consumed. Owing to their belief that black men are gods, the group allowed its members to make choices about clothing and most aspects of diet.
- Early members of the group often proselytized on street corners for hours, and Clarence 13X's assistants led classes about the group's teachings, strictly enforcing study habits. He instructed his followers to memorize his teachings on the significance of numbers and letters. Once they did so, they were said to gain an understanding of profound truths. These lessons were taught in a form that resembled catechisms. Rather than hold services in mosques, they gathered for monthly meetings known as parliaments, which were often held outdoors. Attendees were given wide freedom to speak in a system that Ted Swedenburg of the University of Arkansas has compared to Quaker meetings.
- Clarence 13X's group was initially known as the "Suns of Almighty God Allah" or the "Blood Brothers". After Malcolm X's death, the group became known as the "Five Percenters" or the "Five Percent Nation". The name was drawn from the NOI's claim to be the five percent of the black community who knew and promoted the truth about God; Clarence 13X considered his movement to be the five percent of the NOI that still held to truth and integrity. The other 95 percent were said to be unaware of the truth or corrupt. Clarence 13X assembled an inner circle of assistants, nine of whom are referred to by Five Percenters as the "First Born": they are said to embody his attributes. The assistants were assigned to spread the group's teachings to younger people, many of whom took African names, including some from non-Islamic societies. Clarence 13X taught Afrocentrism to his disciples and often wore a dashiki; male Five Percenters members frequently wore tasseled kufis, and female members wore colorful African head wraps. Some Five Percenters supported themselves via drug dealing and petty theft; others intentionally committed minor legal infractions, hoping to proselytize to others who had been arrested.
- Clarence 13X's followers saw him as a divine messenger and referred to him as "Father Allah". This elevated him to a higher position than Elijah Muhammad, who had deemed himself the "Messenger of Allah". Eventually, Clarence 13X stopped identifying himself as a Muslim and spoke out against the reverence of Fard Muhammad, casting him as a "mystery God". He rejected the idea that God is invisible, which he felt weakened people. He encouraged his followers to learn about and respect other spiritual traditions.
- Although female converts were initially referred to as "nurses", Clarence 13X renamed them "earths" in 1967. He taught that women were not gods, as he believed that they were created by man and did not possess creative power. In his view, women could nurture, but only men could make children. Women were said to resemble the Earth in their ability to sustain life. Clarence 13X had a patriarchal philosophy, and the Five Percenters were initially overwhelmingly male. He spoke in favor of fathers' arranging their daughters' marriages and told women to embody submission by serving their husbands as God. Polygamy or serial monogamy were allowed, and legal marriage was discouraged. Clarence 13X encouraged his followers to have many children and discouraged the use of birth control.
- Opposition [ edit ] NOI leaders were angry that Clarence 13X freely taught portions of their doctrine that they only revealed to committed members; although one of their captains repeatedly asked him to stop, he refused. Clarence 13X also experienced conflict within his family: his children did not revere him, and hostility quickly developed between core Five Percenters and some of his sons when Willeen Jowers brought them to visit him.
- On December 9, 1964, Clarence 13X was shot twice in the torso while at a popular gathering place in the basement of a Harlem tenement. He was brought to Harlem Hospital, where he was treated and released. He later claimed that he died and returned to his body a short time later. In a 2007 study of the Five Percent movement, American journalist Michael Muhammad Knight speculates that this caused his followers to see him as a Christ figure. The identity and motivation of the shooter are unknown; Knight notes that law enforcement and rival Muslim groups both had a motive to attack Clarence 13X. Some Five Percenters have speculated that the attack was part of a robbery attempt or retaliation for unpaid gambling debts. Clarence 13X's companions reported that he instructed them not to seek revenge on the shooter and to forswear violence. While recuperating from his wounds, Clarence 13X sought to distinguish his movement from other Islamic movements, abandoning Arabic greetings for English expressions.
- The Five Percenters soon attracted attention from media and law enforcement. Local papers published negative coverage of the group, describing them as a violent hate group or a street gang. The New York Amsterdam News reported that Clarence 13X had threatened to kill white children if his group did not receive a government subsidy. In 1965, the FBI initiated an investigation of his group and may have provided sensationalized rumors to the press. That year, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover deemed Clarence 13X as a "Harlem rowdy", and feared that he would form ties with more dangerous groups. The FBI developed a detailed file on Clarence 13X; in 1967, Hoover described him as a potential threat to President Lyndon B. Johnson, and sent a detailed folder about him to the United States Secret Service.
- Arrest [ edit ] Bellevue Psychiatric HospitalAfter Malcolm X's death in 1965, Clarence 13X mourned his loss but did not attend his funeral. In May 1965, while visiting the site of Mosque No. 7, then closed, Clarence 13X and several of his companions were told to leave by a police officer. They left, began to vandalize nearby buildings, and blocked the street near the former headquarters of Muslim Mosque, Inc. More police arrived and subdued Clarence 13X after an altercation, bringing him into custody with several of his followers. After being arrested, he refused to identify himself and was charged with assault and drug possession. About 60 of his followers attended his arraignment, but were removed from the court after shouting "Peace". Clarence 13X proclaimed his innocence and announced his intent to defend himself in court. He told the judge that he was Allah, and that the city would face grave judgment if he were not released. The judge disregarded his prognostication and set his bail at $9,500. At a court date in June, about 50 Five Percenters protested outside the court; afterwards, several were arrested on charges of making Molotov cocktails. In July, the court sent Clarence 13X to Bellevue Hospital Center for a psychiatric examination. While in the hospital, he made a few disciples and communicated with some followers through a hospital window. Under his instructions, Five Percenters resisted future NOI leader Louis Farrakhan's attempts to convert them.
- Knight states that Clarence 13X's psychiatric results were not processed for an unusually long time; he posits that the delay was due to FBI involvement and argues that Clarence 13X was a political prisoner. In November 1965, Clarence 13X was ruled incompetent to stand trial and committed to the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene, which placed him at the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. After he declared himself Allah and a "Master Gambler", the doctors concluded that he had schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type with delusions of grandeur; he faced indefinite commitment. Many Five Percenters and their converts traveled to the hospital to meet with him and receive instruction. He also proselytized to fellow inmates, converting one young white man, who later became a committed follower.
- While Clarence 13X was in prison, the Five Percenters continued to proselytize and teach their doctrines. He instructed his followers to adopt names different from those used in the NOI to differentiate their group. After attaining a certain degree of knowledge of the group's doctrines, members were allowed to adopt the surname "Allah" and sometimes "God" as a first name. This was in recognition of Clarence 13X's teachings that black men were gods, and that each member should worship himself. His followers often took the name Allah, but would refrain from referring to themselves as such in his presence, in deference to his authority. After a decision (Pate v. Robinson) by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1966, limits were placed on the confinement of mentally ill criminals, causing many to be released. Clarence 13X was consequently released in March 1967.
- Cooperation and conflict [ edit ] John Lindsay in 1966In mid-1967, New York City mayor John Lindsay sought to develop closer ties with leaders of impoverished neighborhoods. Prompted in part by concerns voiced by the New York Police Department (NYPD), the mayor dispatched one of his aides, Barry Gottehrer, to meet with Clarence 13X. Belying his fearsome reputation, Clarence 13X had a congenial meeting with Gottehrer, during which he requested more bus routes and school funding. Clarence 13X subsequently attended a meeting of black leaders at Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence. The city provided buses for Five Percenters to travel to a Long Island park, and with help from the National Urban League, obtained an abandoned storefront for use as a school. It became known as the Allah School in Mecca and aimed to prepare young people for college preparatory schools. Tensions soon formed between the Five Percenters and the school's overseers; Clarence 13X desired more control over the curriculum and had difficulty finding qualified teachers. Police regularly visited the school to ensure that the students were not being radicalized. In 1975, Gottehrer chronicled his friendship with Clarence 13X in The Mayor's Man. The book was well received by some Five Percenters, who republished portions of it after it went out of print. They have not reprinted the entire book, owing to a passage in which Gottehrer relates that Clarence 13X offered to allow him to sleep with his teenage daughter.
- In February 1968, Lindsay estimated that there were about 500 to 700 Five Percenters. Some of Clarence 13X's followers attempted to create break-away groups, proclaiming themselves prophets and starting their own movements. They generally retained aspects of Five Percenter doctrine with different emphases.
- After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, Lindsay feared that rioting would occur in Harlem. He traveled to the neighborhood to express condolences; Clarence 13X and his followers were among those who accompanied him as he walked the streets. Clarence 13X also instructed his followers to try to prevent violence and looting. He was commended by the city's leadership for his efforts, and they subsequently agreed to help him publish a book of Five Percenter teachings and portions of the Quran. Willieen Jowers recalled that Clarence 13X admitted that his previous teachings about racial hatred were wrong around this time. He later described himself as "neither anti-white nor pro-black" and saw some of his white contacts with the city as allies in the advancement of his teachings. His white convert was released from state custody and joined his teacher in Harlem during the February 1969 nor'easter. He was accepted as a Five Percenter, as Clarence 13X maintained that "civilization"'--rather than race'--was valued by the group. Clarence 13X made possibly contradictory statements about whether white individuals could be reformed. Contrary to his radical reputation, he endorsed some conservative positions in the late 1960s, including capital punishment, respect for the U.S. flag, and American involvement in Vietnam. He also allowed his supporters to attend Christmas celebrations. Knight notes that these shifts may have been intended to decrease suspicions of law enforcement. Clarence 13X was then allowed to visit a juvenile detention center to speak to young Five Percenters and won some concessions from the institution's leadership. Some secular black leaders disliked him, owing to his supportive comments about the mayor and neglect of revolutionary rhetoric. On one occasion, he was invited to address an audience of black Marxists, then spoke to them about numerology.
- Around 1968, Clarence 13X fathered a son with a young convert named Gusavia. That year, Gloria Steinem published an article about Clarence 13X in New York magazine. She blamed the NOI for the previous attempt to kill him, arguing that they were angered by his claim to be Allah and thus above Elijah Muhammad. Clarence 13X also received coverage from international media, including a Canadian television program.
- Death [ edit ] By 1969, Clarence 13X was sleeping little. He feared that he would be killed and instructed his followers to remain strong if he died. On June 12, he spent time with several of his disciples at their school. He left the school between 2:00 and 3:00 am on June 13 and then gambled for an hour or two. As was his occasional practice, he traveled to Dora Smith's house to rest. He was ambushed by three assailants who fatally shot him while he was in the lobby of her apartment building. That morning, several people from the mayor's office met with his family, and the mayor later visited the Five Percenters' school to express condolences.
- Clarence 13X's funeral was held four days after his death. It was attended by about 400 people and was followed by a procession through Harlem. His death put the leadership of his movement in question'--there was no clear successor. At that time, his followers were primarily teenagers, and several of his top leaders subsequently struggled with drug addiction.
- Most local media sources gave Clarence 13X positive coverage in the wake of his death. The Daily News connected his murder with the recent death of NOI activist Charles Kenyatta, casting them as part of a "Muslim War". The mayor believed that the NYPD told them this and was angered by their claim. Louis Farrakhan denied culpability, maintaining that he had good relations with Clarence 13X. NYPD investigators suspected that he was killed by members of an extortion ring, possibly connected to the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. In August 1969, an arrest was made in connection with his murder. The suspect denied involvement, and charges were soon dropped. Five Percenters have posited different culprits, including the CIA, the NOI, or a disgruntled follower.
- Legacy and reception [ edit ] Five Percenter membership plunged after Clarence 13X's death, but rebounded in 1970 after new leadership emerged and revitalized the group. After his death, the group was not dominated by a single leader. This may have been a result of their teaching that all black men are gods, which rendered authoritarian leadership untenable.
- Knight doubts that Clarence 13X set out to build a movement or a culture, but after his death, the movement expanded and gained converts across the United States. Five Percenters have celebrated Clarence 13X's birthday as a holiday, and minimized the descriptions of his flaws in their accounts of his life. Numerous apocryphal stories from his life have circulated among the group; some accounts have claimed that he gambled only as a means to reach others with his teachings. He did not leave behind a record of his teachings, and the group had few formalized tenets at the time of his death. In the following decades, the group's doctrine became more complicated.
- Akbar Muhammad of the NOI described Clarence 13X as "confused", although relations between the Five Percenters and NOI leaders have improved over time. Clarence 13X's teachings may have influenced the doctrines of Dwight York, founder of the Nuwaubian Nation. York saw Clarence 13X's teachings as an insufficient, incomplete path.
- Lawyer Sidney Davidoff, one of Lindsay's assistants, deemed Clarence 13X "a little bit snake-oil salesman and a little bit crazy, but no more unstable than anyone else preaching a gospel on the street corner." Davidoff saw Clarence 13X's black supremacist teachings as a way to instill confidence in young people. Knight states that Clarence 13X went from a "'Harlem rowdy' to [a] legitimate community leader", and Lindsay later cast Clarence 13X's role in the city as similar to that of Al Sharpton. Mattias Gardell of Uppsala University views Clarence 13X as a "gifted philosopher".
- See also [ edit ] God complexList of founders of religious traditionsList of unsolved murdersNotes [ edit ] ^ The "X" replaced his surname, considered by the Nation of Islam to be a "slave name", and the "13" indicated that he was the thirteenth member named Clarence to join the group. (Knight 2007, p. 34) ^ He was also nicknamed "Pudding"; the name's origin is unknown: it may have been given as a childhood nickname or in recognition of his smooth verbal skills as an adult. (Haddad 1994, p. 113) ^ In Arabic, the name "Allah" means "God"; "Shahid" means "witness". (Knight 2007, p. 49) References [ edit ] Works cited [ edit ] Books
- Allen, Ernest (1996). William Eric Perkins (ed.). Droppin' Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture . Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-56639-362-1. Evanzz, Karl (2011). The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad. Random House. ISBN 978-0-307-80520-1. Gardell, Mattias (1996). In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-1845-3. Haddad, Yvonne (1994). Muslim Communities in North America. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2020-1. Jackson, John L. (2005). Real Black: Adventures In Racial Sincerity. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-39001-7. Knight, Michael Muhammad (2007). The Five Percenters: Islam, Hip Hop and the Gods of New York. Oneworld Publications. ISBN 978-1-85168-513-4. Miyakawa, Felicia M. (2005). Five Percenter Rap: God Hop's Music, Message, And Black Muslim Mission. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34574-5. Miyakawa, Felicia (2010). "Receiving, Embodying, and Sharing 'Divine Wisdom': Women in the Nation of Gods and Earths". In Lillian Ashcraft-Eason; Darnise C. Martin; Oyeronke Olademo (eds.). Women and New and Africana Religions. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-275-99156-2. Palmer, Susan J. (2010). The Nuwaubian Nation: Black Spirituality and State Control. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-6255-6. Reed, Monica (2010). Edward E. Curtis IV (ed.). Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History. Infobase. ISBN 978-1-4381-3040-8. Richardson, Elaine (2003). Understanding African American Rhetoric: Classical Origins to Contemporary Innovations. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-94386-4. Smith, Jane I. (1999). Islam in America. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-10967-3. Williams, Juan; Dixie, Quinton Hosford (2003). This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religious Experience. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-093424-8. Newspapers
- Further reading [ edit ] External links [ edit ] FBI file on Clarence 13X
- Sen. Cory Booker Faces Criticism for Wearing Pink Booty Shorts at Capitol After Dress Code Change
- Discover more from The Smattering."The Smattering" is a refreshing oasis of political satire that adds a humorous twist to the world of politics. We take on the latest news, events, and politicians without a hint of mercy or seriousness.
- Washington, D.C. '' In a groundbreaking fashion statement, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) arrived on the Senate floor Tuesday wearing a pair of pink booty shorts. The decision to sport the daring attire comes on the heels of the Senate's newly relaxed dress code policy, an announcement that has sparked controversy and debate among lawmakers.
- While Republican senators like Susan Collins and Tommy Tuberville have criticized the casualization of the Senate dress code, Booker's wardrobe choice received impassioned defense from his fellow Democrats.
- Riding the wave of the discourse surrounding the Senate's dress code, Booker himself took the time to explain the statement behind his audacious outfit. "These shorts are not just a piece of clothing; they represent the freedom to be oneself in an institution often characterized by conformity. Plus, they're incredibly comfortable."
- After giving his remarks, Booker sashawed away singing Cardi B's ''Bongos.''
- Sources told The Smattering that right-wing critics prompted Booker to double down on his fashion choices and wear a pink princess dress later in the day. ''Don't get it twisted. I'm revolutionizing the way we do government,'' he said before snapping his fingers twice in a zig-zag motion.
- "This is what democracy looks like, people!" exclaimed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). "If we can't express ourselves through booty shorts, then what's the point of free speech?"
- She added: ''I might wear my traditional native American headdress tomorrow to show solidarity!''
- White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also weighed in, "Look, the President supports any effort to make Congress more relatable and accessible to the American people. If booty shorts do that, then the President is all in."
- This development comes amid controversy over Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has been showing up to the floor wearing hoodies and shorts. Some have claimed that his fashion choice flouts decorum and professional standards.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) declared his support by saying, "We're talking about health care, climate change, and economic inequality. And you're worried about shorts? The top 1% of the top 1% can wear Armani suits, but the rest of us can't wear booty shorts? Enough is enough!"
- DNC Chair Jaime Harrison praised Booker's fashion-forward decision: "Cory is showing us that policy and leg day can coexist in a balanced, democratic society."
- He added: ''The American people deserve to see our lawmakers in all their glory, even if it means booty shorts''
- Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who earlier this week announced the relaxed dress code, commented, "Look, I said I'll continue to wear a suit, but I never said anything about not supporting those who want to... stretch the fabric of our democratic norms. I stand'--or sit'--by Senator Booker."
- Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville quipped, "You got people walking around in booty shorts, that really don't fly with me. Next thing you know, we'll start showing up in cargo pants and crocs!''
- Richard Thompson Ford, a Stanford University law professor, stated that the new Senate dress code is a reflection of changing societal norms. "I think Sen. Booker is just ahead of the curve. In fact, he's setting the curve, literally and figuratively."
- As the debate over booty shorts simmers in the hallowed halls of Congress, one thing is clear: Booker's audacious fashion statement has Americans talking about the Senate in a way they never have before. Whether this conversation continues to focus on the importance of attire or shifts to the critical issues facing our nation remains to be seen.
- Fred Hampton - Wikipedia
- African-American activist (1948''1969)
- Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 '' December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in his late teens and early 20s in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African American, he founded the anti-racist, anti-classist Rainbow Coalition,[4] a prominent multicultural political organization that initially included the Black Panthers, Young Patriots (which organized poor whites), and the Young Lords (which organized Hispanics), and an alliance among major Chicago street gangs to help them end infighting and work for social change. A Marxist''Leninist,[6] Hampton considered fascism the greatest threat, saying, "nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all."[7]
- In 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Hampton as a radical threat. It tried to subvert his activities in Chicago, sowing disinformation among black progressive groups and placing a counterintelligence operative in the local Panthers organization. In December 1969, Hampton was drugged,[8][9] shot and killed in his bed during a predawn raid at his Chicago apartment by a tactical unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, who received aid from the Chicago Police Department and the FBI leading up to the attack. Law enforcement sprayed more than 100 gunshots throughout the apartment; the occupants fired once.[10] During the raid, Panther Mark Clark was also killed and several others were seriously wounded. In January 1970, the Cook County Coroner held an inquest; the coroner's jury concluded that Hampton's and Clark's deaths were justifiable homicides.[12][13][14]
- A civil lawsuit was later filed on behalf of the survivors and the relatives of Hampton and Clark.[15] It was resolved in 1982 by a settlement of $1.85 million (equivalent to $5.61 million in 2022); the U.S. federal government, Cook County, and the City of Chicago each paid one-third to a group of nine plaintiffs. Given revelations about the illegal COINTELPRO program and documents associated with the killings, many scholars now consider Hampton's death at age 21, a deliberate murder, or an assassination at the FBI's initiative.[1][2][3][16]
- Biography [ edit ] Early life and youth [ edit ] Hampton in a 1966 yearbookHampton was born on August 30, 1948, in present-day Summit Argo, Illinois (generally shortened to Summit), and moved with his parents to another Chicago suburb, Maywood, at age 10. His parents had come from Louisiana as part of the Great Migration of African Americans in the early 20th century out of the South. They both worked at the Argo Starch Company, a corn starch processor. As a youth, Hampton was gifted both in the classroom and athletically, and hoped to play center field for the New York Yankees.[19] At 10 years old, he started hosting weekend breakfasts for other children from the neighborhood, cooking the meals himself in what could be described as a precursor to the Panthers' free breakfast program.[20] In high school, he led walkouts protesting black students' exclusion from the competition for homecoming queen and calling on officials to hire more black teachers and administrators.[20] Hampton graduated from Proviso East High School with honors and varsity letters, and a Junior Achievement Award, in 1966.[21]
- In 1966, Fred Hampton turned 18. At that time, he started identifying with the Third World socialist struggles, as well as reading communist revolutionaries Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, and Mao Zedong. Shortly after, Hampton urged not only peace in the Vietnam War, but also North Vietnam's victory.
- Hampton became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and assumed leadership of its West Suburban Branch's Youth Council. In his capacity as an NAACP youth organizer, he demonstrated natural leadership abilities: from a community of 27,000, he was able to muster a youth group of 500 members strong. He worked to get more and better recreational facilities established in the neighborhoods and to improve educational resources for Maywood's impoverished black community.
- Activity in Chicago [ edit ] We got to face some facts. That the masses are poor, that the masses belong to what you call the lower class, and when I talk about the masses, I'm talking about the white masses, I'm talking about the black masses, and the brown masses, and the yellow masses, too. We've got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put fire out best with water. We say you don't fight racism with racism. We're gonna fight racism with solidarity. We say you don't fight capitalism with no black capitalism; you fight capitalism with socialism"
- '--Fred Hampton on solidarity.[23]
- In 1968, Hampton was accused of assaulting an ice cream truck driver, stealing $71 worth of ice cream bars, and giving them to kids in the street. He was convicted in May 1969 and served time in prison.[8] In a memoir, Frank B. Wilderson III places this incident in the context of COINTELPRO efforts to disrupt the Black Panthers of Chicago by the "leveling of trumped-up charges".
- In 1969, Hampton, now deputy chairman of the BPP Illinois chapter, conducted a meeting condemning sexism.[24] After 1969, the party considered sexism counter-revolutionary.[25] In 1970, about 40''70% of party members were women.[26]
- Over the next year, Hampton and his friends and associates achieved many successes in Chicago. Perhaps the most important was a nonaggression pact among Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict among gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge an anti-racist, class-conscious, multiracial alliance among the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, leading to the Rainbow Coalition.[27]
- Hampton met the Young Lords in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood the day after they were in the news for occupying a police community workshop at the Chicago 18th District Police Station. He was arrested twice with Jimenez at the Wicker Park Welfare Office, and both were charged with "mob action" at a peaceful picket of the office. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Brown Berets, AIM, and the Red Guard Party.[28][29] In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that the coalition had formed. What the coalition groups would do was based on common action. Some of their joint issues were poverty, anti-racism, corruption, police brutality, and substandard housing.[30][31] If there was a protest or a demonstration, the groups would attend the event and support each other.[31][32]
- Jeffrey Haas, who was Hampton's lawyer, has praised some of Hampton's politics and his success in unifying movements.[33] But Haas criticizes the way Hampton and the BPP organized in a pyramidal/vertical structure, contrasting this with the horizontal structure of Black Lives Matter: "They may also have picked up on the vulnerability of a hierarchical movement where you have one leader, which makes the movement very vulnerable if that leader is imprisoned, killed, or otherwise compromised. I think the fact that Black Lives Matter says 'We're leaderfull, not leaderless' perhaps makes them less vulnerable to this kind of government assault."[33]
- Hampton and Benjamin Spock (right) at a protest rally outside the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, October 1969Hampton rose quickly in the Black Panthers based on his organizing skills, oratorical gifts, and charisma. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, participated in strikes, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6 am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Bob Brown left the party with Kwame Ture, in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP. This automatically made him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the FBI's COINTELPRO began to decimate the nationwide Panther leadership, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually, he was in line to be appointed to the party's Central Committee Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had he not been killed on December 4, 1969.[28][29]
- FBI investigation [ edit ] The FBI believed that Hampton's leadership and talent for communication made him a major threat among Black Panther leaders. It began keeping close tabs on his activities. Investigations have shown that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was determined to prevent the formation of a cohesive Black movement in the United States. Hoover believed the Panthers, Young Patriots, Young Lords, and similar radical coalitions that Hampton forged in Chicago were a stepping stone to the rise of a revolution that could cause a radical change in the U.S. government.[34]
- The FBI opened a file on Hampton in 1967. It tapped Hampton's mother's phone in February 1968 and by May placed Hampton on the bureau's "Agitator Index" as a "key militant leader".[28] In late 1968, the Racial Matters squad of the FBI's Chicago field office recruited William O'Neal to work with it; he had recently been arrested twice for interstate car theft and impersonating a federal officer. In exchange for having his felony charges dropped and receiving a monthly stipend, O'Neal agreed to infiltrate the BPP as a counterintelligence operative.[35]
- O'Neal joined the party and quickly rose in the organization, becoming Director of Chapter Security and Hampton's bodyguard. In 1969, the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in San Francisco wrote Hoover that the agent's investigation had found that, in his city at least, the Panthers were primarily feeding breakfast to children. Hoover responded with a memo implying that the agent's career prospects depended on his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the BPP was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means".[36]
- Using anonymous letters, the FBI sowed distrust and eventually instigated a split between the Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers. O'Neal instigated an armed clash between them on April 2, 1969. The Panthers became effectively isolated from their power base in the Chicago ghetto, so the FBI worked to undermine its ties with other radical organizations. O'Neal was instructed to "create a rift" between the party and Students for a Democratic Society, whose Chicago headquarters was near that of the Panthers.
- The FBI released a batch of racist cartoons in the Panthers' name,[37] aimed at alienating white activists. It also launched a disinformation program to forestall the formation of the Rainbow Coalition, but the BPP did make an alliance with the Young Patriots and Young Lords. In repeated directives, Hoover demanded that COINTELPRO personnel investigate the Rainbow Coalition, "destroy what the [BPP] stands for", and "eradicate its 'serve the people' programs".[38]
- Documents secured by Senate investigators in the early 1970s revealed that the FBI actively encouraged violence between the Panthers and other radical groups; this provoked multiple murders in cities throughout the country.[39] On July 16, 1969, an armed confrontation between party members and the Chicago Police Department resulted in one BPP member being mortally wounded, and six others arrested on serious charges.
- In early October, Hampton and his girlfriend Deborah Johnson (now known as Akua Njeri), who was pregnant with their child (Fred Hampton Jr.), rented a four-and-a-half-room apartment at 2337 West Monroe Street to be closer to BPP headquarters. O'Neal reported to his superiors that much of the Panthers' "provocative" arms stockpile was stored there. He drew them a map of the apartment. In early November, Hampton traveled to California on a speaking engagement with the UCLA Law Students Association. He met with the remaining BPP national hierarchy, who appointed him to the party's central committee. He was soon to take the position of chief of staff and major spokesman.
- Assassination [ edit ] Prelude [ edit ] On the night of November 13, 1969, while Hampton was in California, Chicago police officers John J. Gilhooly and Frank G. Rappaport were killed in a gun battle with Panthers; one died the next day.[41] A total of nine police officers were shot. Spurgeon Winter Jr, a 19-year-old Panther, was killed by police. Another Panther, Lawrence S. Bell, was charged with murder. In an unsigned editorial headlined "No Quarter for Wild Beasts", the Chicago Tribune urged that Chicago police officers approaching suspected Panthers "should be ordered to be ready to shoot."[42]
- As part of the larger COINTELPRO operation, the FBI was determined to prevent any improvement in the effectiveness of the BPP leadership.[43] The FBI orchestrated an armed raid with the Chicago police and Cook County State's Attorney on Hampton's Chicago apartment. They had obtained detailed information about the apartment, including a layout of furniture, from O'Neal. An augmented, 14-man team of the SAO (state Special Prosecutions Unit) was organized for a predawn raid; they were armed with a search warrant for illegal weapons.[28][29]
- On the evening of December 3, Hampton taught a political education course at a local church, which was attended by most Panther members. Afterward, as was typical, he was accompanied to his Monroe Street apartment by Johnson and several Panthers: Blair Anderson, James Grady, Ronald "Doc" Satchell, Harold Bell, Verlina Brewer, Louis Truelock, Brenda Harris and Mark Clark. O'Neal was already there, having prepared a late dinner, which the group ate around midnight. O'Neal had slipped the secobarbital into a drink that Hampton consumed during the dinner to sedate Hampton so he would not awaken during the subsequent raid. O'Neal left after dinner. At about 1:30 am, December 4, Hampton fell asleep mid-sentence while talking to his mother on the telephone.[44][45][46][47]
- Although Hampton was not known to take drugs, Cook County chemist Eleanor Berman later reported that she had run two tests, each showing evidence of barbiturates in Hampton's blood. An FBI chemist failed to find similar traces, but Berman stood by her findings.
- Raid [ edit ] Site of Black Panther Party Raid, Fred Hampton's DeathThe bed and room where Hampton was fatally shot during the raid, showing a large amount of blood on his side of the mattress and numerous bullet holes in the walls.The office of Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan organized the raid, using officers attached to his office.[49] Hampton had recently strongly criticized Hanrahan, saying that Hanrahan's talk about a "war on gangs" was really rhetoric used to enable him to carry out a "war on black youth".
- At 4 am, the heavily armed police team arrived at the site, divided into two teams, eight for the front of the building and six for the rear. At 4:45 am, they stormed the apartment. Mark Clark, sitting in the front room of the apartment with a shotgun in his lap, was on security duty. The police shot him in the chest, killing him instantly.[51] An alternative account said that Clark answered the door and police immediately shot him. Either way, Clark's gun discharged once into the ceiling.[52] This single round was fired when he suffered a reflexive death-convulsion after being shot.[53] This was the only shot fired by the Panthers.[29][55]
- Hampton, drugged by barbiturates, was sleeping on a mattress in the bedroom with Johnson, who was nine months pregnant with their child.[51] Police officers removed her from the room while Hampton lay unconscious in bed.[56] Then the raiding team fired at the head of the south bedroom. Hampton was wounded in the shoulder by the shooting. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, "upon that discovery, an officer shot him twice in his head and killed him".
- Fellow Black Panther Harold Bell said that he heard the following exchange:[57]
- "Is he dead?... Bring him out."
- The injured Panthers said they heard two shots. According to Hampton's supporters, the shots were fired point-blank at Hampton's head.[58] According to Johnson, an officer then said: "He's good and dead now."[57]
- Chicago police removing Hampton's bodyHampton's body was dragged into the bedroom doorway and left in a pool of blood. The officers directed their gunfire at the remaining Panthers who had been sleeping in the north bedroom (Satchel, Anderson, Brewer, and Harris).[51] Brewer, Satchel, Anderson, and Harris were seriously wounded,[51] then beaten and dragged into the street. They were arrested on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officers. They were each held on $100,000 bail.[52]
- In the early 1990s, Jose "Cha Cha" Jimenez, a former president and co-founder of the Young Lords who had developed close ties to Hampton and the Chicago Black Panther Party during the late 1960s, interviewed Johnson about the raid. She said:
- I believe Fred Hampton was drugged. The reason why is because when he woke up when the person [Truelock] said, "Chairman, chairman," he was shaking Fred's arm, you know, Fred's arm was folded across the head of the bed. And Fred'--he just raised his head up real slow. It was like watching a slow motion. He raised. His eyes were open. He raised his head up real slow, you know, with his eyes toward the entranceway, toward the bedroom and laid his head back down. That was the only movement he made [...][56]The seven Panthers who survived the raid were indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, armed violence, and other weapons charges. These charges were subsequently dropped. During the trial, the Chicago Police Department claimed that the Panthers were the first to fire shots. But a later investigation found that the Chicago police fired between 90 and 99 shots, while the only Panthers shot was from Clark's dropped shotgun.[52][59]
- After the raid, the apartment was left unguarded. The Panthers sent some members to investigate, accompanied by videographer Mike Gray and stills photographer Norris McNamara to document the scene. This footage was instrumental in proving the raid was an assassination. The footage was later released as part of the 1971 documentary The Murder of Fred Hampton. After a break-in at an FBI office in Pennsylvania, the existence of COINTELPRO, an illegal counter-intelligence program, was revealed and reported. With this program revealed, many activists and others began to suspect that the police raid and Hampton's killing were conducted under this program. One of the documents released after the break-in was a floor plan of Hampton's apartment. Another document outlined a deal that the FBI brokered with US deputy attorney general Richard Kleindienst to conceal the FBI's role in Hampton's death and the existence of COINTELPRO.[59]
- Aftermath [ edit ] Mourners passing the bier of Hampton. His funeral in December was attended by over 5,000 people.At a press conference the next day, the police announced the arrest team had been attacked by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and defended themselves accordingly.[60] In a second press conference on December 8, the police leadership praised the assault team for their "remarkable restraint", "bravery", and "professional discipline" in not killing all the Panthers present. Photographic evidence was presented of "bullet holes" allegedly made by shots fired by the Panthers, but reporters soon challenged this claim.[61] An internal investigation was undertaken, and the police claimed that their colleagues on the assault team were exonerated of any wrongdoing, concluding that they "used lawful means to overcome the assault".[62]
- Five thousand people attended Hampton's funeral. He was eulogized by black leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr.'s successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In his eulogy, Jackson said that "when Fred was shot in Chicago, black people in particular, and decent people in general, bled everywhere."[63] On December 6, members of the Weather Underground destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street, Chicago.[64]
- The police called their raid on Hampton's apartment a "shootout". The Black Panthers called it a "shoot-in", because so many shots were fired by police.[65][66]
- On December 11 and 12, the two competing daily newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, published vivid accounts of the events but drew different conclusions. The Tribune has long been considered the politically conservative newspaper, and the Sun-Times the liberal paper.[67] On December 11, the Tribune published a page 1 article titled, "Exclusive '' Hanrahan, Police Tell Panther Story." The article included photographs supplied by Hanrahan's office that depicted bullet holes in a thin white curtain and door jamb as evidence that the Panthers fired multiple bullets at the police.[68][69]
- Jack Challem, editor of the Wright College News, the student newspaper at Wright Junior College in Chicago, had visited the apartment on December 6, when it was still unsecured. He took numerous photographs of the crime scenes. A member of the Black Panthers was allowing visitors to tour the apartment. Challem's photographs did not show the bullet holes reported by the Tribune. On the morning of December 12, after the Tribune article had appeared with the Hanrahan-supplied photos, Challem contacted a reporter at the Sun-Times, showed him his own photographs, and encouraged the other reporter to visit the apartment. That evening, the Sun-Times published a page 1 article with the headline: "Those 'bullet holes' aren't." According to the article, the alleged bullet holes (supposedly the result of the Panthers shooting in the direction of the police) were nail heads.[70]
- Four weeks after witnessing Hampton's death at the hands of the police, Johnson gave birth to their son, Fred Hampton Jr.[71]
- Civil rights activists Roy Wilkins and Ramsey Clark, styled as "The Commission of Inquiry into the Black Panthers and the Police", alleged that the Chicago police had killed Hampton without justification or provocation and had violated the Panthers' constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure.[72] "The Commission" further alleged that the Chicago Police Department had imposed a summary punishment on the Panthers.[73]
- A federal grand jury did not return any indictment against any of the individuals involved with the planning or execution of the raid, including the officers involved in killing Hampton.[74] O'Neal, who had given the FBI the floor plan of the apartment and drugged Hampton, later admitted his involvement in setting up the raid.[75] He committed suicide on January 15, 1990.[76]
- Inquest [ edit ] Shortly after the raid, Cook County Coroner Andrew Toman began forming a special six-member coroner's jury to hold an inquest into the deaths of Hampton and Clark.[77] On December 23, Toman announced four additions to the jury, who included two African-American men: physician Theodore K. Lawless and attorney Julian B. Wilkins, the son of J. Ernest Wilkins Sr.[77] He said the four were selected from a group of candidates submitted to his office by groups and individuals representing both Chicago's black and white communities.[77] Civil rights leaders and spokesmen for the black community were reportedly disappointed with the selection.[78]
- An official with the Chicago Urban League said, "I would have had more confidence in the jury if one of them had been a black man who has a rapport with the young and the grass roots in the community."[78] Gus Savage said that such a man to whom the community could relate need not be black.[78] The jury eventually included a third black man, who had been a member of the first coroner's jury sworn in on December 4.[12]
- The blue-ribbon panel convened for the inquest on January 6, 1970. On January 21, they ruled the deaths of Hampton and Clark to be justifiable homicides.[12][13][14] The jury qualified their verdict on Hampton's death as "based solely and exclusively on the evidence presented to this inquisition";[12] police and expert witnesses provided the only testimony during the inquest.[79]
- Jury foreman James T. Hicks stated that they could not consider the charges made by surviving Black Panthers who had been in the apartment; they had told reporters that the police had entered the apartment shooting. The survivors were reported to have refused to testify during the inquest because they faced criminal charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault during the raid.[79] Attorneys for the Hampton and Clark families did not introduce any witnesses during the proceedings but called the inquest "a well-rehearsed theatrical performance designed to vindicate the police officers".[12] Hanrahan said the verdict was recognition "of the truthfulness of our police officers' account of the events".[12]
- Federal grand jury [ edit ] Released on May 15, 1970, the reports of a federal grand jury criticized the actions of the police, the surviving Black Panthers, and the Chicago news media.[80][81] The grand jury called the police department's raid "ill conceived" and said many errors were committed during the post-raid investigation and reconstruction of the events. It said that the surviving Black Panthers' refusal to cooperate hampered the investigation, and that the press "improperly and grossly exaggerated stories".[80][81]
- 1970 civil rights lawsuit [ edit ] In 1970, the survivors and relatives of Hampton and Clark filed a civil suit, stating that the civil rights of the Black Panther members were violated by the joint police/FBI raid and seeking $47.7 million in damages.[82] Twenty-eight defendants were named, including Hanrahan as well as the City of Chicago, Cook County, and federal governments.[82] It took years for the case to get to trial, which lasted 18 months. It was reported to have been the longest federal trial up to that time.[82] After its conclusion in 1977, Judge Joseph Sam Perry of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the suit against 21 of the defendants before jury deliberations.[82] After jurors deadlocked on a verdict, Perry dismissed the suit against the remaining defendants.[82]
- The plaintiffs appealed. In 1979, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago found that the government had withheld relevant documents, thereby obstructing the judicial process.[82] Reinstating the case against 24 of the defendants, the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial.[82] The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal by defendants but voted 5''3 in 1980 to remand the case to the District Court for a new trial.[82]
- In 1982, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government agreed to a settlement in which each would pay $616,333 (equivalent to $1.87 million per payee in 2022) to a group of nine plaintiffs, including the mothers of Hampton and Clark.[82] The $1.85 million settlement (equivalent to $5.61 million in 2022) was believed to be the largest ever in a civil rights case.[82] G. Flint Taylor, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said, "The settlement is an admission of the conspiracy that existed between the FBI and Hanrahan's men to murder Fred Hampton."[83] Assistant United States Attorney Robert Gruenberg said the settlement was intended to avoid another costly trial and was not an admission of guilt or responsibility by any of the defendants.[83]
- Controversy [ edit ] Ten days afterward, Bobby Rush, the then deputy minister of defense for the Illinois Black Panther Party, called the raiding party an "execution squad".[84] As is typical in settlements, the three government defendants did not acknowledge claims of responsibility for plaintiffs' allegations.
- Michael Newton is among the writers who have concluded that Hampton was assassinated.[85] In his 2016 book Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases, 1934''1970, Newton writes that Hampton "was murdered in his sleep by Chicago police with FBI collusion."[86] This view is also presented in Jakobi Williams's book From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago.[87]
- Personal life [ edit ] Hampton was very close with Chicago Black Catholic priest George Clements, who served as his mentor and as a chaplain for the local Panther chapter. Hampton and the Panthers also used Clements's parish, Holy Angels Catholic Church in Chicago (now the parish of Our Lady of Africa[88]), as a refuge in times of particular surveillance or pursuit from the police. They also provided security for several of Clements's "Black Unity Masses", part of his revolutionary activities during the Black Catholic Movement. Clements spoke at Hampton's funeral, and also said a Requiem Mass for him at Holy Angels.[89][90][91]
- Legacy [ edit ] Legal and political effects [ edit ] According to a 2007 Chicago Tribune report, "The raid ended the promising political career of Cook County State's Atty. Edward V. Hanrahan, who was indicted but cleared with 13 other law-enforcement agents on charges of obstructing justice. Bernard Carey, a Republican, defeated him in the next election, in part because of the support of outraged black voters."[92] The families of Hampton and Clark filed a $47.7 million civil suit against the city, state, and federal governments. The case went to trial before Federal Judge J. Sam Perry. After more than 18 months of testimony and at the close of the plaintiff's case, Perry dismissed the case. The plaintiffs appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed, ordering the case to be retried. More than a decade after the case had been filed, the suit was finally settled for $1.85 million.[74] The two families each shared in the settlement.[93]
- Jeffrey Haas, with his law partners G. Flint Taylor and Dennis Cunningham and attorney James D. Montgomery, were the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan, conducted additional research and wrote a book about these events. It was published in 2009. He said that Chicago was worse off without Hampton:
- Of course, there's also the legacy that, without a young leader, I think the West Side of Chicago degenerated a lot into drugs. And without leaders like Fred Hampton, I think the gangs and the drugs became much more prevalent on the West Side. He was an alternative to that. He talked about serving the community, talked about breakfast programs, educating the people, community control of police. So I think that that's unfortunately another legacy of Fred's murder.[66]
- In 1990, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed a resolution, introduced by then-Alderman Madeline Haithcock, commemorating December 4, 2004, as Fred Hampton Day in Chicago. The resolution read in part:
- "Fred Hampton, who was only 21 years old, made his mark in Chicago history not so much by his death as by the heroic efforts of his life and by his goals of empowering the most oppressed sector of Chicago's Black community, bringing people into political life through participation in their own freedom fighting organization."[94]
- Monuments and streets [ edit ] A public pool was named in his honor in his hometown of Maywood, Illinois.[95]On September 7, 2007, a bust of Hampton by sculptor Preston Jackson was erected outside the Fred Hampton Family Aquatic Center in Maywood.[96]In March 2006, supporters of Hampton's charity work proposed the naming of a Chicago street in his honor. Chicago's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police opposed this effort.[97]
- [ edit ] Two days after the killings of Hampton and Clark, on December 6, 1969, members of the Weathermen destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street in Chicago.[98] After that, the group became more radical. On May 21, 1970, the group issued a "Declaration of War" against the U.S. government and, for the first time, used its new name, the "Weather Underground Organization". They adopted fake identities and decided to pursue covert activities only. These initially included preparations to bomb a U.S. military non-commissioned officers' dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in what Brian Flanagan later said was intended to be "the most horrific hit the United States government had ever suffered on its territory".[99]
- "We've known that our job is to lead white kids into armed revolution... Kids know the lines are drawn: revolution is touching all of our lives. Tens of thousands have learned that protest and marches don't do it. Revolutionary violence is the only way."'--Bernardine Dohrn[100]
- Media and popular culture [ edit ] In film [ edit ] A 27-minute documentary, Death of a Black Panther: The Fred Hampton Story,[101] was used as evidence in the civil suit.[102] The 2002 documentary The Weather Underground shows in detail how that group was deeply influenced by Hampton and his death'--as well as showing that Hampton kept his distance from them for being what he called "adventuristic, masochistic and Custeristic".[103]
- Much of the first half of Eyes on the Prize episode 12, "A Nation of Law?", chronicles Hampton's leadership and extrajudicial killing. The events of his rise to prominence, Hoover's targeting of him, and Hampton's subsequent death are also recounted with footage in the 2015 documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.
- The Murder of Fred Hampton is a documentary shot from within the movement, released in 1971. It has no narration, relying solely on footage shot from within the Black Panther organization and portraying Hampton and his colleagues on their own terms.
- In the 1999 TV miniseries The 60s, Hampton appears serving free breakfast with the BPP. David Alan Grier plays Hampton.[104]
- The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) features Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Hampton, in which he advises Bobby Seale as he was denied counsel, with the Chicago Seven.[105][106][107]
- Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 film about O'Neal's betrayal of Hampton. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and was directed by Shaka King. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021. For his performance, Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[108][109]
- In literature [ edit ] Jeffrey Haas wrote an account of Hampton's death, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther (2009).Stephen King refers to Hampton in the novel 11/22/63 (2012), in which a character discusses the ripple effect of traveling back in time to prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination. He postulates that other events would follow that could have prevented Hampton's assassination as well.[111]In music [ edit ] American rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z has made a reference in his music on the song, "Murder to Excellence" to being born on the same day Hampton was murdered.[112] Hampton's son, however, has condemned the rapper for it.[113]American rock band Rage Against the Machine referenced Hampton in their 1996 song Down Rodeo, saying, "They ain't gonna send us campin' like they did my man Fred Hampton."[114]Kendrick Lamar refers to Hampton in his song HiiiPoWeR, which also contains references to black civil rights activists Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Huey Newton.[115]Artists SEIITH and Kiko King referenced Hampton in their 2020 song "Ghost of Fred Hampton".[116]See also [ edit ] List of homicides in IllinoisNotes [ edit ] ^ a b Stubblefield, Anna (May 31, 2018). Ethics Along the Color Line. Cornell University Press. pp. 60''61. ISBN 9781501717703. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021 . Retrieved July 4, 2019 . ^ a b Burrough, Bryan (2016). Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 84''85. ISBN 9780143107972. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021 . Retrieved November 11, 2020 . ^ a b Lee, William (December 3, 2019). "In 1969, Charismatic Black Panthers Leader Fred Hampton Was Killed in a Hail of Gunfire. 50 Years Later, the Fight Against Police Brutality Continues". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021 . Retrieved December 3, 2019 . ^ "From the Bullet to the Ballot | Jakobi Williams". University of North Carolina Press. ^ Delphine (January 21, 2015). "Fred Hampton '' It's A Class Struggle Goddammit!, November, 1969". www.lfks.net. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021 . 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"Who's Who in The Trial of the Chicago 7: A Character Guide". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 13, 2021 . Retrieved January 9, 2021 . ^ Rubin, Rebecca (December 22, 2020). " 'Judas and the Black Messiah' Rescheduled for Early 2021". Variety. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021 . Retrieved January 9, 2021 . ^ Rubin, Rebecca (January 12, 2021). "Judas and the Black Messiah' to Premiere at Sundance Film Festival". Variety. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021 . Retrieved January 12, 2021 . ^ King 2012:62. ^ Harris, LaTesha (March 24, 2021). "Nobody's Savior '' Jay-Z Cannot Deliver Us into an Era of Racial Equity". Bitch Media. ^ "Fred Hampton Jr. Upset About Jay-Z Lyrics On 'Murder To Excellence' ". MTV . Retrieved September 24, 2023 . ^ "Down Rodeo Lyrics". Genius.com. ^ "Fred Hampton on your campus, you can't resist his / HiiiPoWeR". Genius . Retrieved October 12, 2022 . ^ GHOST OF FRED HAMPTON feat. KIKO KING , retrieved April 20, 2023 References [ edit ] Haas, Jeffrey (2009). The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781569763650. Wilderson, Frank (2015). Incognegro '-- A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-5993-7. "Fred Hampton (August 30, 1948 - December 4, 1969)". National Archives and Records Administration. August 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. External links [ edit ] The Marxists Internet Archive: Fred Hampton Archive Transcribed speeches and collected works."The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther" '' video report by Democracy Now! December 4, 2009.The Murder of Fred Hampton at IMDb (A 1971 documentary film directed by Howard Alk)FBI files on Fred HamptonFrom COINTELPRO to the Shadow Government: As Fred Hampton Jr. Is Released From 9 Years of Prison, a Look Back at the Assassination of Fred Hampton Archived April 28, 2005, at the Wayback Machine. 36:48 real audio. Tape: Fred Hampton, Deborah Johnson. Guests: Fred Hampton Jr., Mutulu Olugabala, Rosa Clemente. Interviewer: Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!. Tuesday, March 5, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2005."Power Anywhere Where There's People" A Speech By Fred HamptonNational Young Lords Archived October 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Brief notes on Young Lords originsThe short film Death of a Black Panther: The Fred Hampton Story is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.Grand Valley State University Oral History Collection
- Remembering The James Brown Concert That Calmed Boston | GBH
- Some describe America in the spring of 1968 as a country hell bent on tearing itself apart over two issues: the Vietnam War and civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. had led the civil rights movement with peaceful methods. Yet his assassination on April 4 led to violence in almost 130 cities.
- Although there were sporadic incidents of violence in Boston, it likely would have been worse, had it not been for a landmark concert at the old Boston Garden, broadcast on WGBH TV and radio the night after King's death. But it almost didn't happen. I was a graduate student working at WGBH at the time, and I watched the broadcast in the TV studio control room on Western Avenue in Allston.
- Amid the grief the nation was experiencing the day after King's assassination, word began circulating in the building about a plan for WGBH to broadcast a previously scheduled concert at Boston Garden. It starred the ''Godfather of Soul,'' James Brown, the most popular, charismatic and powerful black entertainer of the day.
- At first Kevin White, who had been Boston's mayor for barely three months, wanted to cancel the concert, fearing it could provoke the kind of rioting that so many American cities had seen after King's death. White had no idea who Brown was, thinking he was instead the former professional football star Jim Brown, according to James Sullivan, author of ''The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America.''
- It was up to gospel and soul music deejay Jimmy Byrd, along with Tom Atkins, the lone African-American on the Boston City Council, to convince White that not having the concert could be more dangerous than letting it happen. In his book, Sullivan says that Atkins told the mayor: "You can't cancel the James Brown show because if you do that, you're going to have 14,000 kids showing up at the Boston Garden finding out by a piece of paper stuck on the door that the show has been canceled and, if they're not already angry and distraught over the murder of Dr. King, now they're really going to be mad."
- White reluctantly agreed to let the show go on.
- Then someone on White's staff suggested that WGBH broadcast the concert live, so people could watch the show at home and not have to go out. Sullivan told me how Brown reacted when he heard the concert was to be televised: "'Well, if you put the show on TV for free, who's going to come?' So, he said, 'I'll do it if the city government can promise me some money.'''
- When White learned of Brown's demand, he almost cancelled the concert a second time. Once again, Atkins persuaded White that the cost to the city in terms of public safety and his own reputation would be far greater than the $60,000 Brown wanted.
- Meanwhile, the executives at WGBH were debating the wisdom of such a broadcast. On the one hand, it would great public service; on the other hand, they could end up airing a riot. The associate director of programs at the time, Michael Ambrosino, told me the final word giving the go-ahead didn't come down until 5:30, just three hours before the show was to begin. Not waiting for a final decision, Ambrosino had already begun assembling ''the one group of guys who could pull off such a last minute live broadcast: producer Russ Morash, director David Atwood, along with [crew] Al Potter and Greg Harney.''
- They made their way down to the Garden in a large white tractor-trailer that was the station's new mobile unit. Using three old black-and-white cameras, borrowed cables that WBZ used to broadcast sports from the arena, an improvised feed from the public address system and only a couple of spotlights for lighting, they were ready to go after a delay of just 45 minutes. Although Atwood told me he and the crew were aware that violence could break out, they didn't have time to think about their own safety because they were so focused on doing what they had to do to get the concert on the air.
- Instead of the 14,000 concertgoers who could have filled Boston Garden at the sold-out show, only about 2,000 adoring fans showed up. They cheered loudly as Brown came on stage. He took the opportunity to heap praise upon Atkins for ''being a black man in the driver's seat'' and White as a ''swingin' cat'' for allowing the concert to take place and having the city pay for it. Although it was never revealed just how much Brown was paid, it was rumored he never got all the money he wanted.
- As the three-hour concert got underway, I remember watching in the control room and seeing the videotape machines running. They were recording the show so it could be rebroadcast all night and doing that, many believe, was the key to keeping the city quiet.
- At one point, some of Brown's young fans tried to climb up onto the stage just to be near him. Boston police officers moved in quickly, some with billy clubs, ready to subdue the crowd. Brown dramatically took control, keeping the police at bay and convincing the crowd their behavior was making him and all black people look bad. They eventually took their seats, and Brown resumed the show. It was a tense moment that demonstrated the power Brown had over his audience and his ability to prevent what might have been a violent scene.
- Back in the control room, we were mesmerized by Brown's performance and amazed that the broadcast was going so well. But we were also anxious about what might be happening on the streets of the city. At 11 p.m. we watched newscasts on other local TV stations to see if any violence had erupted, but to our great relief, all was peaceful. As WGBH jazz deejay Al Davis, who attended the concert as a teenager, later recalled, ''The ride home on the T was so quiet it was surreal.''
- Some say there is no proof that Brown's concert kept Boston from boiling over. State Representative Byron Rushing told me Roxbury residents had been so traumatized by rioting in August 1967 that left some Blue Hill Avenue businesses destroyed that they did not want a repeat of that kind of violence.
- But Sullivan told me: "Historians have looked at the James Brown concert as one of the major events in Boston that night that kept people home, kept them off the streets and kept the peace, whereas many, if not most, of the other major cities around the country experienced a lot of rioting that night."
- The concert marked a significant turning point in WGBH's history as well. Until then, producer Morash told me, the station had been broadcasting primarily instructional shows like ''The French Chef with Julia Child'' geared to a white audience and rarely got involved in local issues.
- With the James Brown broadcast, WGBH was thrown suddenly into the role of responding to one of the most turbulent events of the time. For many members of its board of trustees, it was exactly the kind of programming the station should be doing.
- What took place that night influenced programs to come like "Say Brother," which became "Basic Black" and is still airing today. Another landmark live broadcast in 1968, coordinated by WGBH, involved several public TV stations nationwide and dealt with the agonizing controversy over the Vietnam War.
- Malcolm X - Wikipedia
- American Black rights activist (1925''1965)
- ( 1925-05-19 ) May 19, 1925DiedFebruary 21, 1965 (1965-02-21) (aged 39)Cause of deathAssassination by gunshotResting placeFerncliff CemeteryOther namesMalik el-Shabazz (Arabic: Ù
ÙØ§ÙÙÙ Ù±ÙØ´ÙÙØ¨Ùاز٠, romanized: MÄlik ash-ShabÄzz )OccupationsOrganizationsMovementSpouseChildren6, including Attallah, Qubilah, and IlyasahRelativesLouise Helen Norton Little (mother)Malcolm Shabazz (grandson)[1] Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 '' February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Islam until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the Black community. A posthumous autobiography, on which he collaborated with Alex Haley, was published in 1965.
- Malcolm spent his adolescence living in a series of foster homes or with relatives after his father's death and his mother's hospitalization. He committed various crimes, being sentenced to 8 to 10 years in prison in 1946 for larceny and burglary. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, adopting the name Malcolm X to symbolize his unknown African ancestral surname while discarding "the White slavemaster name of 'Little'", and after his parole in 1952 quickly became one of the organization's most influential leaders. He was the public face of the organization for 12 years, advocating Black empowerment and separation of Black and White Americans, and criticizing Martin Luther King Jr. and the mainstream civil rights movement for its emphasis on nonviolence and racial integration.[2][3] Malcolm X also expressed pride in some of the Nation's social welfare achievements, such as its free drug rehabilitation program. From the 1950s onward, Malcolm X was subjected to surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
- In the 1960s, Malcolm X began to grow disillusioned with the Nation of Islam, as well as with its leader, Elijah Muhammad. He subsequently embraced Sunni Islam and the civil rights movement after completing the Hajj to Mecca, and became known as "el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz,"[4] which roughly translates to "The Pilgrim Malcolm the Patriarch".[5][4][6] After a brief period of travel across Africa, he publicly renounced the Nation of Islam and founded the Islamic Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI) and the Pan-African Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). Throughout 1964, his conflict with the Nation of Islam intensified, and he was repeatedly sent death threats. On February 21, 1965, he was assassinated in New York City. Three Nation members were charged with the murder and given indeterminate life sentences; in 2021, two of the convictions were vacated. Speculation about the assassination and whether it was conceived or aided by leading or additional members of the Nation, or with law enforcement agencies, has persisted for decades.
- A controversial figure accused of preaching racism and violence, Malcolm X is also a widely celebrated figure within African-American and Muslim American communities for his pursuit of racial justice. He was posthumously honored with Malcolm X Day, on which he is commemorated in various cities across the United States. Hundreds of streets and schools in the U.S. have been renamed in his honor, while the Audubon Ballroom, the site of his assassination, was partly redeveloped in 2005 to accommodate the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center.
- Early years A 1930 United States Census return listing the Little family (lines 59ff)Malcolm X was born May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, the fourth of seven children of Grenada-born Louise Helen Little (n(C)e Langdon) and Georgia-born Earl Little.[7] Earl was an outspoken Baptist lay speaker, and he and Louise were admirers of Pan-African activist Marcus Garvey. Earl was a local leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and Louise served as secretary and "branch reporter", sending news of local UNIA activities to Negro World; they inculcated self-reliance and black pride in their children.[8][9][10] Malcolm X later said that White violence killed four of his father's brothers.[11]
- Because of Ku Klux Klan threats, Earl's UNIA activities were said to be "spreading trouble"[12] and the family relocated in 1926 to Milwaukee, and shortly thereafter to Lansing, Michigan.[13] There, the family was frequently harassed by the Black Legion, a White racist group Earl accused of burning their family home in 1929.[14]
- When Malcolm was six, his father died in what has been officially ruled a streetcar accident, though his mother Louise believed Earl had been murdered by the Black Legion. Rumors that White racists were responsible for his father's death were widely circulated and were very disturbing to Malcolm X as a child. As an adult, he expressed conflicting beliefs on the question.[15] After a dispute with creditors, Louise received a life insurance benefit (nominally $1,000 ''--'about $19,000 in 2022)[A] in payments of $18 per month;[16] the issuer of another, larger policy refused to pay, claiming her husband Earl had committed suicide.[17] To make ends meet, Louise rented out part of her garden, and her sons hunted game.[16]
- During the 1930s, white Seventh-day Adventists witnessed to the Little family; later on, Louise Little and her son Wilfred were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Malcolm said the Adventists were "the friendliest white people I had ever seen."[18]
- In 1937, a man Louise had been dating''--'marriage had seemed a possibility''--'vanished from her life when she became pregnant with his child.[19] In late 1938, she had a nervous breakdown and was committed to Kalamazoo State Hospital. The children were separated and sent to foster homes. Malcolm and his siblings secured her release 24 years later.[20][21]
- Malcolm attended West Junior High School in Lansing and then Mason High School in Mason, Michigan, but left high school in 1941, before graduating.[22] He excelled in junior high school but dropped out of high school after a White teacher told him that practicing law, his aspiration at the time, was "no realistic goal for a nigger."[23] Later, Malcolm X recalled feeling that the White world offered no place for a career-oriented Black man, regardless of talent.[23]
- A Boston police mug shot of Malcolm, following his arrest for larceny (1944)[24]From age 14 to 21, Malcolm held a variety of jobs while living with his half-sister Ella Little-Collins in Roxbury, a largely African-American neighborhood of Boston.[25][26]
- After a short time in Flint, Michigan, he moved to New York City's Harlem neighborhood in 1943, where he found employment on the New Haven Railroad and engaged in drug dealing, gambling, racketeering, robbery, and pimping.[27] According to biographer Bruce Perry, Malcolm also occasionally had sex with other men, usually for money, though this conjecture has been disputed by those who knew him.[28][29][B] He befriended John Elroy Sanford, a fellow dishwasher at Jimmy's Chicken Shack in Harlem who aspired to be a professional comedian. Both men had reddish hair, so Sanford was called "Chicago Red" after his hometown, and Malcolm was known as "Detroit Red". Years later, Sanford became famous as comedian and actor Redd Foxx.[37]
- Summoned by the local draft board for military service in World War II, he feigned mental disturbance by rambling and declaring: "I want to be sent down South. Organize them nigger soldiers ... steal us some guns, and kill us [some] crackers".[38][39][40] He was declared "mentally disqualified for military service".[38][39][40]
- In late 1945, Malcolm returned to Boston, where he and four accomplices committed a series of burglaries targeting wealthy White families.[41] In 1946, he was arrested while picking up a stolen watch he had left at a shop for repairs,[42] and in February began serving a sentence of eight to ten years at Charlestown State Prison for larceny and breaking and entering.[43] Two years later, Malcolm was transferred to Norfolk Prison Colony (also in Massachusetts).[44][45]
- Nation of Islam period Prison Between Mr. Muhammad's teachings, my correspondence, my visitors ... and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life.
- When Malcolm was in prison, he met fellow convict John Bembry,[47] a self-educated man he would later describe as "the first man I had ever seen command total respect ... with words".[48] Under Bembry's influence, Malcolm developed a voracious appetite for reading.[49]
- At this time, several of his siblings wrote to him about the Nation of Islam, a relatively new religious movement preaching Black self-reliance and, ultimately, the return of the African diaspora to Africa, where they would be free from White American and European domination.[50] He showed scant interest at first, but after his brother Reginald wrote in 1948, "Malcolm, don't eat any more pork and don't smoke any more cigarettes. I'll show you how to get out of prison",[51] he quit smoking and began to refuse pork.[52]
- After a visit in which Reginald described the group's teachings, including the belief that White people are devils, Malcolm concluded that every relationship he had had with Whites had been tainted by dishonesty, injustice, greed, and hatred.[53] Malcolm, whose hostility to Christianity had earned him the prison nickname "Satan,"[54] became receptive to the message of the Nation of Islam.[55]
- In late 1948, Malcolm wrote to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad advised him to renounce his past, humbly bow in prayer to God, and promise never to engage in destructive behavior again.[56] Though he later recalled the inner struggle he had before bending his knees to pray,[57] Malcolm soon became a member of the Nation of Islam,[56]maintaining a regular correspondence with Muhammad.[58]
- In 1950, the FBI opened a file on Malcolm after he wrote a letter from prison to President Truman expressing opposition to the Korean War and declaring himself a communist.[59] That year, he also began signing his name "Malcolm X."[60] Muhammad instructed his followers to leave their family names behind when they joined the Nation of Islam and use "X" instead. When the time was right, after they had proven their sincerity, he said, he would reveal the Muslim's "original name."[61] In his autobiography, Malcolm X explained that the "X" symbolized the true African family name that he could never know. "For me, my 'X' replaced the White slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears."[62]
- Early ministry After his parole in August 1952,[63] Malcolm X visited Elijah Muhammad in Chicago.[64] In June 1953, he was named assistant minister of the Nation's Temple Number One in Detroit.[65][C] Later that year he established Boston's Temple Number 11;[67] in March 1954, he expanded Temple Number 12 in Philadelphia;[68] and two months later he was selected to lead Temple Number 7 in Harlem,[69] where he rapidly expanded its membership.[70]
- In 1953, the FBI began surveillance of him, turning its attention from Malcolm X's possible communist associations to his rapid ascent in the Nation of Islam.[71]
- During 1955, Malcolm X continued his successful recruitment of members on behalf of the Nation of Islam. He established temples in Springfield, Massachusetts (Number 13); Hartford, Connecticut (Number 14); and Atlanta (Number 15). Hundreds of African Americans were joining the Nation of Islam every month.[72]
- Besides his skill as a speaker, Malcolm X had an impressive physical presence. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed about 180 pounds (82 kg).[73] One writer described him as "powerfully built",[74] and another as "mesmerizingly handsome ... and always spotlessly well-groomed".[73]
- Marriage and family In 1955, Betty Sanders met Malcolm X after one of his lectures, then again at a dinner party; soon she was regularly attending his lectures. In 1956, she joined the Nation of Islam, changing her name to Betty X.[75] One-on-one dates were contrary to the Nation's teachings, so the couple courted at social events with dozens or hundreds of others, and Malcolm X made a point of inviting her on the frequent group visits he led to New York City's museums and libraries.[76]
- Malcolm X proposed during a telephone call from Detroit in January 1958, and they married two days later.[77][78] They had six daughters:Attallah (b. 1958; Arabic for "gift of God"; perhaps named after Attila the Hun);[79][D][E] Qubilah (b. 1960, named after Kublai Khan);[83] Ilyasah (b. 1962, named after Elijah Muhammad);[84] Gamilah Lumumba (b. 1964, named after Gamal Abdel Nasser and Patrice Lumumba);[85][86] and twins Malikah (1965''2021)[87] and Malaak (b. 1965, both born after their father's death, and named in his honor).[88]
- Hinton Johnson incident The American public first became aware of Malcolm X in 1957, after Hinton Johnson,[F] a Nation of Islam member, was beaten by two New York City police officers.[91][92] On April 26, Johnson and two other passersby''--'also Nation of Islam members''--'saw the officers beating an African-American man with nightsticks.[91] When they attempted to intervene, shouting, "You're not in Alabama ... this is New York!"[92] one of the officers turned on Johnson, beating him so severely that he suffered brain contusions and subdural hemorrhaging. All four African-American men were arrested.[91]
- Alerted by a witness, Malcolm X and a small group of Muslims went to the police station and demanded to see Johnson.[91] Police initially denied that any Muslims were being held, but when the crowd grew to about five hundred, they allowed Malcolm X to speak with Johnson.[93] Afterward, Malcolm X insisted on arranging for an ambulance to take Johnson to Harlem Hospital.[94]
- Johnson's injuries were treated and by the time he was returned to the police station, some four thousand people had gathered outside.[93] Inside the station, Malcolm X and an attorney were making bail arrangements for two of the Muslims. Johnson was not bailed, and police said he could not go back to the hospital until his arraignment the following day.[94] Considering the situation to be at an impasse, Malcolm X stepped outside the station house and gave a hand signal to the crowd. Nation members silently left, after which the rest of the crowd also dispersed.[94]
- One police officer told the New York Amsterdam News: "No one man should have that much power."[94][95] Within a month the New York City Police Department arranged to keep Malcolm X under surveillance; it also made inquiries with authorities in other cities in which he had lived, and prisons in which he had served time.[96] A grand jury declined to indict the officers who beat Johnson. In October, Malcolm X sent an angry telegram to the police commissioner. Soon the police department assigned undercover officers to infiltrate the Nation of Islam.[97]
- Increasing prominence By the late 1950s, Malcolm X was using a new name, Malcolm Shabazz or Malik el-Shabazz, although he was still widely referred to as Malcolm X.[98] His comments on issues and events were being widely reported in print, on radio, and on television,[99] and he was featured in a 1959 New York City television broadcast about the Nation of Islam, The Hate That Hate Produced.[99]
- In September 1960, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Malcolm X was invited to the official functions of several African nations. He met Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmed S(C)kou Tour(C) of Guinea, and Kenneth Kaunda of the Zambian African National Congress.[100] Fidel Castro also attended the Assembly, and Malcolm X met publicly with him as part of a welcoming committee of Harlem community leaders.[101] Castro was sufficiently impressed with Malcolm X to suggest a private meeting, and after two hours of talking, Castro invited Malcolm X to visit Cuba.[102]
- Advocacy and teachings while with Nation Cassius Clay (second row, in dark suit) watches Elijah Muhammad speak, 1964From his adoption of the Nation of Islam in 1952 until he broke with it in 1964, Malcolm X promoted the Nation's teachings. These included beliefs:
- that Black people are the original people of the world[103]that White people are "devils"[2] andthat the demise of the White race is imminent.[3]Louis E. Lomax said that "those who don't understand biblical prophecy wrongly label him as a racist and as a hate teacher, or as being anti-White or as teaching Black Supremacy".[104] One of the goals of the civil rights movement was to end disenfranchisement of African Americans, but the Nation of Islam forbade its members from participating in voting and other aspects of the political process.[105] The NAACP and other civil rights organizations denounced him and the Nation of Islam as irresponsible extremists whose views did not represent the common interests of African Americans.[106][107]
- Malcolm X was equally critical of the civil rights movement.[108] He called Martin Luther King Jr. a "chump," and said other civil rights leaders were "stooges" of the White establishment.[109][G] He called the 1963 March on Washington "the farce on Washington,"[112] and said he did not know why so many Black people were excited about a demonstration "run by Whites in front of a statue of a president who has been dead for a hundred years and who didn't like us when he was alive."[113]
- While the civil rights movement fought against racial segregation, Malcolm X advocated the complete separation of African Americans from Whites. He proposed that African Americans should return to Africa and that, in the interim, a separate country for Black people in America should be created.[114][115] He rejected the civil rights movement's strategy of nonviolence, arguing that Black people should defend and advance themselves "by any means necessary".[116] His speeches had a powerful effect on his audiences, who were generally African Americans in northern and western cities. Many of them''--'tired of being told to wait for freedom, justice, equality and respect[117]''--'felt that he articulated their complaints better than did the civil rights movement.[118][119]
- Antisemitism Malcolm X has been widely accused of being antisemitic.[120][121] His autobiography contains several "antisemitic charges and caricatures of Jews".[122] Alex Haley, the autobiography's co-author, had to rewrite some of the book in order to eliminate a number of negative statements about Jews in the manuscript.[123] Malcolm X believed that the fabricated antisemitic text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was authentic and introduced it to NOI members, while accusing the Jewish people of "perfecting the modern evil" of neo-colonialism.[124][125] He helped change the Black community's image of The Holocaust, engaging in Holocaust trivialization and claiming that the Jews "brought it on themselves".[126]
- In 1961, Malcolm X spoke at a NOI rally alongside George Lincoln Rockwell, the head of the American Nazi Party. Rockwell claimed that there was overlap between Black nationalism and White supremacy.[127] Malcolm X's negative statements about Jews continued even close to his death.[128]
- Effect on Nation membership Malcolm X is widely regarded as the second most influential leader of the Nation of Islam after Elijah Muhammad.[129] He was largely credited with the group's dramatic increase in membership between the early 1950s and early 1960s (from 500 to 25,000 by one estimate;[H] from 1,200 to 50,000 or 75,000 by another).[131][I]
- He inspired the boxer Muhammad Ali to join the Nation,[133] and the two became close.[134]In January 1964, Ali brought Malcolm X and his family to Miami to watch him train for his fight against Sonny Liston.[135]When Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam, he tried to convince Ali (who had just been renamed by Elijah Muhammad) to join him in converting to Sunni Islam, but Ali instead broke ties with him, later describing the break as one of his greatest regrets.[J]
- Malcolm X mentored and guided Louis X (later known as Louis Farrakhan), who eventually became the leader of the Nation of Islam.[137] Malcolm X also served as a mentor and confidant to Elijah Muhammad's son, Wallace D. Muhammad; the son told Malcolm X about his skepticism toward his father's "unorthodox approach" to Islam.[138] Wallace Muhammad was excommunicated from the Nation of Islam several times, although he was eventually re-admitted.[139]
- Disillusionment and departure During 1962 and 1963, events caused Malcolm X to reassess his relationship with the Nation of Islam, and particularly its leader, Elijah Muhammad.
- Lack of Nation of Islam response to LAPD violence In late 1961, there were violent confrontations between the Nation of Islam members and police in South Central Los Angeles, and numerous Muslims were arrested. They were acquitted, but tensions had been raised. Just after midnight on April 27, 1962, two LAPD officers, unprovoked, shoved and beat several Muslims outside Temple Number 27. A large crowd of angry Muslims emerged from the mosque and the officers attempted to intimidate them.[140][141]
- One officer was disarmed; his partner was shot in the elbow by a third officer. More than 70 backup officers arrived who then raided the mosque and randomly beat Nation of Islam members. Police officers shot seven Muslims, including William X Rogers, who was hit in the back and paralyzed for life, and Ronald Stokes, a Korean War veteran, who was shot from behind while raising his hands over his head to surrender, killing him.[140][141]
- A number of Muslims were indicted after the event, but no charges were laid against the police. The coroner ruled that Stokes's killing was justified. To Malcolm X, the desecration of the mosque and the associated violence demanded action, and he used what Louis X (later Louis Farrakhan) later called his "gangsterlike past" to rally the more hardened of the Nation of Islam members to take violent revenge against the police.[140][141]
- Malcolm X sought Elijah Muhammad's approval which was denied, stunning Malcolm X. Malcolm X was again blocked by Elijah Muhammad when he spoke of the Nation of Islam starting to work with civil rights organizations, local Black politicians, and religious groups. Louis X saw this as an important turning point in the deteriorating relationship between Malcolm X and Muhammad.[140][141]
- Sexual misbehavior by Elijah Muhammad Rumors were circulating that Muhammad was conducting extramarital affairs with young Nation secretaries''--'which would constitute a serious violation of Nation teachings. After first discounting the rumors, Malcolm X came to believe them after he spoke with Muhammad's son Wallace and with the girls making the accusations. Muhammad confirmed the rumors in 1963, attempting to justify his behavior by referring to precedents set by Biblical prophets.[142]
- Over a series of national TV interviews between 1964 and 1965, Malcolm X provided testimony of his investigation, corroboration, and confirmation by Elijah Muhammed himself of multiple counts of child rape. During this investigation, he learned that seven of the eight girls had become pregnant as a result of this. He also revealed an assassination attempt made on his life, through a discovered explosive device in his car, as well as the death threats he was receiving, in response to his exposure of Elijah Muhammad.[143][better source needed ]
- On December 1, 1963, when asked to comment on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X said that it was a case of "chickens coming home to roost ." He added that "chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they've always made me glad."[144] Likewise, according to The New York Times:[144]
- [I]n further criticism of Mr. Kennedy, the Muslim leader cited the murders of Patrice Lumumba, Congo leader, of Medgar Evers, civil rights leader, and of the Negro girls bombed earlier this year in a Birmingham church. These, he said, were instances of other "chickens coming home to roost".
- The remarks prompted widespread public outcry. The Nation of Islam, which had sent a message of condolence to the Kennedy family and ordered its ministers not to comment on the assassination, publicly censured their former shining star.[145] Malcolm X retained his post and rank as minister, but was prohibited from public speaking for 90 days.[146]
- Media attention to Malcolm X over Muhammad Malcolm X had by now become a media favorite, and some Nation members believed he was a threat to Muhammad's leadership. Publishers had shown interest in Malcolm X's autobiography, and when Louis Lomax wrote his 1963 book about the Nation, When the Word Is Given, he used a photograph of Malcolm X on the cover. He also reproduced five of his speeches, but featured only one of Muhammad's''--'all of which greatly upset Muhammad and made him envious.[147]
- Departure from Nation of Islam On March 8, 1964, Malcolm X publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam. Though still a Muslim, he felt that the Nation had "gone as far as it can" because of its rigid teachings. He said he was planning to organize a Black nationalist organization to "heighten the political consciousness" of African Americans. He also expressed a desire to work with other civil rights leaders, saying that Elijah Muhammad had prevented him from doing so in the past.[148]
- Activity after leaving Nation of Islam Malcolm X's only meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., March 26, 1964, during the Senate debates regarding the (eventual) Civil Rights Act of 1964.[149]After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI), a religious organization,[150][151] and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), a secular group that advocated Pan-Africanism.[152][153] On March 26, 1964, he briefly met Martin Luther King Jr. for the first and only time''--'and only long enough for photographs to be taken''--'in Washington, D.C., as both men attended the Senate's debate on the Civil Rights bill at the U.S. Capitol building.[K][L]
- In April, Malcolm X gave a speech titled "The Ballot or the Bullet", in which he advised African Americans to exercise their right to vote wisely but cautioned that if the government continued to prevent African Americans from attaining full equality, it might be necessary for them to take up arms.[156][157]
- In the weeks after he left the Nation of Islam, several Sunni Muslims encouraged Malcolm X to learn about their faith. He soon converted to the Sunni faith.[158][159]
- Pilgrimage to Mecca In April 1964, with financial help from his half-sister Ella Little-Collins, Malcolm X flew to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as the start of his Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca obligatory for every Muslim who is able to do so. He was delayed in Jeddah when his U.S. citizenship and inability to speak Arabic caused his status as a Muslim to be questioned.[160][161]
- He had received Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam's book The Eternal Message of Muhammad with his visa approval, and he contacted the author. Azzam's son arranged for his release and lent him his personal hotel suite. The next morning Malcolm X learned that Prince Faisal had designated him as a state guest.[162] Several days later, after completing the Hajj rituals, Malcolm X had an audience with the prince.[163]
- Malcolm X later said that seeing Muslims of "all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to Black-skinned Africans," interacting as equals led him to see Islam as a means by which racial problems could be overcome.[164]
- Visit to Cairo Malcolm X, after his 1964 pilgrimage to MeccaMalcolm X had already visited the United Arab Republic (a short-lived political union between Egypt and Syria), Sudan, Nigeria, and Ghana in 1959 to make arrangements for a tour of Africa by Elijah Muhammad.[165] After his journey to Mecca in 1964, he visited Africa a second time. He returned to the United States in late May[166] and flew to Africa again in July.[167] During these visits he met officials, gave interviews, and spoke on radio and television in Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanganyika, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Sudan, Senegal, Liberia, Algeria, and Morocco.[168]
- In Cairo, he attended the second meeting of the Organization of African Unity as a representative of the OAAU.[169] By the end of this third visit, he had met with essentially all of Africa's prominent leaders;[170] Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria had all invited Malcolm X to serve in their governments.[170] After he spoke at the University of Ibadan, the Nigerian Muslim Students Association bestowed on him the honorary Yoruba name Omowale ('the son who has come home').[171] He later called this his most treasured honor.[172]
- Malcolm especially hated Mo¯se Tshombe of the Congo as an "Uncle Tom" figure. In a 1964 speech in New York, he called Tshombe "the worse African ever born" and "the man who in cold blood, cold blood, committed an international crime-murdered Patrice Lumumba".[173] Tshombe's decision in 1964 to hire White mercenaries to put down the Simba rebellion greatly offended Malcolm, who accused the mercenaries of committing war crimes against the Congolese.[174]
- France and United Kingdom On November 23, 1964, on his way home from Africa, Malcolm X stopped in Paris, where he spoke in the Salle de la Mutualit(C).[175][176] After his return to the United States, he accused the United States of imperialism in the Congo by supporting Tshombe and "his hired killers" as he called the White mercenaries.[174] X accused Tshombe and the American president Lyndon B. Johnson of "...sleeping together. When I say sleeping together, I don't mean that literally. But beyond that, they're in the same bed. Johnson is paying the salaries, paying the government, propping up Tshombe's government, this murderer".[174]
- X expressed much anger about Operation Dragon Rouge, where the United States Air Force dropped in Belgian paratroopers into the city of Stanleyville, modern Kisangani, to rescue the White Belgian hostages from the Simbas.[174] Malcolm X maintained that there was a double standard when it came to White and Black lives, noting it was an international emergency when the lives of Whites were in danger, making Dragon Rouge necessary, but that nothing was done to stop the abuses of the Congolese at the hands of "Tshombe's hired killers".[177] X charged that the "Congolese have been massacred by White people for years and years" and that "the chickens have home to roast".[178]
- A week later, on November 30, Malcolm X flew to the United Kingdom. On December 3 he took part in a debate at the Oxford Union Society. The motion was taken from a statement made earlier that year by U.S. presidential candidate Barry Goldwater: "Extremism in the Defense of Liberty is No Vice; Moderation in the Pursuit of Justice is No Virtue".[179] Malcolm X argued for the affirmative, and interest in the debate was so high that it was televised nationally by the BBC.[180][181]
- In his address at Oxford, Malcolm rejected the label of "Black Muslim" and instead focused on being a Muslim who happened to be Black, which reflected his conversion to Sunni Islam.[182] Malcolm only mentioned his religion twice during his Oxford speech, which was part of his effort to defuse his image as an "angry Black Muslim extremist", which he had long hated.[182] During the debate at Oxford, he criticized the way the Anglo-American press portrayed the Congo crisis, noting the Simbas were portrayed as primitive cannibalistic "savages" who engaged in every form of depravity imaginable while Tshombe and the White mercenaries were portrayed in a very favorable light with almost no mention of any atrocities on their part.[177]
- Malcolm X charged that the Cuban (C)migr(C) pilots hired by the CIA to serve as Tshombe's air force indiscriminately bombed Congolese villages and towns, killing women and children, but this was almost never mentioned in the media while the newspapers featured long accounts of the Simbas "raping White women, molesting nuns".[183] Likewise, he felt the term mercenary was inappropriate, preferring the term "hired killer" and that Tshombe should not be described as a premier as he preferred the term "cold-blooded murderer" to describe him.[183] Malcolm X stated that what he regarded as the extremism of the Tshombe government was "never referred to as extremism because it is endorsed by the West, it is financed by America, it's made respectable by America, and that kind of extremism is never labelled as extremism".[184]
- Malcolm X argued this extremism was not morally acceptable "since it's not extremism in defense of liberty".[185] Many in the audience at Oxford were angered by Malcolm X's thesis and his support for the Simbas who had committed atrocities with one asking "What sort of extremism would you consider the killing of missionaries?".[185] In response, Malcolm X answered "It is an act of war. I'd call it the same kind of extremism that happened when England dropped bombs on German cities and Germans dropped bombs on English cities".[185]
- On February 5, 1965, Malcolm X flew to Britain again,[186] and on February 8 he addressed the first meeting of the Council of African Organizations in London.[187] The next day he tried to return to France, but was refused entry.[188] On February 12, he visited Smethwick, near Birmingham, where the Conservative Party had won the parliamentary seat in the 1964 general election. The town had become a byword for racial division after the successful candidate, Peter Griffiths, was accused of using the slogan, "If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour." In Smethwick, Malcolm X compared the treatment of ethnic minority residents with the treatment of Jews under Hitler, saying: "I would not wait for the fascist element in Smethwick to erect gas ovens."[189][190]
- Return to United States After returning to the U.S., Malcolm X addressed a wide variety of audiences. He spoke regularly at meetings held by MMI and the OAAU, and was one of the most sought-after speakers on college campuses.[191] One of his top aides later wrote that he "welcomed every opportunity to speak to college students."[192] He also addressed public meetings of the Socialist Workers Party, speaking at their Militant Labor Forum.[193] He was interviewed on the subjects of segregation and the Nation of Islam by Robert Penn Warren for Warren's 1965 book Who Speaks for the Negro?[194]
- Death threats and intimidation from Nation of Islam Malcolm X guards his family after Nation of Islam threats in an iconic Ebony magazine photo.Throughout 1964, as his conflict with the Nation of Islam intensified, Malcolm X was repeatedly threatened.[195]
- In February, a leader of Temple Number Seven ordered the bombing of Malcolm X's car.[196] In March, Muhammad told Boston minister Louis X (later known as Louis Farrakhan) that "hypocrites like Malcolm should have their heads cut off";[197] the April 10 edition of Muhammad Speaks featured a cartoon depicting Malcolm X's bouncing, severed head.[198][199]
- On June 8, FBI surveillance recorded a telephone call in which Betty Shabazz was told that her husband was "as good as dead."[200] Four days later, an FBI informant received a tip that "Malcolm X is going to be bumped off."[201] That same month, the Nation sued to reclaim Malcolm X's residence in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York. His family was ordered to vacate[202] but on February 14, 1965''--'the night before a hearing on postponing the eviction''--'the house was destroyed by fire.[203]
- On July 9, Muhammad aide John Ali (suspected of being an undercover FBI agent)[204] referred to Malcolm X by saying, "Anyone who opposes the Honorable Elijah Muhammad puts their life in jeopardy."[205] In the December 4 issue of Muhammad Speaks, Louis X wrote that "such a man as Malcolm is worthy of death."[206]
- The September 1964 issue of Ebony dramatized Malcolm X's defiance of these threats by publishing a photograph of him holding an M1 carbine while peering out of a window.[207][208]
- Assassination On February 19, 1965, Malcolm X told interviewer Gordon Parks that the Nation of Islam was actively trying to kill him. On February 21, 1965, he was preparing to address the OAAU in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom when someone in the 400-person audience yelled,"Nigger! Get your hand outta my pocket!"[210][211][212]
- As Malcolm X and his bodyguards tried to quell the disturbance,[M] a man rushed forward and shot him once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun[213][214] and two other men charged the stage firing semi-automatic handguns.[211] Malcolm X was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm, shortly after arriving at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.[212] The autopsy identified 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs, including ten buckshot wounds from the initial shotgun blast.[215]
- One gunman, Nation of Islam member Talmadge Hayer (also known as Thomas Hagan), was beaten by the crowd before police arrived.[216][217] Witnesses identified the other gunmen as Nation members Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson.[218] All three were convicted of murder in March 1966 and sentenced to life in prison.[219][220]
- At trial, Hayer confessed, but refused to identify the other assailants except to assert that they were not Butler and Johnson.[221]In 1977 and 1978, he signed affidavits reasserting Butler's and Johnson's innocence, naming four other Nation members of Newark's Mosque No. 25 as participants in the murder or its planning.[222][223][224][225] These affidavits did not result in the case being reopened.
- Butler, today known as Muhammad Abdul Aziz, was paroled in 1985 and became the head of the Nation's Harlem mosque in 1998; he maintains his innocence.[226] In prison Johnson, who changed his name to Khalil Islam, rejected the Nation's teachings and converted to Sunni Islam. Released in 1987, he maintained his innocence until his death in August 2009.[227][228] Hayer, who also rejected the Nation's teachings while in prison and converted to Sunni Islam,[229] is known today as Mujahid Halim.[230] He was paroled in 2010.[231]
- In 2021, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam (formerly Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson) were exonerated from their murder convictions, following a review that found the FBI and the New York Police Department withheld key evidence during the trial.[232] On July 14, 2022, Aziz filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn against the City of New York, seeking $40 million in damages related to his wrongful imprisonment.[233]
- Les Payne and Tamara Payne, in their Pulitzer Prize winning biography The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X, claim that the assassins were members of the Nation of Islam's Newark, New Jersey mosque: William 25X (also known as William Bradley), who fired the shotgun; Leon Davis; and Thomas Hayer.[234]
- Funeral The public viewing, February 23''26 at Unity Funeral Home in Harlem, was attended by some 14,000 to 30,000 mourners.[235]For the funeral on February 27, loudspeakers were set up for the overflow crowd outside Harlem's thousand-seat Faith Temple of the Church of God in Christ,[236][237] and a local television station carried the service live.[238]
- Among the civil rights leaders attending were John Lewis, Bayard Rustin, James Forman, James Farmer, Jesse Gray, and Andrew Young.[236][239] Actor and activist Ossie Davis delivered the eulogy, describing Malcolm X as "our shining Black prince ... who didn't hesitate to die because he loved us so":
- There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times. Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and bold young captain''--'and we will smile. Many will say turn away''--'away from this man, for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the Black man''--'and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate''--'a fanatic, a racist''--'who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them: Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him, or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did you would know him. And if you knew him you would know why we must honor him.... And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves.[240]
- Malcolm X was buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.[238] Friends took up the gravediggers' shovels to complete the burial themselves.[241]
- Actor and activist Ruby Dee and Juanita Poitier (wife of Sidney Poitier) established the Committee of Concerned Mothers to raise money for a home for his family and for his children's educations.[242]
- Reactions to Malcolm X's assassination were varied. In a telegram to Betty Shabazz, Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his sadness at "the shocking and tragic assassination of your husband."[243] He said:[243]
- While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems that we face as a race.
- Elijah Muhammad told the annual Savior's Day convention on February 26 that "Malcolm X got just what he preached," but denied any involvement with the murder.[244] "We didn't want to kill Malcolm and didn't try to kill him," Muhammad said, adding "We know such ignorant, foolish teachings would bring him to his own end."[245]
- Writer James Baldwin, who had been a friend of Malcolm X's, was in London when he heard the news of the assassination. He responded with indignation towards the reporters interviewing him, shouting, "You did it! It is because of you'--the men that created this White supremacy'--that this man is dead. You are not guilty, but you did it.... Your mills, your cities, your rape of a continent started all this."[246]
- The New York Post wrote that "even his sharpest critics recognized his brilliance''--'often wild, unpredictable and eccentric, but nevertheless possessing promise that must now remain unrealized."[247] The New York Times wrote that Malcolm X was "an extraordinary and twisted man" who "turn[ed] many true gifts to evil purpose" and that his life was "strangely and pitifully wasted."[248] Time called him "an unashamed demagogue" whose "creed was violence."[249]
- Outside of the U.S., particularly in Africa, the press was sympathetic.[250] The Daily Times of Nigeria wrote that Malcolm X would "have a place in the palace of martyrs"[251] The Ghanaian Times likened him to John Brown, Medgar Evers, and Patrice Lumumba, and counted him among "a host of Africans and Americans who were martyred in freedom's cause."[252][253]
- In China, the People's Daily described Malcolm X as a martyr killed by "ruling circles and racists" in the United States; his assassination, the paper wrote, demonstrated that "in dealing with imperialist oppressors, violence must be met with violence."[253] The Guangming Daily, also published in Beijing, stated that "Malcolm was murdered because he fought for freedom and equal rights."[254] In Cuba, El Mundo described the assassination as "another racist crime to eradicate by violence the struggle against discrimination."[250]
- In a weekly column he wrote for the New York Amsterdam News, King reflected on Malcolm X and hisassassination:[255]
- Malcolm X came to the fore as a public figure partially as a result of a TV documentary entitled, The Hate that Hate Produced. That title points to the nature of Malcolm's life and death.
- Malcolm X was clearly a product of the hate and violence invested in the Negro's blighted existence in this nation....
- In his youth, there was no hope, no preaching, teaching or movements of non-violence....
- It is a testimony to Malcolm's personal depth and integrity that he could not become an underworld Czar, but turned again and again to religion for meaning and destiny. Malcolm was still turning and growing at the time of his brutal and meaningless assassination.'...
- Like the murder of Lumumba, the murder of Malcolm X deprives the world of a potentially great leader. I could not agree with either of these men, but I could see in them a capacity for leadership which I could respect, and which was just beginning to mature in judgment and statesmanship.
- Allegations of conspiracy Louis Farrakhan in 2005Within days, the question of who bore responsibility for the assassination was being publicly debated. On February 23, James Farmer, leader of the Congress of Racial Equality, announced at a news conference that local drug dealers, and not the Nation of Islam, were to blame.[256] Others accused the NYPD, the FBI, or the CIA, citing the lack of police protection, the ease with which the assassins entered the Audubon Ballroom, and the failure of the police to preserve the crime scene.[257][258] Earl Grant, one of Malcolm X's associates who was present at the assassination, later wrote:[259]
- [A]bout five minutes later, a most incredible scene took place. Into the hall sauntered about a dozen policemen. They were strolling at about the pace one would expect of them if they were patrolling a quiet park. They did not seem to be at all excited or concerned about the circumstances.I could hardly believe my eyes. Here were New York City policemen, entering a room from which at least a dozen shots had been heard, and yet not one of them had his gun out! As a matter of absolute fact, some of them even had their hands in their pockets.
- In the 1970s, the public learned about COINTELPRO and other secret FBI programs established to infiltrate and disrupt civil rights organizations during the 1950s and 1960s.[260] Louis Lomax wrote that John Ali, national secretary of the Nation of Islam, was a former FBI agent.[204] Malcolm X had confided to a reporter that Ali exacerbated tensions between him and Elijah Muhammad and that he considered Ali his "archenemy" within the Nation of Islam leadership.[204] Ali had a meeting with Talmadge Hayer, one of the men convicted of killing Malcolm X, the night before the assassination.[261]
- The Shabazz family are among those who have accused Louis Farrakhan of involvement in Malcolm X's assassination.[262][263][264][265][266] In a 1993 speech Farrakhan seemed to acknowledge the possibility that the Nation of Islam was responsible:[267][268]
- Was Malcolm your traitor or ours? And if we dealt with him like a nation deals with a traitor, what the hell business is it of yours? A nation has to be able to deal with traitors and cutthroats and turncoats.
- In a 60 Minutes interview that aired during May 2000, Farrakhan stated that some things he said may have led to the assassination of Malcolm X. "I may have been complicit in words that I spoke," he said, adding "I acknowledge that and regret that any word that I have said caused the loss of life of a human being."[269] A few days later Farrakhan denied that he "ordered the assassination" of Malcolm X, although he again acknowledged that he "created the atmosphere that ultimately led to Malcolm X's assassination."[270]
- No consensus has been reached on who was responsible for the assassination.[271] In August 2014, an online petition was started using the White House online petition mechanism to call on the government to release, without alteration, any files they still held relating to the murder of Malcolm X.[272] In January 2019, members of the families of Malcolm X, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy were among dozens of Americans who signed a public statement calling for a truth and reconciliation commission to persuade Congress or the Justice Department to review the assassinations of all four leaders during the 1960s.[273][274]
- A February 21, 2021 press conference attended by three of Malcolm X's daughters and members of deceased NYPD undercover officer Raymond Wood's family released his authorized posthumous letter that stated in part: "I was told to encourage leaders and members of the civil rights groups to commit felonious acts." The Guardian reports that "The arrests kept the two men from managing door security at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights on the day of the shooting, according to the letter."[275] On February 26, 2021, the daughter of Raymond Wood, Kelly Wood, stated that the letter presented at the February 21 press conference is fake. Kelly Wood stated that the letter was created by her cousin Reggie Wood for attention and book sales.[276]
- In early 2023, members of Malcolm X's family said they would file a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the CIA, the FBI, the NYPD and others for allegedly concealing evidence related to the assassination and for alleged involvement to it.[277] The attorney representing the family is Benjamin Crump.[278]
- Philosophy Except for his autobiography, Malcolm X left no published writings. His philosophy is known almost entirely from the many speeches and interviews he gave from 1952 until his death.[279] Many of those speeches, especially from the last year of his life, were recorded and have been published.[280]
- Beliefs of the Nation of Islam The white liberal differs from the white conservative only in one way: the liberal is more deceitful than the conservative.
- While he was a member of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X taught its beliefs, and his statements often began with the phrase "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that ..."[282] It is virtually impossible now to discern whether Malcolm X's personal beliefs at the time diverged from the teachings of the Nation of Islam.[283][N] After he left the Nation in 1964, he compared himself to a ventriloquist's dummy who could only say what Elijah Muhammad told him to say.[282][O]
- Malcolm X taught that Black people were the original people of the world,[103] and that Whites were a race of devils who were created by an evil scientist named Yakub.[2] The Nation of Islam believed that Black people were superior to White people and that the demise of the White race was imminent.[3] When questioned concerning his statements that White people were devils, Malcolm X said: "history proves the White man is a devil."[286] "Anybody who rapes, and plunders, and enslaves, and steals, and drops hell bombs on people ... anybody who does these things is nothing but a devil," he said.[287]
- Malcolm X said that Islam was the "true religion of Black mankind" and that Christianity was "the White man's religion" that had been imposed upon African Americans by their slave-masters. He said that the Nation of Islam followed Islam as it was practiced around the world, but the Nation's teachings varied from those of other Muslims because they were adapted to the "uniquely pitiful" condition of Black people in the United States.[289] He taught that Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Nation, was God incarnate,[290] and that Elijah Muhammad was his Messenger, or Prophet.[P]
- While the civil rights movement fought against racial segregation, Malcolm X advocated the complete separation of Blacks from Whites. The Nation of Islam proposed the establishment of a separate country for African Americans in the southern[114] or southwestern United States[293] as an interim measure until African Americans could return to Africa.[115] Malcolm X suggested the United States government owed reparations to Black people for the unpaid labor of their ancestors.[294] He also rejected the civil rights movement's strategy of nonviolence, advocating instead that Black people should defend themselves.[116]
- Independent views The common goal of 22 million Afro-Americans is respect as human beings. ... We can never get civil rights in America until our human rights are first restored. We will never be recognized as citizens there until we are first recognized as humans. ...
- Just as the violation of human rights of our brothers and sisters in South Africa and Angola is an international issue and has brought the racists of South Africa and Portugal under attack from all other independent governments at the United Nations, once the miserable plight of the 22 million Afro-Americans is also lifted to the level of human rights our struggle then becomes an international issue and the direct concern of all other civilized governments. We can then take the racist American Government before the World Court and have the racists in it exposed and condemned as the criminals that they are.
- After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X announced his willingness to work with leaders of the civil rights movement,[148] though he advocated some changes to their policies. He felt that calling the movement a struggle for civil rights would keep the issue within the United States while changing the focus to human rights would make it an international concern. The movement could then bring its complaints before the United Nations, where Malcolm X said the emerging nations of the world would add their support.[296]
- Malcolm X argued that if the U.S. government was unwilling or unable to protect Black people, Black people should protect themselves. He said that he and the other members of the OAAU were determined to defend themselves from aggressors, and to secure freedom, justice and equality "by whatever means necessary".[297]
- Malcolm X at a 1964 press conferenceMalcolm X stressed the global perspective he gained from his international travels. He emphasized the "direct connection" between the domestic struggle of African Americans for equal rights with the independence struggles of Third World nations.[298] He said that African Americans were wrong when they thought of themselves as a minority; globally, Black people were the majority.[299]
- In his speeches at the Militant Labor Forum, which was sponsored by the Socialist Workers Party, Malcolm X criticized capitalism.[193] After one such speech, when he was asked what political and economic system he wanted, he said he did not know, but that it was no coincidence the newly independent countries in the Third World were turning toward socialism.[300] When a reporter asked him what he thought about socialism, Malcolm X asked whether it was good for Black people. When the reporter told him it seemed to be, Malcolm X told him: "Then I'm for it."[300][301]
- Although he no longer called for the separation of Black people from White people, Malcolm X continued to advocate Black nationalism, which he defined as self-determination for the African-American community.[302] In the last months of his life, however, Malcolm X began to reconsider his support for Black nationalism after meeting northern African revolutionaries who, to all appearances, were White.[303]
- After his Hajj, Malcolm X articulated a view of White people and racism that represented a deep change from the philosophy he had supported as a minister of the Nation of Islam. In a famous letter from Mecca, he wrote that his experiences with White people during his pilgrimage convinced him to "rearrange" his thinking about race and "toss aside some of [his] previous conclusions".[304] In a conversation with Gordon Parks, two days before his assassination, Malcolm said:
- [L]istening to leaders like Nasser, Ben Bella, and Nkrumah awakened me to the dangers of racism. I realized racism isn't just a Black and White problem. It's brought bloodbaths to about every nation on earth at one time or another.
- Brother, remember the time that White college girls came into the restaurant''--'the one who wanted to help the [Black] Muslims and the Whites get together''--'and I told her there wasn't a ghost of a chance and she went away crying? Well, I've lived to regret that incident. In many parts of the African continent, I saw White students helping Black people. Something like this kills a lot of argument. I did many things as a [Black] Muslim that I'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then''--'like all [Black] Muslims''--'I was hypnotized, pointed in a certain direction and told to march. Well, I guess a man's entitled to make a fool of himself if he's ready to pay the cost. It cost me 12 years.
- That was a bad scene, brother. The sickness and madness of those days''--'I'm glad to be free of them.[305]
- Purported bisexuality In recent years, some researchers have alleged that Malcolm X was bisexual. These claims are founded upon the work of late Columbia University historian Manning Marable, and his controversial 2011 book Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. In the book, Marable asserted that "Malcolm X had exaggerated his early criminal career and had engaged in an early homosexual relationship with a White businessman."[306]
- Scholar Christopher Phelps agreed with Marable in the Journal of American Studies: "Malcolm Little did take part in sex acts with male counterparts. If set in the context of the 1930s and 1940s, these acts position him not as a 'homosexual lover,' as has been asserted, but in the pattern of 'straight trade''--heterosexual men open to sex with homosexuals'--an understanding that in turn affords insights into the Black revolutionary's mature masculinity."[307]
- Malcolm X's family has rejected these allegations about his personal life. His daughter Ilyasah Shabazz said she would have known about these encounters before abruptly walking out on an interview on NPR. Shabazz said: "I think the things that I take issue with are the fact that he said my father engaged in a bisexual relationship, a homo'--you know, he had a gay lover who was an elder White businessman, I think, in his late 50s when my father was in his teens. And, you know, my father was an open book. And we actually have four of the missing chapters from the autobiography. And, you know, he is very clear in his activities, which nothing included being gay. And certainly he didn't have anything against gay'--he was for human rights, human justice, you know. So if he had a gay encounter, he likely would've talked about it. And what he did talk about was someone else's encounter."[308]
- Legacy Malcolm X has been described as one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history.[309][310][311] He is credited with raising the self-esteem of Black Americans and reconnecting them with their African heritage.[312] He is largely responsible for the spread of Islam in the Black community in the United States.[313][314][315] Many African Americans, especially those who lived in cities in the Northern and Western United States, felt that Malcolm X articulated their complaints concerning inequality better than did the mainstream civil rights movement.[118][119] One biographer says that by giving expression to their frustration, Malcolm X "made clear the price that White America would have to pay if it did not accede to Black America's legitimate demands."[316]
- In the late 1960s, increasingly radical Black activists based their movements largely on Malcolm X and his teachings. The Black Power movement,[73][317] the Black Arts Movement,[73][318] and the widespread adoption of the slogan "Black is beautiful"[319] can all trace their roots to Malcolm X. In 1963, Malcolm X began a collaboration with Alex Haley on his life story, The Autobiography of Malcolm X.[147] He told Haley, "If I'm alive when this book comes out, it will be a miracle."[320] Haley completed and published it some months after the assassination.[321]
- During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was a resurgence of interest in his life among young people. Hip-hop groups such as Public Enemy adopted Malcolm X as an icon,[322] and his image was displayed in hundreds of thousands of homes, offices, and schools,[323] as well as on T-shirts and jackets.[324] In 1986 Ella Little-Collins merged the Organization of Afro-American Unity with the African American Defense League.[325]In 1992 the film Malcolm X was released,[326] an adaptation of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. In 1998, Time named The Autobiography of Malcolm X one of the ten most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.[327]
- Malcolm X was an inspiration for several fictional characters. The Marvel Comics writer Chris Claremont confirmed that Malcolm X was an inspiration for the X-Men character Magneto, while Martin Luther King was an inspiration for Professor X.[328][329][330] Malcolm X also inspired the character Erik Killmonger in the film Black Panther.[331][332]
- Memorials and tributes A historical marker for Malcolm X's first home in Omaha, Nebraska. The house was unknowingly torn down in 1965.The house that once stood at 3448 Pinkney Street in North Omaha, Nebraska, was the first home of Malcolm Little with his birth family. The house was torn down in 1965 by new owners who did not know of its connection with Malcolm X.[333] The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[334][335][336] A Nebraska Historical Marker now marks the site. The Malcolm X'--Ella Little-Collins House in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts, where Malcolm X lived with his half-sister Ella Little-Collins and began getting involved in the Nation of Islam,[337] was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.[338] Several archaeological surveys have been performed on the house's grounds, and there are ongoing efforts to preserve the site.[339]
- The Malcolm X'--Ella Little-Collins House in Boston, Massachusetts. Malcolm X lived here with his half-sister Ella Little-Collins from 1941 to 1944.In Lansing, Michigan, a Michigan Historical Marker was erected in 1975 on Malcolm Little's childhood home.[340] The city is also home to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Academy, a public charter school with an Afrocentric focus. The school is located in the building where Little attended elementary school.[341]
- In cities across the United States, Malcolm X's birthday (May 19) is commemorated as Malcolm X Day. The first known celebration of Malcolm X Day took place in Washington, D.C., in 1971.[342] The city of Berkeley, California, has recognized Malcolm X's birthday as a citywide holiday since 1979.[343]
- Malcolm X Boulevard in New York CityMany cities have renamed streets after Malcolm X. In 1987, New York mayor Ed Koch proclaimed Lenox Avenue in Harlem to be Malcolm X Boulevard.[344] The name of Reid Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, was changed to Malcolm X Boulevard in 1985.[345][346] Brooklyn also has El Shabazz Playground that was named after him.[347] New Dudley Street, in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, was renamed Malcolm X Boulevard in the 1990s.[348] In 1997, Oakland Avenue in Dallas, Texas, was renamed Malcolm X Boulevard.[349] Main Street in Lansing, Michigan, was renamed Malcolm X Street in 2010.[350] In 2016, Ankara, Turkey, renamed the street on which the U.S. is building its new embassy after Malcolm X.[351][352][Q]
- Dozens of schools have been named after Malcolm X, including Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey,[354] Malcolm Shabazz City High School in Madison, Wisconsin,[355] Malcolm X College in Chicago, Illinois,[356] and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Academy in Lansing, Michigan.[357] Malcolm X Liberation University, based on the Pan-Africanist ideas of Malcolm X, was founded in 1969 in North Carolina.[358]
- In 1996, the first library named after Malcolm X was opened, the Malcolm X Branch Library and Performing Arts Center of the San Diego Public Library system.[359]
- The U.S. Postal Service issued a Malcolm X postage stamp in 1999.[360] In 2005, Columbia University announced the opening of the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. The memorial is located in the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was assassinated.[361] Collections of Malcolm X's papers are held by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Robert W. Woodruff Library.[362][363][364]
- After a community-led initiative, Conrad Grebel University College in Canada (affiliated with the University of Waterloo) launched the Malcolm X Peace and Conflict Studies Scholarship in 2021 to support Black and Indigenous students enrolled in their Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program.[365][366]
- Portrayal in film, in television, and on stage Portrait of Malcolm X by Robert Templeton, from the collection Lest We Forget: Images of the Black Civil Rights MovementArnold Perl and Marvin Worth attempted to create a drama film based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X, but when people close to the subject declined to talk to them they decided to make a documentary instead. The result was the 1972 documentary film Malcolm X.
- Denzel Washington played the title role in the 1992 motion picture Malcolm X.[367]Critic Roger Ebert and film director Martin Scorsese included the film among their lists as one of the ten best films of the 1990s.[368] Washington had previously played the part of Malcolm X in the 1981 Off-Broadway play When the Chickens Came Home to Roost.[369]
- Other portrayals include:
- James Earl Jones, in the 1977 film The Greatest.[370]Dick Anthony Williams, in the 1978 television miniseries King[371] and the 1989 American Playhouse production of the Jeff Stetson play The Meeting.[372]Al Freeman Jr., in the 1979 television miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.[373]Morgan Freeman, in the 1981 television movie Death of a Prophet.[374]Ben Holt, in the 1986 opera X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X at the New York City Opera.[375]Gary Dourdan, in the 2000 television movie King of the World.[376]Joe Morton, in the 2000 television movie Ali: An American Hero.[377]Mario Van Peebles, in the 2001 film Ali.[378]Lindsay Owen Pierre, in the 2013 television movie Betty & Coretta.[379]Fran§ois Battiste, in the stage play One Night in Miami, first performed in 2013.[380]Nig(C)l Thatch, in the 2014 film Selma[381] and the 2019 television series Godfather of Harlem.[382]Kingsley Ben-Adir in the 2020 film One Night in Miami, based on the play of the same name.[383]Jason Alan Carnell in the 2023 season of the television series Godfather of Harlem.[384]Published works The Autobiography of Malcolm X, first editionThe Autobiography of Malcolm X. With the assistance of Alex Haley. New York: Grove Press, 1965. OCLC 219493184.Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements. George Breitman, ed. New York: Merit Publishers, 1965. OCLC 256095445.Malcolm X Talks to Young People. New York: Young Socialist Alliance, 1965. OCLC 81990227.Two Speeches by Malcolm X. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1965. OCLC 19464959.Malcolm X on Afro-American History. New York: Merit Publishers, 1967. OCLC 78155009.The Speeches of Malcolm X at Harvard. Archie Epps, ed. New York: Morrow, 1968. OCLC 185901618.By Any Means Necessary: Speeches, Interviews, and a Letter by Malcolm X. George Breitman, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970. OCLC 249307.The End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches by Malcolm X. Benjamin Karim, ed. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971. OCLC 149849.The Last Speeches. Bruce Perry, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-87348-543-2.Malcolm X Talks to Young People: Speeches in the United States, Britain, and Africa. Steve Clark, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0-87348-962-1.February 1965: The Final Speeches. Steve Clark, ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0-87348-749-8.The Diary of Malcolm X: 1964. Herb Boyd and Ilyasah Shabazz, eds. Chicago: Third World Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0-88378-351-1.Explanatory notes ^ 1634''1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF) . American Antiquarian Society. 1700''1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF) . American Antiquarian Society. 1800''present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800''" . Retrieved May 28, 2023 . ^ The accuracy of these accounts has been questioned by some people who met Malcolm X later in life or never knew him, including Ta-Nehisi Coates,[30] Maulana Karenga,[31] Ilyasah Shabazz,[32] and Raymond Winbush.[33] For further information, see Phelps,[34] Polk,[35] and Street et al.[36] ^ Nation of Islam Temples were numbered according to the order in which they were established.[66] ^ Attallah Shabazz has said she was not named after Attila, rather her name is Arabic for "the gift of God".[80][81] ^ "People have to understand the [Autobiography of Malcolm X] was written at a time when indeed African Americans were likening themselves to warriors to underscore our revolutionary fervor. And Attallah was close to Attila the Hun, the warrior. But I'm named Attallah, which in Arabic means 'Gift of God.' I've never been Attila."[82] ^ Some sources, including The Autobiography of Malcolm X, give the name Johnson Hinton, but Benjamin Karim (one of Malcolm X's top aides) and former Newsweek editor and Malcolm X biographer Peter Goldman both give the name Hinton Johnson.[89][90] ^ King expressed mixed feelings toward Malcolm X. "He is very articulate ... but I totally disagree with many of his political and philosophical views ... I don't want to seem to sound self-righteous ... or that I think I have the only truth, the only way. Maybe he does have some of the answer ... I have often wished that he would talk less of violence, because violence is not going to solve our problem. And in his litany of articulating the despair of the Negro without offering any positive, creative alternative, I feel that Malcolm has done himself and our people a great disservice ... [U]rging Negroes to arm themselves and prepare to engage in violence, as he has done, can reap nothing but grief."[110] However, the veracity of this quote as recored by Alex Haley has been called into question by Jonathan Eigs, given that it does not appear on the original interview transcript.[111] ^ "Estimates of the Black Muslim membership vary from a quarter of a million down to fifty thousand. Available evidence indicates that about one hundred thousand Negroes have joined the movement at one time or another, but few objective observers believe that the Black Muslims can muster more than twenty or twenty-five thousand active temple people."[130] ^ "The common response of Malcolm X to questions about numbers''--''Those who know aren't saying, and those who say don't know'''--'was typical of the attitude of the leadership."[132] ^ "Turning my back on Malcolm was one of the mistakes that I regret most in my life. I wish I'd been able to tell Malcolm that I was sorry, that he was right about so many things. But he was killed before I got the chance ... I might never have become a Muslim if it hadn't been for Malcolm. If I could go back and do it over again, I would never have turned my back on him."[136] ^ "There was no time for substantive discussions between the two. They were photographed greeting each other warmly, smiling and shaking hands."[154] ^ "Camera shutters clicked. The next day, the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York World-Telegram and Sun, and other dailies carried a picture of Malcolm and Martin shaking hands."[155] ^ In his Epilogue to The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Haley wrote that Malcolm X said, "Hold it! Hold it! Don't get excited. Let's cool it, brothers" (p. 499). According to a transcript of an audio recording, Malcolm's only words were, "Hold it!", repeated ten times (DeCaro, p. 274). ^ "'I'll be honest with you,' Malcolm X said to me. 'Everybody is talking about differences between the Messenger and me. It is absolutely impossible for us to differ. ' "[284] ^ On a radio program in December 1964, Malcolm X said "all of my former statements were prefaced by 'the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches thus and so.' They weren't my statements, they were his statements, and I was repeating them."[285] ^ Malcolm X told Lewis Lomax that "The Messenger is the Prophet of Allah."[291] On another occasion, he said, "We never refer to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as a prophet."[292] ^ English-language sources disagreed whether the street was being renamed Malcolm X Road[351] or Malcolm X Avenue,[352] perhaps because of translation issues. The state media agency's English-language announcement said merely that "the street ... will bear the name of Malcolm X".[353] References Citations ^ Harrison, Isheka N. (July 2010). "Malcolm X's Grandson Working on Memoirs in Miami". South Florida Times . 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"Kennedy, King, Malcolm X relatives and scholars seek new assassination probes". The Washington Post . Retrieved January 26, 2019 . ^ Simkin, John (January 2019). "Kennedy and King Family Members and Advisors Call for Congress to Reopen Assassination Probes". Spartacus Educational . Retrieved January 26, 2019 . ^ Laughland, Oliver (February 21, 2021). "Malcolm X family says letter shows NYPD and FBI conspired in his murder". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021 . Retrieved February 21, 2021 . The arrests kept the two men from managing door security at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights on the day of the shooting, according to the letter. ^ Meminger, Dean (February 21, 2021). "Daughter of Former NYPD Officer Says Malcolm X Assassination Letter is Fake". NY1 . Retrieved February 26, 2021 . ^ "Malcolm X's family plans $100M wrongful death lawsuit against CIA, FBI - National | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca . 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Reprinted as "Racism: The Canver That Is Destroying America" in Clarke 1990, pp. 302''306. ^ Malcolm X 1990, pp. 33''35. ^ Malcolm X & Breitman 1989, pp. 43, 47. ^ Malcolm X 1990, p. 90. ^ Malcolm X 1990, p. 117. ^ a b Cone 1991, p. 284. ^ Perry 1991, p. 277. ^ Malcolm X 1990, pp. 38''41. ^ Malcolm X 1990, pp. 212''213. ^ Malcolm X 1992, p. 391. ^ Parks, Gordon, "Malcolm X: The Minutes of Our Last Meeting", Clarke 1990, p. 122. ^ "Manning Marable's 'Reinvention' of Malcolm X". All Things Considered. NPR. April 5, 2011 . Retrieved November 18, 2021 . ^ Phelps, Christopher (August 2017). "The Sexuality of Malcolm X" . Journal of American Studies. Cambridge University. 51 (3): 659''690. doi:10.1017/S0021875816001341. S2CID 147843832. ^ "Malcolm X's Daughter Disputes Claims in New Bio on Father". Tell Me More. NPR. April 20, 2011 . Retrieved November 18, 2021 . ^ Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. 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A Nation Within a Nation: Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) & Black Power Politics. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-8078-4761-9. ^ Cone 1991, p. 291. ^ Haley, "Epilogue", Autobiography, p. 471. ^ Perry 1991, p. 375. ^ Sales 1994, p. 5. ^ Marable 2009, pp. 301''302. ^ Sales 1994, p. 3. ^ Millere, Mauricelm-Lei (2021). Malcolm X and The Organization of Afro-American Unity: African American Defense League (A2DL '' OAAU) . online: Kindle Books. p. 5. ASIN B097YR2SBH. ^ Sales 1994, p. 4. ^ Gray, Paul (June 8, 1998). "Required Reading: Nonfiction Books" . Time . Retrieved March 28, 2016 . ^ Young, Paul (March 30, 2014). "Real Life Inspirations Behind Some of the Best Comic Book Villains". Screen Rant. ^ Hanks, Henry (June 3, 2011). "The secret to 'X-Men's' success". CNN. ^ Darowski, Joseph J. The Ages of the X-Men:Essays on the Children of the Atom in Changing Times. p. 71. ^ Eells, Josh (February 18, 2018). "The 'Black Panther' Revolution". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018 . Retrieved March 2, 2018 . ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray; N'Duka, Amanda (January 9, 2019). "New Hollywood Podcast: Michael B. Jordan Talks How 'Black Panther' Shifted Hollywood's Idea Of Representation". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 2, 2019 . ^ McMorris, Robert (March 11, 1989). "Empty Lot Holds Dreams for Rowena Moore". Omaha World-Herald . Retrieved October 2, 2014 . ^ "National Register of Historic Places '' Nebraska, Douglas County". National Register of Historic Places . Retrieved October 2, 2014 . ^ "NRHP: Malcolm X House Site". Nebraska State Historical Society . Retrieved June 20, 2018 . ^ "Nebraska Historical Marker: Malcolm X". Nebraska State Historical Society. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019 . Retrieved June 20, 2018 . ^ ''Malcolm X House, 1875, Roxbury, MA.'' Historic Boston Incorporated. Accessed April 23, 2023. ^ Paybarah, Ali. ''Malcolm X's Early Home in Boston Gets U.S. Historic Designation'' The New York Times. Published March 4, 2021. Accessed April 23, 2023. ^ ''MALCOLM X HOUSE.'' City of Boston. Accessed April 23, 2023. ^ "Malcolm X Homesite". Michigan Historical Markers. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020 . Retrieved June 20, 2018 . ^ Yancey, Patty (2000). "We Hold on to Our Kids, We Hold on Tight: Tandem Charters in Michigan". In Fuller, Bruce (ed.). Inside Charter Schools: The Paradox of Radical Decentralization. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-674-00325-5. ^ Gay, Kathlyn (2007). African-American Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations. Detroit: Omnigraphics. p. 284. ISBN 978-0-7808-0779-2. ^ Thaai, Walker (May 20, 2005). "Berkeley Honors Controversial Civil Rights Figure". San Jose Mercury News. ^ Rickford 2003, p. 443. ^ Rickford 2003, p. 419. ^ Barron, James (January 18, 2009). " 'Not Much of a Block,' but It's Named for a King" . The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009 . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ "El Shabazz Playground : NYC Parks". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation . Retrieved February 21, 2020 . ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (September 19, 2019). "Boston residents will get to vote on changing the name of Dudley Square. Here's why". Boston.com . Retrieved October 4, 2019 . ^ Scoville, Jen (December 1997). "The Big Beat". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on December 29, 2004 . Retrieved October 2, 2014 . ^ Vela, Susan (September 14, 2010). "Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez Get Nods for Lansing Street, Plaza Names". Lansing State Journal. ^ a b Harvey, Benjamin (October 14, 2018). "Turkey Names Street Leading to U.S. Embassy 'Malcolm X Road' ". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg News . Retrieved October 23, 2018 . ^ a b Kent, Lauren (October 15, 2018). "Turkey renames street of new US Embassy to Malcolm X Avenue". CNN . Retrieved October 23, 2018 . ^ Calik, Burcu (October 13, 2018). "Turkey: New US Embassy street to be named 'Malcolm X' ". Anadolu Agency . Retrieved October 23, 2018 . ^ Lee, Felicia R. (May 15, 1993). "Newark Students, Both Good and Bad, Make Do" . The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Hunt, Lori Bona (February 26, 1991). "Malcolm X's Widow Sees Signs of Hope". Milwaukee Journal. ^ Witkowsky, Kathy (Spring 2000). "A Day in the Life". National CrossTalk . Retrieved October 2, 2014 . ^ "Home". Shabazz Public School Academy . Retrieved February 27, 2023 . ^ Belvin, Brent (October 6, 2004). Master's Thesis: Malcolm X Liberation University: An Experiment in Independent Black Education (Thesis). North Carolina State University . Retrieved October 2, 2014 . ^ Flynn, Pat (January 7, 1996). "Big Crowd Welcomes New Library Warmly". The San Diego Union-Tribune. ^ Marable 2009, pp. 303''304. ^ "Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center Launches". Columbia University. May 17, 2005 . Retrieved October 2, 2014 . ^ Marable 2011, p. 564. ^ Hendrick, Bill (September 2, 1999). "A Revelation in Letters: Educated, Tender Malcolm X". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ProQuest 413815431. ^ Eakin, Emily (January 8, 2003). "Malcolm X Trove to Schomburg Center" . The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013 . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ "New MPACS Scholarship Honours Malcolm X's Legacy". University of Waterloo. June 28, 2021 . Retrieved February 24, 2022 . ^ "Peace Incubator participant helps establish new Malcolm X PACS Scholarship". University of Waterloo. June 28, 2021 . Retrieved February 24, 2022 . ^ Canby, Vincent (November 18, 1992). " 'Malcolm X,' as Complex as Its Subject" . The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Anderson, Jeffrey M. "The Best Films of the 1990s". Combustible Celluloid. Archived from the original on January 24, 2001 . Retrieved November 11, 2017 . ^ Rich, Frank (July 15, 1981). "The Stage: Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad". The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Canby, Vincent (May 21, 1977). "Ali's Latest Victory Is 'The Greatest' " . The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ O'Connor, John J. (February 9, 1978). "TV: 6'Hour 'King,' Drama of Civil Rights Drive" . The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Goodman, Walter (May 3, 1989). "An Imaginary Meeting of Dr. King and Malcolm X". The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Maslin, Janet (February 25, 1979). "TV: End of 'Roots II' Delineates 60's" . The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ "The Deification of Morgan Freeman: An Incomplete Filmography". The New York Times. August 28, 2011 . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Henahan, Donal (September 29, 1986). "Opera: Anthony Davis's 'X (The Life and Times of Malcolm X)' " . The New York Times . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Romano, Frederick V. (2004). The Boxing Filmography: American Features, 1920''2003. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 138''139. ISBN 978-0-7864-1793-3. ^ Gallo, Phil (August 30, 2000). "Review: 'Ali: An American Hero' ". Variety . Retrieved June 9, 2016 . ^ Mitchell, Elvis (December 25, 2001). "Master of the Boast, King of the Ring, Vision of the Future" . The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 24, 2009 . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Lowry, Brian (January 30, 2013). "Review: 'Betty & Coretta' ". Variety . Retrieved June 9, 2016 . ^ Verini, Bob (August 5, 2013). "L.A. Legit Review: 'One Night in Miami'...' ". Archived from the original on June 28, 2017 . Retrieved March 18, 2012 . ^ Scott, A. O. (December 24, 2014). "A 50-Mile March, Nearly 50 Years Later" . The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014 . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . ^ Petski, Denise (September 21, 2018). " 'Godfather Of Harlem': Nig(C)l Thatch To Star As Malcolm X In Epix Drama Series". Deadline . Retrieved December 18, 2019 . ^ Fleming., Mike Jr. (January 7, 2020). "Regina King Directing Debut 'One Night In Miami' Underway With Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge & Leslie Odom Jr As '60s Icons". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 7, 2020 . ^ Simons, Roxy (January 15, 2023). "Why does Nig(C)l Thatch not play Malcolm X in "Godfather of Harlem" Season 3?". Newsweek . Retrieved April 30, 2023 . Works cited Ali, Muhammad (2004). The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey. with Hana Yasmeen Ali. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-5569-1. Assensoh, A. B.; Alex-Assensoh, Yvette M. (2016). Malcolm X and Africa. Amherst, New York: Cambria Press. ISBN 978-1-60497-924-4. Ball, Jared A.; Burroughs, Todd Steven, eds. (2012). A Lie of Reinvention: Correcting Manning Marable's Malcolm X. Baltimore: Black Classic Press. ISBN 978-1-57478-049-9. Barboza, Steven (1994). American Jihad: Islam After Malcolm X. New York: Image Books. ISBN 978-0-385-47694-2. Boyd, Herb; Daniels, Ron; Karenga, Maulana; Madhubuti, Haki R., eds. (2012). By Any Means Necessary: Malcolm X: Real, Not Reinvented . Chicago: Third World Press. ISBN 978-0-88378-336-8. Branch, Taylor (1998). Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963''65. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-80819-2. Carson, Clayborne (1991). Malcolm X: The FBI File. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 978-0-88184-758-1. Clarke, John Henrik, ed. (1990) [1969]. Malcolm X: The Man and His Times . Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. ISBN 978-0-86543-201-7. Clegg III, Claude Andrew (1997). An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad . New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-18153-6. Coates, Ta-Nehisi (April 11, 2011). "The Sexuality of Malcolm X". The Atlantic . Retrieved September 7, 2017 . Cone, James H. (1991). Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. ISBN 978-0-88344-721-5. DeCaro, Louis A. (1996). On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-1864-3. Evanzz, Karl (1992). The Judas Factor: The Plot to Kill Malcolm X. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-049-4. Friedly, Michael (1992). Malcolm X: The Assassination. New York: One World. ISBN 978-0-345-40010-9. Karim, Benjamin (1992). Remembering Malcolm . with Peter Skutches and David Gallen. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 978-0-88184-881-6. Kihss, Peter (February 22, 1965). "Malcolm X Shot to Death at Rally Here" . The New York Times. p. 1 . Retrieved June 19, 2018 . Kondo, Zak A. (1993). Conspiracys: Unravelling the Assassination of Malcolm X. Washington, D.C.: Nubia Press. OCLC 28837295. Lincoln, C. Eric (1961). The Black Muslims in America. Boston: Beacon Press. OCLC 422580. Lomax, Louis E. (1963). When the Word Is Given: A Report on Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and the Black Muslim World. Cleveland: World Publishing. OCLC 1071204. Lomax, Louis E. (1987) [1968]. To Kill a Black Man: The Shocking Parallel in the Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Los Angeles: Holloway House. ISBN 978-0-87067-731-1. Lord, Lewis; Thornton, Jeannye; Bodipo-Memba, Alejandro (November 15, 1992). "The Legacy of Malcolm X". U.S. News & World Report. p. 5. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012 . Retrieved March 20, 2018 . Malcolm X; Haley, Alex (1992) [1965]. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: One World. ISBN 978-0-345-37671-8. Citations in this article refer to this edition, of the many that have been published.Malcolm X (1989) [1970]. Breitman, George (ed.). By Any Means Necessary: Speeches, Interviews, and a Letter by Malcolm X. New York: Pathfinder Press. ISBN 978-0-87348-150-2. Malcolm X (1989) [1971]. Karim, Benjamin (ed.). The End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches by Malcolm X. New York: Arcade. ISBN 978-1-55970-006-1. Malcolm X (1989). Perry, Bruce (ed.). The Last Speeches. New York: Pathfinder Press. ISBN 978-0-87348-543-2. Malcolm X (1990) [1965]. Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements. George Breitman, ed. New York: Grove Weidenfeld. ISBN 978-0-8021-3213-0. Malcolm X (1991) [1968]. The Speeches of Malcolm X at Harvard. Archie Epps, ed. New York: Paragon House. ISBN 978-1-55778-479-7. Marable, Manning (2011). Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-02220-5. Marable, Manning (2009). "Rediscovering Malcolm's Life: A Historian's Adventures in Living History". In Marable, Manning; Aidi, Hishaam D (eds.). Black Routes to Islam. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-8400-5. Marable, Manning; Felber, Garrett (January 16, 2013). The Portable Malcolm X Reader: A Man Who Stands for Nothing Will Fall for Anything. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-60294-2. Marsh, Clifton E. (2000) [1996]. The Lost-Found Nation of Islam in America. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-57886-008-1. Moore, R. Laurence (1987). Religious Outsiders and the Making of Americans. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-536399-9. Natambu, Kofi (2002). The Life and Work of Malcolm X . Indianapolis: Alpha Books. ISBN 978-0-02-864218-5. Norwood, Stephen H. (2013). Antisemitism and the American Far Left. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-03601-7. Norwood, Stephen H.; Pollack, Eunice G. (2020). "White Devils, Satanic Jews: The Nation of Islam From Fard to Farrakhan". Modern Judaism - A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Experience. 40 (2): 137''168. doi:10.1093/mj/kjaa006 '' via Oxford University Press. Perry, Bruce (1991). Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America. Barrytown, New York: Station Hill. ISBN 978-0-88268-103-0. Pollack, Eunice G. (2013). Racializing Antisemitism: Black Militants, Jews, and Israel 1950-present (PDF) . Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Pollack, Eunice G. (2022). "Black Antisemitism in America: Past and Present" (PDF) . Institute for National Security Studies . Retrieved January 21, 2023 . Rickford, Russell J. (2003). Betty Shabazz: A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks. ISBN 978-1-4022-0171-4. Sales, William W. (1994). From Civil Rights to Black Liberation: Malcolm X and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-480-3. Terrill, Robert (2004). Malcolm X: Inventing Radical Judgment. Lansing: Michigan State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87013-730-3. Tuck, Stephen (2014). The Night Malcolm X Spoke at the Oxford Union: A Transatlantic Story of Antiracist Protest. Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520279339. Further reading Abernethy, Graeme (2013). The Iconography of Malcolm X . Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1920-7. Baldwin, James (2007) [1973]. One Day, When I Was Lost: A Scenario Based on Alex Haley's "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". New York: Vintage. ISBN 978-0-307-27594-3. Bailey, A. Peter (2013). Witnessing Brother Malcolm X: The Master Teacher. Plantation, Florida: Llumina Press. ISBN 978-1-62550-039-7. Breitman, George (1967). The Last Year of Malcolm X: The Evolution of a Revolutionary . New York: Pathfinder Press. ISBN 978-0-87348-004-8. Breitman, George; Porter, Herman; Smith, Baxter (1991) [1976]. The Assassination of Malcolm X. New York: Pathfinder Press. ISBN 978-0-87348-632-3. Cleage, Albert B.; Breitman, George (1968). Myths About Malcolm X: Two Views. New York: Merit. OCLC 615819. Collins, Rodnell P.; with A. Peter Bailey (1998). Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X. Secaucus, New Jersey: Birch Lane Press. ISBN 978-1-55972-491-3. Conyers, James L. Jr.; Smallwood, Andrew P., eds. (2008). Malcolm X: A Historical Reader. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-89089-228-2. DeCaro, Louis A. (1998). Malcolm and the Cross: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Christianity. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-1932-9. Dyson, Michael Eric (1995). Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X . Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-509235-6. Gallen, David, ed. (1992). Malcolm X: As They Knew Him. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 978-0-88184-850-2. Goldman, Peter (1979). The Death and Life of Malcolm X (2nd ed.). Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-00774-3. Jamal, Hakim A. (1972). From The Dead Level: Malcolm X and Me. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-46234-9. Jenkins, Robert L. (2002). The Malcolm X Encyclopedia. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-29264-4. Kly, Yussuf Naim, ed. (1986). The Black Book: The True Political Philosophy of Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz). Atlanta: Clarity Press. ISBN 978-0-932863-03-4. Leader, Edward Roland (1993). Understanding Malcolm X: The Controversial Changes in His Political Philosophy. New York: Vantage Press. ISBN 978-0-533-09520-9. Lee, Spike; with Ralph Wiley (1992). By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of the Making of Malcolm X. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-56282-913-1. Marable, Manning; Felber, Garrett, eds. (2013). The Portable Malcolm X Reader. New York: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-310694-4. Payne, Les; Payne, Tamara (2020). The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X. New York: Liveright. ISBN 978-1-63149-166-5. Roberts, Randy; Smith, Johnny (2016). Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X . New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-07970-4. Shabazz, Ilyasah; with Kim McLarin (2002). Growing Up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X. New York: One World. ISBN 978-0-345-44495-0. Sherwood, Marika (2011). Malcolm X Visits Abroad. Hollywood, California: Tsehai Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59907-050-6. Strickland, William; et al. (1994). Malcolm X: Make It Plain. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-017713-8. Terrill, Robert, ed. (2010). The Cambridge Companion to Malcolm X. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-73157-7. T'Shaka, Oba (1983). The Political Legacy of Malcolm X. Richmond, California: Pan Afrikan Publications. ISBN 978-1-878557-01-8. Waldschmidt-Nelson, Britta (2012). Dreams and Nightmares: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Struggle for Black Equality. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-3723-3. Wolfenstein, Eugene Victor (1989). The Victims of Democracy: Malcolm X and the Black Revolution. London: Free Association Books. ISBN 978-1-85343-111-1. Wood, Joe, ed. (1992). Malcolm X: In Our Image. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-06609-3. External links Official website of the Estate of Malcolm XThe Malcolm X Project at Columbia UniversityMalcolm, website on the life and legacy of Malcolm XMalcolm Little (Malcolm X) file at Federal Bureau of InvestigationMalcolm X at IMDb
- James Brown - Wikipedia
- American musician (1933''2006)
- James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 '' December 25, 2006) was an American musician. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by various honorific nicknames, some of which include "the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business", "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1".[1] In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres.[2] Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986.
- Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia.[3] He rose to prominence in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames, a rhythm and blues vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd.[4][5] With the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".
- During the late 1960s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making, emphasizing stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced the development of funk music.[6] By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud '' I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.
- Brown recorded and released 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts.[7] He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that did not reach No. 1.[9][10] Brown was posthumously inducted into the first class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. He also received honors from several other institutions, including inductions into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame[11] and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[12] In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown is ranked No. 1 in the Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on Rolling Stone 's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[14]
- Early life [ edit ] Brown was born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, to 16-year-old Susie (n(C)e Behling; 1917''2004) and 21-year-old Joseph Gardner Brown (1912''1993) in a small wooden shack.[15] Brown's name was supposed to have been Joseph James Brown, but his first and middle names were mistakenly reversed on his birth certificate.[16] In his autobiography, Brown stated that he had Chinese and Native American ancestry and that his father was of mixed African-American and Native American descent, while his mother was of mixed African-American and Asian descent.[17][18]
- The Brown family lived in poverty in Elko, South Carolina, which was an impoverished town at the time.[9] They later moved to Augusta, Georgia, when James was four or five. His family first settled at one of his aunts' brothels. They later moved into a house shared with another aunt. Brown's mother eventually left the family after a contentious and abusive marriage and moved to New York.
- He began singing in talent shows as a young child, first appearing at Augusta's Lenox Theater in 1944, winning the show after singing the ballad "So Long". While in Augusta, Brown performed buck dances for change to entertain troops from Camp Gordon at the start of World War II as their convoys traveled over a canal bridge near his aunt's home. This is where he first heard the legendary blues musician Howlin' Wolf play guitar.[23] He learned to play the piano, guitar, and harmonica during this period. He became inspired to become an entertainer after hearing "Caldonia" by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five.[24] In his teen years, Brown briefly had a career as a boxer.
- At the age of 16, he was convicted of robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center in Toccoa. There, he formed a gospel quartet with four fellow cellmates, including Johnny Terry. Brown met singer Bobby Byrd when the two played against each other in a baseball game outside the detention center. Byrd also discovered that Brown could sing after hearing of "a guy called Music Box", which was Brown's musical nickname at the prison. Byrd has since claimed he and his family helped to secure an early release, which led to Brown promising the court he would "sing for the Lord". Brown was released on a work sponsorship with Toccoa business owner S.C. Lawson. Lawson was impressed with Brown's work ethic and secured his release with a promise to keep him employed for two years. Brown was paroled on June 14, 1952. Brown went on to work with both of Lawson's sons, and would come back to visit the family from time to time throughout his career. Shortly after being paroled he joined the gospel group the Ever-Ready Gospel Singers, featuring Byrd's sister Sarah.
- Music career [ edit ] 1954''1961: The Famous Flames [ edit ] Brown eventually joined Bobby Byrd's group in 1954. The group had evolved from the Gospel Starlighters, an a cappella gospel group, to an R&B group with the name the Avons. He reputedly joined the band after one of its members, Troy Collins, died in a car crash.[30] Along with Brown and Byrd, the group consisted of Sylvester Keels, Doyle Oglesby, Fred Pulliam, Nash Knox and Nafloyd Scott. Influenced by R&B groups such as Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, the Orioles and Billy Ward and his Dominoes, the group changed its name, first to the Toccoa Band and then to the Flames.[30] Nafloyd's brother Baroy later joined the group on bass guitar, and Brown, Byrd and Keels switched lead positions and instruments, often playing drums and piano. Johnny Terry later joined, by which time Pulliam and Oglesby had long left.
- Berry Trimier became the group's first manager, booking them at parties near college campuses in Georgia and South Carolina. The group had already gained a reputation as a good live act when they renamed themselves the Famous Flames. In 1955, the group had contacted Little Richard while performing in Macon.[35] Richard convinced the group to get in contact with his manager at the time, Clint Brantley, at his nightclub. Brantley agreed to manage them after seeing the group audition. He then sent them to a local radio station to record a demo session, where they performed their own composition "Please, Please, Please", which was inspired when Little Richard wrote the words of the title on a napkin and Brown was determined to make a song out of it.[38][39] The Famous Flames eventually signed with King Records' Federal subsidiary in Cincinnati, Ohio, and issued a re-recorded version of "Please, Please, Please" in March 1956. The song became the group's first R&B hit, selling over a million copies.[40] None of their follow-ups gained similar success. By 1957, Brown had replaced Clint Brantley as manager and hired Ben Bart, chief of Universal Attractions Agency. That year the original Flames broke up, after Bart changed the name of the group to "James Brown and His Famous Flames".
- In October 1958, Brown released the ballad "Try Me", which hit number one on the R&B chart in the beginning of 1959, becoming the first of seventeen chart-topping R&B hits.[42] Shortly afterwards, he recruited his first band, led by J. C. Davis, and reunited with Bobby Byrd who joined a revived Famous Flames lineup that included Eugene "Baby" Lloyd Stallworth and Bobby Bennett, with Johnny Terry sometimes coming in as the "fifth Flame". Brown, the Flames, and his entire band debuted at the Apollo Theater on April 24, 1959, opening for Brown's idol, Little Willie John.[30] Federal Records issued two albums credited to Brown and the Famous Flames (both contained previously released singles). By 1960, Brown began multi-tasking in the recording studio involving himself, his singing group, the Famous Flames, and his band, a separate entity from the Flames, sometimes named the James Brown Orchestra or the James Brown Band. That year the band released the top ten R&B hit "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" on Dade Records, owned by Henry Stone, billed under the pseudonym "Nat Kendrick & the Swans" due to label issues.[44] As a result of its success, King president Syd Nathan shifted Brown's contract from Federal to the parent label, King, which according to Brown in his autobiography meant "you got more support from the company". While with King, Brown, under the Famous Flames lineup, released the hit-filled album Think! and the following year released two albums with the James Brown Band earning second billing. With the Famous Flames, Brown sang lead on several more hits, including "Bewildered", "I'll Go Crazy" and "Think", songs that hinted at his emerging style.[30]
- 1962''1966: Mr. Dynamite [ edit ] In 1962, Brown and his band scored a hit with their cover of the instrumental "Night Train", becoming a top five R&B single. That same year, the ballads "Lost Someone" and "Baby You're Right", the latter a Joe Tex composition, added to his repertoire and increased his reputation with R&B audiences. On October 24, 1962, Brown financed a live recording of a performance at the Apollo and convinced Syd Nathan to release the album, despite Nathan's belief that no one would buy a live album due to the fact that Brown's singles had already been bought and that live albums were usually bad sellers.
- Brown (middle) and the Famous Flames (far left to right, Bobby Bennett, Lloyd Stallworth, and Bobby Byrd), performing live at the Apollo Theater in New York City, 1964Live at the Apollo was released the following June and became an immediate hit, eventually reaching number two on the Top LPs chart and selling over a million copies, staying on the charts for 14 months.[45] In 1963, Brown scored his first top 20 pop hit with his rendition of the standard "Prisoner of Love". He also launched his first label, Try Me Records, which included recordings by the likes of Tammy Montgomery (later to be famous as Tammi Terrell), Johnny & Bill (Famous Flames associates Johnny Terry and Bill Hollings) and the Poets, which was another name used for Brown's backing band.[30] During this time, Brown began an ill-fated two-year relationship with 17-year-old Tammi Terrell when she sang in his revue. Terrell ended their personal and professional relationship because of his abusive behavior.[46]
- In 1964, seeking bigger commercial success, Brown and Bobby Byrd formed the production company, Fair Deal, linking the operation to the Mercury imprint, Smash Records.[30][47] King Records, however, fought against this and was granted an injunction preventing Brown from releasing any recordings for the label. Prior to the injunction, Brown had released three vocal singles, including the blues-oriented hit "Out of Sight", which further indicated the direction his music was going to take.[48] Touring throughout the year, Brown and the Famous Flames grabbed more national attention after delivering an explosive show-stopping performance on the live concert film The T.A.M.I. Show. The Flames' dynamic gospel-tinged vocals, polished choreography and timing as well as Brown's energetic dance moves and high-octane singing upstaged the proposed closing act, the Rolling Stones.
- Having signed a new deal with King, Brown released his song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" in 1965, which became his first top ten pop hit and won him his first Grammy Award.[49] Brown also signed a production deal with Loma Records.[50] Later in 1965, he issued "I Got You", which became his second single in a row to reach number-one on the R&B chart and top ten on the pop chart. Brown followed that up with the ballad "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", a third Top 10 Pop hit (No. 1 R&B) which confirmed his stance as a top-ranking performer, especially with R&B audiences from that point on.[49]
- 1967''1970: Soul Brother No. 1 [ edit ] Brown performing in 1969By 1967, Brown's emerging sound had begun to be defined as funk music. That year he released what some critics cited as the first true funk song, "Cold Sweat", which hit number-one on the R&B chart (Top 10 Pop) and became one of his first recordings to contain a drum break and also the first that featured a harmony that was reduced to a single chord.[51][52] The instrumental arrangements on tracks such as "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" and "Licking Stick-Licking Stick" (both recorded in 1968) and "Funky Drummer" (recorded in 1969) featured a more developed version of Brown's mid-1960s style, with the horn section, guitars, bass and drums meshed together in intricate rhythmic patterns based on multiple interlocking riffs.
- Changes in Brown's style that started with "Cold Sweat" also established the musical foundation for Brown's later hits, such as "I Got the Feelin'" (1968) and "Mother Popcorn" (1969). By this time Brown's vocals frequently took the form of a kind of rhythmic declamation, not quite sung but not quite spoken, that only intermittently featured traces of pitch or melody. This would become a major influence on the techniques of rapping, which would come to maturity along with hip hop music in the coming decades. Brown's style of funk in the late 1960s was based on interlocking syncopated parts: strutting bass lines, syncopated drum patterns, and iconic percussive guitar riffs.[53] The main guitar ostinatos for "Ain't It Funky" and "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" (both 1969), are examples of Brown's refinement of New Orleans funk; irresistibly danceable riffs, stripped down to their rhythmic essence. On both recordings, the tonal structure is bare bones. The pattern of attack points is the emphasis, not the pattern of pitches as if the guitar were an African drum or idiophone. Alexander Stewart states that this popular feel was passed along from "New Orleans'--through James Brown's music, to the popular music of the 1970s".[54] Those same tracks were later resurrected by countless hip-hop musicians from the 1970s onward. As a result, James Brown remains to this day the world's most sampled recording artist, but, two tracks that he wrote, are also synonymous with modern dance, especially with house music, jungle music, and drum and bass music, (which were sped up exponentially, in the latter two genres).
- "Bring it Up" has an Afro-Cuban guajeo-like structure. All three of these guitar riffs are based on an onbeat/offbeat structure. Stewart says that it "is different from a time line (such as clave and tresillo) in that it is not an exact pattern, but more of a loose organizing principle."[55]
- It was around this time as the musician's popularity increased that he acquired the nickname "Soul Brother No. 1", after failing to win the title "King of Soul" from Solomon Burke during a Chicago gig two years prior.[56] Brown's recordings during this period influenced musicians across the industry, most notably groups such as Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Booker T. & the M.G.s as well as vocalists such as Edwin Starr, David Ruffin and Dennis Edwards from the Temptations, and Michael Jackson, who, throughout his career, cited Brown as his ultimate idol.[57]
- Brown's band during this period employed musicians and arrangers who had come up through the jazz tradition. He was noted for his ability as a bandleader and songwriter to blend the simplicity and drive of R&B with the rhythmic complexity and precision of jazz. Trumpeter Lewis Hamlin and saxophonist/keyboardist Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis (the successor to previous bandleader Nat Jones) led the band. Guitarist Jimmy Nolen provided percussive, deceptively simple riffs for each song, and Maceo Parker's prominent saxophone solos provided a focal point for many performances. Other members of Brown's band included stalwart Famous Flames singer and sideman Bobby Byrd, trombonist Fred Wesley, drummers John "Jabo" Starks, Clyde Stubblefield and Melvin Parker, saxophonist St. Clair Pinckney, guitarist Alphonso "Country" Kellum and bassist Bernard Odum.
- In addition to a torrent of singles and studio albums, Brown's output during this period included two more successful live albums, Live at the Garden (1967) and Live at the Apollo, Volume II (1968), and a 1968 television special, James Brown: Man to Man. His music empire expanded along with his influence on the music scene. As Brown's music empire grew, his desire for financial and artistic independence grew as well. Brown bought radio stations during the late 1960s, including WRDW in his native Augusta, where he shined shoes as a boy.[49] In November 1967, James Brown purchased radio station WGYW in Knoxville, Tennessee, for a reported $75,000, according to the January 20, 1968 Record World magazine. The call letters were changed to WJBE reflecting his initials. WJBE began on January 15, 1968, and broadcast a Rhythm & Blues format. The station slogan was "WJBE 1430 Raw Soul". Brown also bought WEBB in Baltimore in 1970.
- Brown branched out to make several recordings with musicians outside his own band. In an attempt to appeal to the older, more affluent, and predominantly white adult contemporary audience, Brown recorded Gettin' Down To It (1969) and Soul on Top (1970)'--two albums consisting mostly of romantic ballads, jazz standards, and homologous reinterpretations of his earlier hits'--with the Dee Felice Trio and the Louie Bellson Orchestra. In 1968, he recorded a number of funk-oriented tracks with the Dapps, a white Cincinnati band, including the hit "I Can't Stand Myself". He also released three albums of Christmas music with his own band.
- 1970''2006: Godfather of Soul [ edit ] In March 1970, most of Brown's mid-to-late 1960s road band walked out on him due to financial disputes, a development augured by the prior disbandment of the Famous Flames singing group for the same reason in 1968. Brown and erstwhile Famous Flames singer Bobby Byrd (who chose to remain in the band during this tumultuous period as co-frontman, effectively serving as a proto-hype man in live performances) subsequently recruited several members of the Pacemakers, a Cincinnati-based ensemble that included bassist Bootsy Collins and his brother, guitarist Phelps "Catfish" Collins; augmented by the remaining members of the 1960s road band (including Fred Wesley, who rejoined Brown's outfit in December 1970) and other newer musicians, they would form the nucleus of the J.B.'s, Brown's new backing ensemble. Shortly following their first performance together, the band entered the studio to record the Brown-Byrd composition, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine"; the song '--with its off the beat play Brown called "The One"'--[58] and other contemporaneous singles would further cement Brown's influence in the nascent genre of funk music. This iteration of the J.B.'s dissolved after a March 1971 European tour (documented on the 1991 archival release Love Power Peace) due to additional money disputes and Bootsy Collins's use of LSD; a new lineup of the J.B.'s coalesced around Wesley, St. Clair Pinckney and drummer John Starks.
- Brown with disc jockey Lars Jacob after a concert in Tampa in 1972In 1971, Brown began recording for Polydor Records. Many of his sidemen and supporting players, including Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s, Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, Vicki Anderson and former rival Hank Ballard, released records on the People label.
- During the 1972 presidential election, James Brown openly proclaimed his support of Richard Nixon for reelection to the presidency over Democratic candidate George McGovern.[59] The decision led to a boycott of his performances and, according to Brown, cost him a big portion of his black audience. As a result, Brown's record sales and concerts in the United States reached a lull in 1973 as he failed to land a number-one R&B single that year. That year he also faced problems with the IRS for failure to pay back taxes, charging he hadn't paid upwards of $4.5 million; five years earlier, the IRS had claimed he owed nearly $2 million.[61]
- Brown performing in 1973In 1973, Brown provided the score for the blaxploitation film Black Caesar. In 1974 he returned to the No. 1 spot on the R&B charts with "The Payback", with the parent album reaching the same spot on the album charts; he would reach No. 1 two more times in 1974, with "My Thang" and "Papa Don't Take No Mess".[citation needed ]
- "Papa Don't Take No Mess" would prove to be his final single to reach the No. 1 spot on the R&B charts. His other Top Ten R&B hits during this latter period included "Funky President" (R&B No. 4) and "Get Up Offa That Thing" (R&B No. 4).
- James Brown (1977)Although his records were mainstays of the vanguard New York underground disco scene (exemplified by DJs such as David Mancuso and Francis Grasso) from 1969 onwards, Brown did not consciously yield to the trend until 1975's Sex Machine Today. By 1977, he was no longer a dominant force in R&B. After "Get Up Offa That Thing", thirteen of Brown's late 1970s recordings for Polydor failed to reach the Top 10 of the R&B chart, with only "Bodyheat" in 1976 and the disco-oriented "It's Too Funky in Here" in 1979 reaching the R&B Top 15 and the ballad "Kiss in '77" reaching the Top 20. After 1976's "Bodyheat", he also failed to appear on the Billboard Hot 100. As a result, Brown's concert attendance began dropping and his reported disputes with the IRS caused his business empire to collapse. In addition, several longtime bandmates (including Wesley and Maceo Parker) had gradually pivoted to Parliament-Funkadelic, which reached its critical and commercial apogee in the mid-to-late 1970s. The emergence of disco also forestalled Brown's success on the R&B charts because its slicker, more commercial style had superseded his rawer, one-chord funk productions.
- By the release of 1979's The Original Disco Man, Brown seldom contributed to the songwriting and production processes, leaving most of it to producer Brad Shapiro; this resulted in the song "It's Too Funky in Here" becoming Brown's most successful single in this period. After two more albums failed to chart, Brown left Polydor in 1981. It was around this time that Brown changed the name of his band from the J.B.'s to the Soul Generals (or Soul G's). The band retained that name until his death.
- Despite Brown's declining record sales, promoters Gary LoConti and Jim Rissmiller helped Brown sell out a string of residency shows at the Reseda Country Club in Los Angeles in early 1982. Brown's compromised commercial standing prevented him from charging a large fee. However, the great success of these shows marked a turning point for Brown's career, and soon he was back on top in Hollywood. Movies followed, including appearances in Doctor Detroit (1983) and Rocky IV (1985). He also guest-starred in the Miami Vice episode "Missing Hours" (1987). Previously, Brown appeared alongside a litany of other Black musical luminaries in The Blues Brothers (1980).
- In 1984, he teamed with rap musician Afrika Bambaataa on the song "Unity". A year later he signed with Scotti Brothers Records and issued the moderately successful album Gravity in 1986 with a popular song "How Do You Stop". It included Brown's final Top Ten pop hit, "Living in America", marking his first Top 40 entry since 1974 and his first Top Ten pop entry since 1968. Produced and written by Dan Hartman, it was also featured prominently on the Rocky IV film and soundtrack. Brown performed the song in the film at Apollo Creed's final fight, shot in the Ziegfeld Room at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and was credited in the film as the Godfather of Soul. 1986 also saw the publication of his autobiography, James Brown: The Godfather of Soul, co-written with Bruce Tucker. In 1987, Brown won the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Living in America".
- In 1988, Brown worked with the production team Full Force on the new jack swing-influenced I'm Real. It spawned his final two Top 10 R&B hits, "I'm Real" and "Static", which peaked at No. 2 and No. 5, respectively. Meanwhile, the drum break from the second version of the original 1969 hit "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose" (the recording included on the compilation album In the Jungle Groove) became so popular at hip hop dance parties (especially for breakdance) during the early 1980s that hip hop pioneer Kurtis Blow called the song "the national anthem of hip hop".[62]
- Brown performing in 1998After his stint in prison during the late 1980s, Brown met Larry Fridie and Thomas Hart who produced the first James Brown biopic, entitled James Brown: The Man, the Message, the Music, released in 1992.[63] He returned to music with the album Love Over-Due in 1991. It included the single "(So Tired of Standing Still We Got to) Move On", which peaked at No. 48 on the R&B chart. His former record label Polydor also released the four-CD box set Star Time, spanning Brown's career to date. Brown's release from prison also prompted his former record labels to reissue his albums on CD, featuring additional tracks and commentary by music critics and historians. That same year, Brown appeared on rapper MC Hammer's video for "Too Legit to Quit". Hammer had been noted, alongside Big Daddy Kane, for bringing Brown's unique stage shows and their own energetic dance moves to the hip-hop generation; both listed Brown as their idol. Both musicians also sampled his work, with Hammer having sampled the rhythms from "Super Bad" for his song "Here Comes the Hammer", from his best-selling album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. Big Daddy Kane sampled many times. Before the year was over, Brown''who had immediately returned to work with his band following his release''organized a pay-per-view concert following a show at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre, that was well received.
- On June 10, 1991, James Brown and a star-filled line up performed before a crowd at the Wiltern Theatre for a live pay-per-view at-home audience. James Brown: Living in America '' Live! was the brainchild of Indiana producer Danny Hubbard. It featuredM.C. Hammer as well as Bell Biv Devoe, Heavy D & the Boys, En Vogue, C+C Music Factory, Quincy Jones, Sherman Hemsley and Keenen Ivory Wayans. Ice-T, Tone Loc and Kool Moe Dee performed paying homage to Brown. This was Brown's first public performance since his parole from the South Carolina prison system in February. He had served two-and-a-half years of two concurrent six-year sentences for aggravated assault and other felonies.
- Brown continued making recordings. In 1993 his album Universal James was released. It included his final Billboard charting single, "Can't Get Any Harder", which peaked at No. 76 on the US R&B chart and reached No. 59 on the UK chart. Its brief charting in the UK was probably due to the success of a remixed version of "I Feel Good" featuring Dakeyne. Brown also released the singles "How Long" and "Georgia-Lina", which failed to chart. In 1995, Brown returned to the Apollo and recorded Live at the Apollo 1995. It included a studio track titled "Respect Me", which was released as a single; again it failed to chart. Brown's final studio albums, I'm Back and The Next Step, were released in 1998 and 2002 respectively. I'm Back featured the song "Funk on Ah Roll", which peaked at No. 40 in the UK but did not chart in his native US. The Next Step included Brown's final single, "Killing Is Out, School Is In". Both albums were produced by Derrick Monk. Brown's concert success, however, remained unabated and he kept up with a grueling schedule throughout the remainder of his life, living up to his previous nickname, "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business", in spite of his advanced age. In 2003, Brown participated in the PBS American Masters television documentary James Brown: Soul Survivor, which was directed by Jeremy Marre.
- Brown performed in the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show in 1997.
- Brown during the NBA All-Star Game jam session, 2001Brown celebrated his status as an icon by appearing in a variety of entertainment and sports events, including an appearance on the WCW pay-per-view event, SuperBrawl X, where he danced alongside wrestler Ernest "the Cat" Miller, who based his character on Brown, during his in-ring skit with the Maestro. Brown then appeared in Tony Scott's short film Beat the Devil in 2001. He was featured alongside Clive Owen, Gary Oldman, Danny Trejo and Marilyn Manson. Brown also made a cameo appearance in the 2002 Jackie Chan film The Tuxedo, in which Chan was required to finish Brown's act after having accidentally knocked out the singer. In 2002, Brown appeared in Undercover Brother, playing himself.
- Brown performing in June 2005In 2004, Brown opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at several Hyde Park concerts in London.[64] The beginning of 2005 saw the publication of his second book, I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul, written with Marc Eliot. In February and March, he participated in recording sessions for an intended studio album with Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis, and other longtime collaborators. Though he lost interest in the album, which remains unreleased, a track from the sessions, "Gut Bucket", appeared on a compilation CD included with the August 2006 issue of MOJO.[65] He appeared at Edinburgh 50,000 '' The Final Push, the final Live 8 concert on July 6, 2005, where he performed a duet with British pop star Will Young on "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag". In the Black Eyed Peas album "Monkey Business", Brown was featured on a track called "They Don't Want Music". The previous week he had performed a duet with another British pop star, Joss Stone, on the United Kingdom chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. In 2006, Brown continued his Seven Decades of Funk World Tour. His final major U.S. performance was in San Francisco on August 20, 2006, as headliner at the Festival of the Golden Gate (Foggfest) on the Great Meadow at Fort Mason. The following day, he performed at an 800-seat campus theatre at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. His last shows were greeted with positive reviews, and one of his final concert appearances at the Irish Oxegen festival in Punchestown in 2006 included a record crowd of 80,000 people. He played a full concert as part of the BBC's Electric Proms on October 27, 2006, at The Roundhouse,[66] supported by the Zutons, with special appearances from Max Beasley and the Sugababes.
- Brown's last televised appearance was at his induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2006, before his death the following month. Before his death, Brown had been scheduled to perform a duet with singer Annie Lennox on the song "Vengeance" for her new album Venus, which was released in 2007.
- Artistry [ edit ] Brown's most famous MC was Danny Ray (center), who was with him for over 30 years.As a vocalist, Brown performed in a forceful shout style derived from gospel music. Meanwhile, "his rhythmic grunts and expressive shrieks harked back farther still to ring shouts, work songs, and field cries", according to the Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History (1996): "He reimported the rhythmic complexity from which rhythm and blues, under the dual pressure of rock 'n' roll and pop, had progressively fallen away since its birth from jazz and blues."[67]
- For many years, Brown's touring show was one of the most extravagant productions in American popular music. At the time of Brown's death, his band included three guitarists, two bass guitar players, two drummers, three horns and a percussionist.[68] The bands that he maintained during the late 1960s and 1970s were of comparable size, and the bands also included a three-piece amplified string section that played during the ballads.[69] Brown employed between 40 and 50 people for the James Brown Revue, and members of the revue traveled with him in a bus to cities and towns all over the country, performing upwards of 330 shows a year with almost all of the shows as one-nighters.[70][71]
- Concert style [ edit ] Before James Brown appeared on stage, his personal MC gave him an elaborate introduction accompanied by drumrolls, as the MC worked in Brown's various sobriquets along with the names of many of his hit songs. The introduction by Fats Gonder, captured on Brown's 1963 album Live at the Apollo is a representative example:
- So now ladies and gentlemen it is "Star Time". Are you ready for "Star Time?" Thank you and thank you very kindly. It is indeed a great pleasure to present to you at this particular time, national[ly] and international[ly] known as "The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business", the man that sings "I'll Go Crazy"..."Try Me"..."You've Got the Power"..."Think"..."If You Want Me"..."I Don't Mind"..."Bewildered"... the million dollar seller, "Lost Someone"... the very latest release, "Night Train"... let's everybody "Shout and Shimmy"... "Mr. Dynamite", the amazing "Mr. Please Please" himself, the star of the show, James Brown and the Famous Flames!![72]
- Brown and MC Danny Ray during cape routine, BBC Electric Proms '06 concertJames Brown's performances were famous for their intensity and length. His own stated goal was to "give people more than what they came for '-- make them tired, 'cause that's what they came for.'"[73] Brown's concert repertoire consisted mostly of his own hits and recent songs, with a few R&B covers mixed in. Brown danced vigorously as he sang, working popular dance steps such as the Mashed Potato into his routine along with dramatic leaps, splits and slides. In addition, his horn players and singing group (The Famous Flames) typically performed choreographed dance routines, and later incarnations of the Revue included backup dancers. Male performers in the Revue were required to wear tuxedoes and cummerbunds long after more casual concert wear became the norm among the younger musical acts. Brown's own extravagant outfits and his elaborate processed hairdo completed the visual impression. A James Brown concert typically included a performance by a featured vocalist, such as Vicki Anderson or Marva Whitney, and an instrumental feature for the band, which sometimes served as the opening act for the show.
- A trademark feature of Brown's stage shows, usually during the song "Please, Please, Please", involved Brown dropping to his knees while clutching the microphone stand in his hands, prompting the show's longtime MC, Danny Ray, to come out, drape a cape over Brown's shoulders and escort him off the stage after he had worked himself to exhaustion during his performance. As Brown was escorted off the stage by the MC, Brown's vocal group, the Famous Flames (Bobby Byrd, Lloyd Stallworth, and Bobby Bennett), continued singing the background vocals "Please, please don't go-oh".[74] Brown would then shake off the cape and stagger back to the microphone to perform an encore. Brown's routine was inspired by a similar one used by the professional wrestler Gorgeous George, as well as Little Richard.[72][75][76] In his 2005 autobiography I Feel Good: A Memoir in a Life of Soul, Brown, who was a fan of Gorgeous George, credited the wrestler as the inspiration for both his cape routine and concert attire, stating, "Seeing him on TV helped create the James Brown you see on stage".[77] Brown performs a version of the cape routine in the film of the T.A.M.I. Show (1964) in which he and the Famous Flames upstaged the Rolling Stones, and over the closing credits of the film Blues Brothers 2000. The Police refer to "James Brown on the T.A.M.I. Show" in their 1980 song "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around".
- Band leadership [ edit ] Brown demanded extreme discipline, perfection and precision from his musicians and dancers '' performers in his Revue showed up for rehearsals and members wore the right "uniform" or "costume" for concert performances.[78] During an interview conducted by Terri Gross during the NPR segment "Fresh Air" with Maceo Parker, a former saxophonist in Brown's band for most of the 1960s and part of the 1970s and 1980s, Parker offered his experience with the discipline that Brown demanded of the band:
- You gotta be on time. You gotta have your uniform. Your stuff's got to be intact. You gotta have the bow tie. You got to have it. You can't come up without the bow tie. You cannot come up without a cummerbund ... [The] patent leather shoes we were wearing at the time gotta be greased. You just gotta have this stuff. This is what [Brown expected] ... [Brown] bought the costumes. He bought the shoes. And if for some reason [the band member decided] to leave the group, [Brown told the person to] please leave my uniforms . ...
- Brown also had a practice of directing, correcting and assessing fines on members of his band who broke his rules, such as wearing unshined shoes, dancing out of sync or showing up late on stage.[80] During some of his concert performances, Brown danced in front of his band with his back to the audience as he slid across the floor, flashing hand signals and splaying his pulsating fingers to the beat of the music. Although audiences thought Brown's dance routine was part of his act, this practice was actually his way of pointing to the offending member of his troupe who played or sang the wrong note or committed some other infraction. Brown used his splayed fingers and hand signals to alert the offending person of the fine that person must pay to him for breaking his rules.[81]
- Brown's demands on his support acts could be harsh. As Fred Wesley recalled of his time as musical director of the JBs, if Brown felt intimidated by a support act he would try to "undermine their performances by shortening their sets without notice, demanding that they not do certain showstopping songs, and even insisting on doing the unthinkable, playing drums on some of their songs. A sure set killer."[82]
- [ edit ] Education advocacy and humanitarianism [ edit ] Brown's main social activism was in preserving the need for education among youths, influenced by his own troubled childhood and his being forced to drop out of the seventh grade for wearing "insufficient clothes". Due to heavy dropout rates in the 1960s, Brown released the pro-education song, "Don't Be a Drop-Out". Royalties of the song were donated to dropout-prevention charity programs. The success of this led to Brown meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House. Johnson cited Brown for being a positive role model to the youth. In 1968 James Brown endorsed Hubert Humphrey,[83] but later Brown gained the confidence of President Richard Nixon, to whom he found he had to explain the plight of Black Americans.[84]
- Throughout the remainder of his life, Brown made public speeches in schools and continued to advocate the importance of education in school. Upon filing his will in 2002, Brown advised that most of the money in his estate go into creating the I Feel Good, Inc. Trust to benefit disadvantaged children and provide scholarships for his grandchildren. His final single, "Killing Is Out, School Is In", advocated against murders of young children in the streets. Brown often gave out money and other items to children while traveling to his childhood hometown of Augusta. A week before his death, while looking gravely ill, Brown gave out toys and turkeys to kids at an Atlanta orphanage, something he had done several times over the years.
- Civil rights and self-reliance [ edit ] Though Brown performed at benefit rallies for civil rights organizations in the mid-1960s, Brown often shied away from discussing civil rights in his songs in fear of alienating his crossover audience. In 1968, in response to a growing urge of anti-war advocacy during the Vietnam War, Brown recorded the song, "America Is My Home". In the song, Brown performed a rap, advocating patriotism and exhorting listeners to "stop pitying yoursel[ves] and get up and fight". At the time of the song's release, Brown had been participating in performing for troops stationed in Vietnam.
- The Boston Garden concert [ edit ] On April 5, 1968, a day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, Brown provided a free citywide televised concert at the Boston Garden to maintain public order and calm concerned Boston residents (over the objections of the police chief, who wanted to call off the concert, which he thought would incite violence).[49] The show was later released on DVD as Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968. According to the documentary The Night James Brown Saved Boston, then-mayor Kevin White had strongly restrained the Boston police from cracking down on minor violence and protests after the assassination, while religious and community leaders worked to keep tempers from flaring.[85] White arranged to have Brown's performance broadcast multiple times on Boston's public television station, WGBH, thus keeping potential rioters off the streets, watching the concert for free.[85] Angered by not being told of this, Brown demanded $60,000 for "gate" fees (money he thought would be lost from ticket sales on account of the concert being broadcast for free) and then threatened to go public about the secret arrangement when the city balked at paying up afterwards, news of which would have been a political death blow to White and spark riots of its own.[85] White eventually lobbied the behind-the-scenes power-brokering group known as "The Vault" to come up with money for Brown's gate fee and other social programs, contributing $100,000. Brown received $15,000 from them via the city. White also persuaded management at the Garden to give up their share of receipts to make up the differences.[85] Following this successful performance, Brown was counseled by President Johnson to urge cities ravaged from riots following King's assassination to not resort to violence, telling them to "cool it, there's another way".
- Responding to pressure from black activists, including H. Rap Brown, to take a bigger stance on their issues and from footage of black on black crime committed in inner cities, Brown wrote the lyrics to the song "Say It Loud '' I'm Black and I'm Proud", which his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis accompanied with a musical composition. Released late that summer, the song's lyrics helped to make it an anthem for the civil rights movement. Brown only performed the song sporadically following its initial release and later stated he had regrets about recording it, saying in 1984, "Now 'Say It Loud '' I'm Black and I'm Proud' has done more for the black race than any other record, but if I had my choice, I wouldn't have done it, because I don't like defining anyone by race. To teach race is to teach separatism." In his autobiography he stated:
- The song is obsolete now ... But it was necessary to teach pride then, and I think the song did a lot of good for a lot of people ... People called "Black and Proud" militant and angry '' maybe because of the line about dying on your feet instead of living on your knees. But really, if you listen to it, it sounds like a children's song. That's why I had children in it, so children who heard it could grow up feeling pride ... The song cost me a lot of my crossover audience. The racial makeup at my concerts was mostly black after that. I don't regret it, though, even if it was misunderstood.
- In 1969, Brown recorded two more songs of social commentary, "World" and "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing", the latter song pleading for equal opportunity and self-reliance rather than entitlement. In 1970, in response to some black leaders for not being outspoken enough, he recorded "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved" and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing". In 1971, he began touring Africa, including Zambia and Nigeria. He was made "freeman of the city" in Lagos, Nigeria, by Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, for his "influence on black people all over the world". With his company, James Brown Enterprises, Brown helped to provide jobs for blacks in business in the communities. As the 1970s continued, Brown continued to record songs of social commentary, most prominently 1972's "King Heroin" and the two-part ballad "Public Enemy", which dealt with drug addiction.
- Political views [ edit ] During the 1968 presidential campaign, Brown endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey and appeared with Humphrey at political rallies. Brown was labeled an "Uncle Tom" for supporting Humphrey and also for releasing the pro-American funk song, "America Is My Home", in which Brown had lambasted protesters of the Vietnam War as well as the politics of pro-black activists. Brown began supporting Republican president Richard Nixon after being invited to perform at Nixon's inaugural ball in January 1969. Brown's endorsement of Nixon during the 1972 presidential election negatively impacted his career during that period with several national Black organizations boycotting his records and protesting at his concert shows; a November 1972 show in Cincinnati was picketed with signs saying, "James Brown: Nixon's Clown". Brown initially was invited to perform at a Youth Concert following Nixon's inauguration in January 1973 but bailed out due to the backlash he suffered from supporting Nixon. Brown joined fellow black entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., who faced similar backlash, to back out of the concert. Brown blamed it on "fatigue". Brown later reversed his support of Nixon and composed the song, "You Can Have Watergate (Just Gimme Some Bucks And I'll Be Straight)" as a result. After Nixon resigned from office, Brown composed the 1974 hit, "Funky President (People It's Bad)", right after Gerald Ford took Nixon's place. Brown later supported Democratic President Jimmy Carter, attending one of Carter's inaugural balls in 1977.[92] Brown also openly supported President Ronald Reagan's reelection in 1984.[93]
- Brown stated he was neither Democratic nor Republican despite his support of Republican presidents such as Nixon and Reagan as well as Democratic presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter.[94] In 1999, when being interviewed by Rolling Stone, the magazine asked him to name a hero in the 20th century; Brown mentioned John F. Kennedy and then-96-year-old U.S. Senator, and former Dixiecrat, Strom Thurmond, stating "when the young whippersnappers get out of line, whether Democratic or Republican, an old man can walk up and say 'Wait a minute, son, it goes this way.' And that's great for our country. He's like a grandfather to me."[95] In 2003, Brown was the featured attraction of a Washington D.C. fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.[96] Following the deaths of Ronald Reagan and his friend Ray Charles, Brown said to CNN, "I'm kind of in an uproar. I love the country and I got '' you know I've been around a long time, through many presidents and everything. So after losing Mr. Reagan, who I knew very well, then Mr. Ray Charles, who I worked with and lived with like, all our life, we had a show together in Oakland many, many years ago and it's like you found the placard."[97] Despite his contrarian political views, Brown mentored black activist Rev. Al Sharpton during the 1970s.[98]
- Personal life [ edit ] In 1962, Tammi Terrell joined the James Brown Revue. Brown became sexually involved with Terrell'--even though she was only 17'--in a relationship that continued until she escaped his physical abuse.[99] Bobby Bennett, former member of the Famous Flames, told Rolling Stone about the abuse he witnessed: "He beat Tammi Terrell terrible", said Bennett. "She was bleeding, shedding blood." Terrell, who died in 1970, was Brown's girlfriend before she became famous as Marvin Gaye's singing partner in the mid-1960s. "Tammi left him because she didn't want her butt whipped", said Bennett, who also claimed he saw Brown kick one pregnant girlfriend down a flight of stairs.[100]
- Marriages and children [ edit ] Brown was married three times. His first marriage was to Velma Warren in 1953, and they had one son together.[101] Over a decade later, the couple had separated, and the final divorce decree was issued in 1969. They maintained a close friendship that lasted until Brown's death. Brown's second marriage was to Deidre "Deedee" Jenkins, on October 22, 1970. They had two daughters together. By 1974 they were separated after what his daughter describes as years of domestic abuse,[102] and the final divorce decree was issued on January 10, 1981. His third marriage was to Adrienne Lois Rodriguez (March 9, 1950 '' January 6, 1996) in 1984. It was a contentious marriage that made headlines due to domestic abuse complaints.[104][105] Rodriguez filed for divorce in 1988, "citing years of cruelty treatment", but they reconciled.[106] Less than a year after Rodriguez died in 1996, Brown hired Tomi Rae Hynie to be a background singer for his band; she later claimed that she was his fourth wife.[107]
- On December 23, 2002, Brown, 69, and Hynie, 33, held a wedding ceremony that was officiated by the Rev. Larry Flyer. Following Brown's death, controversy surrounded the circumstances of the marriage, with Brown's attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, reporting that the marriage was not valid; Hynie was still married to Javed Ahmed, a man from Bangladesh. Hynie claimed Ahmed married her to obtain residency through a Green Card and that the marriage was annulled but the annulment did not occur until April 2004.[108][109] In an attempt to prove her marriage to Brown was valid, she provided a marriage certificate as proof of her marriage to Brown during an interview on CNN with Larry King, but she did not provide King with court records pointing to an annulment of her marriage to Brown or to Ahmed.[110] According to Dallas, Brown was angry and hurt that Hynie had concealed her prior marriage from him and Brown moved to file for annulment from Hynie.[111] Dallas added that though Hynie's marriage to Ahmed was annulled after she married Brown, the Brown''Hynie marriage was not valid under South Carolina law because Brown and Hynie did not remarry after the annulment.[110][112] In August 2003, Brown took out a full-page public notice in Variety featuring Hynie, James II and himself on vacation at Disney World to announce that he and Hynie were going their separate ways.[113][114] On January 27, 2015, a judge ruled Hynie as Brown's legal widow and that she was now Brown's widow for purposes of determining the distribution of Brown's estate.[107][115] The decision was based on the grounds that Hynie's previous marriage was invalid and that James Brown had abandoned his efforts to annul his own marriage to Hynie.[115] On June 17, 2020, a South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Hynie was not legally married to Brown due to her failure to annul her previous marriage.[116][117][118] The court also officially ruled that she has no right to any part of his estate.[116][119][117][120][118]
- Brown had numerous children and acknowledged nine of them, including five sons'--Teddy (1954''1973), Terry, Larry, Micheal Brown and James Joseph Brown Jr.'--and six daughters: LaRhonda Petitt, Dr. Yamma Noyola Brown Lumar, Deanna Brown Thomas, Cinnamon Brown, Jeanette Bellinger and Venisha Brown (1964''2018).[121] Brown also had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Brown's eldest son, Teddy, died in a car crash on June 14, 1973.[122] According to an August 22, 2007, article published in the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, DNA tests indicate that Brown also fathered at least three extramarital children. The first one of them to be identified is LaRhonda Pettit (born 1962), a retired flight attendant and teacher who lives in Houston.[123] Another alleged son, Michael Deon Brown, was born in September 1968 to Mary Florence Brown, and despite pleading no contest to a paternity suit brought against him in 1983, Brown never officially acknowledged Michael as his son.[124] During contesting of Brown's will, another of the Brown family attorneys, Debra Opri, revealed to Larry King that Brown wanted a DNA test performed after his death to confirm the paternity of James Brown Jr. (born 2001)'--not for Brown's sake but for the sake of the other family members.[125] In April 2007, Hynie selected a guardian ad litem whom she wanted appointed by the court to represent her son, James Brown Jr., in the paternity proceedings.[126] James Brown Jr. was confirmed to be his biological son.[127]
- Drug abuse [ edit ] For most of his career, Brown had a strict drug- and alcohol-free policy for any member in his entourage, including band members, and would fire people who disobeyed orders, particularly those who used or abused drugs. Although early members of the Famous Flames were fired for using alcohol, Brown often served a highball consisting of Delaware Punch and moonshine at his St. Albans, Queens, house in the mid-1960s.[128] Some of the original members of Brown's 1970s band, the J.B.'s, including Catfish and Bootsy Collins, intentionally took LSD during a performance in 1971, causing Brown to fire them after the show because he had suspected them of being on drugs all along.[129]
- Aide Bob Patton has asserted that he accidentally shared a PCP-laced cannabis joint with Brown in the mid-1970s and "hallucinated for hours", although Brown "talked about it as if it was only marijuana he was smoking".[128] By the mid-1980s, it was widely alleged that Brown was using drugs, with Vicki Anderson confirming to journalist Barney Hoskyns that Brown's regular use of PCP (colloquially known as "angel dust") "began before 1982".[128] After he met and later married Adrienne Rodriguez in 1984, she and Brown began using PCP together.[130] This drug usage often resulted in violent outbursts from him, and he was arrested several times for domestic violence against Rodriguez while high on the drug.[131] By January 1988, Brown faced four criminal charges within a 12-month span relating to driving, PCP, and gun possession.[106] After an April 1988 arrest for domestic abuse, Brown went on the CNN program Sonya Live in L.A. with host Sonya Friedman. The interview became notorious for Brown's irreverent demeanor, with some asserting that Brown was high.[133]
- One of Brown's former mistresses recalled in a GQ magazine article on Brown some years after his death that Brown would smoke PCP ("until that got hard to find") and cocaine, mixed with tobacco in Kool cigarettes. He also engaged in the off-label use of sildenafil, maintaining that it gave him "extra energy".[134] Once, while traveling in a car under the influence of PCP (which he continued to procure dependent on its availability), Brown alleged that passing trees contained psychotronic surveillance technology.[128]
- In January 1998, he spent a week in rehab to deal with an addiction to unspecified prescription drugs. A week after his release, he was arrested for an unlawful use of a handgun and possession of cannabis.[135] Prior to his death in December 2006, when Brown entered Emory University Hospital, traces of cocaine were found in the singer's urine.[136] His widow suggested Brown would "do crack" with a female acquaintance.[136]
- Theft and assault convictions [ edit ] Brown's personal life was marred by numerous brushes with the law. At the age of 16, he was convicted of theft and served three years in juvenile prison. During a concert held at Club 15 in Macon, Georgia, in 1963, while Otis Redding was performing alongside his former band Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers, Brown, reportedly wielding two shotguns,[137] tried to shoot his musical rival Joe Tex.[138] The incident led to multiple people being shot and stabbed.[139] Since Brown was still on parole at the time, he relied on his agent Clint Brantley "and a few thousand dollars to make the situation disappear".[139] According to Jenkins, "seven people got shot", and after the shootout ended, a man appeared and gave "each one of the injured a hundred dollars apiece not to carry it no further and not to talk to the press".[139] Brown was never charged for the incident.
- On July 16, 1978, after performing at the Apollo, Brown was arrested for reportedly failing to turn in records from one of his radio stations after the station was forced to file for bankruptcy.[61]
- Brown was arrested on April 3, 1988, for assault,[141] and again in May 1988 on drug and weapons charges, and again on September 24, 1988, following a high-speed car chase on Interstate 20 near the Georgia''South Carolina state border. He was convicted of carrying an unlicensed pistol and assaulting a police officer, along with various drug-related and driving offenses. Although he was sentenced to six years in prison, he was eventually released on parole on February 27, 1991, after serving two years of his sentence. Brown's FBI file, released to The Washington Post in 2007 under the Freedom of Information Act,[142] related Brown's claim that the high-speed chase did not occur as claimed by the police, and that local police shot at his car several times during an incident of police harassment and assaulted him after his arrest.[143] Local authorities found no merit to Brown's accusations.
- In 1998, a woman named Mary Simons accused Brown in a civil suit of holding her captive for three days, demanding oral sex and firing a gun in his office; Simons' charge was eventually dismissed.[139] In another civil suit, filed by former background singer Lisa Rushton alleged that between 1994 and 1999, Brown allegedly demanded sexual favors and when refused, would cut off her pay and kept her offstage.[139] She also claimed Brown would "place a hand on her buttocks and loudly told her in a crowded restaurant to not look or speak to any other man besides himself;" Rushton eventually withdrew her lawsuit.[139] In yet another civil suit, a woman named Lisa Agbalaya, who worked for Brown, said the singer would tell her he had "bull testicles", handed her a pair of zebra-print underwear, told her to wear them while he massaged her with oil, and fired her after she refused.[139] A Los Angeles jury cleared the singer of sexual harassment but found him liable for wrongful termination.[139]
- The police were summoned to Brown's residence on July 3, 2000, after he was accused of charging at an electric company repairman with a steak knife when the repairman visited Brown's house to investigate a complaint about having no lights at the residence.[144] In 2003, Brown was pardoned by the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services for past crimes that he was convicted of committing in South Carolina.[145]
- Domestic violence arrests [ edit ] Brown was repeatedly arrested for domestic violence. On four occasions between 1987 and 1995, Brown was arrested on charges of assault against his third wife, Adrienne Rodriguez. In one incident, Rodriguez reported to authorities that Brown beat her with an iron pipe and shot at her car.[106][146] Rodriguez was hospitalized after the last assault in October 1995, but charges were dropped after she died in January 1996.[146]
- In January 2004, Brown was arrested in South Carolina on a domestic violence charge after Tomi Rae Hynie accused him of pushing her to the floor during an argument at their home, where she suffered scratches and bruises to her right arm and hip.[147] In June, Brown pleaded no contest to the domestic violence incident, but served no jail time. Instead, Brown was required to forfeit a US$1,087 bond as punishment.[148]
- Rape accusation [ edit ] In January 2005, a woman named Jacque Hollander filed a lawsuit against James Brown, which stemmed from an alleged 1988 rape. When the case was initially heard before a judge in 2002, Hollander's claims against Brown were dismissed by the court as the limitations period for filing the suit had expired. Hollander claimed that stress from the alleged assault later caused her to contract Graves' disease, a thyroid condition. Hollander claimed that the incident took place in South Carolina while she was employed by Brown as a publicist. Hollander alleged that, during her ride in a van with Brown, Brown pulled over to the side of the road and sexually assaulted her while he threatened her with a shotgun.
- In her case against Brown, Hollander entered as evidence a DNA sample and a polygraph result, but the evidence was not considered due to the limitations defense. Hollander later attempted to bring her case before the Supreme Court, but nothing came of her complaint.[149]
- Later life [ edit ] At the end of his life, James Brown lived in Beech Island, South Carolina, directly across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia. Brown had chronic illness with type 1 diabetes that went undiagnosed for years, according to his longtime manager Charles Bobbit. In 2004, Brown was successfully treated for prostate cancer.[151] Regardless of his health, Brown maintained his reputation as the "hardest working man in show business" by keeping up with his grueling performance schedule.
- Illness [ edit ] James Brown memorial in Augusta, GeorgiaOn December 23, 2006, Brown became very ill and arrived at his dentist's office in Atlanta, Georgia, several hours late. His appointment was for dental implant work. During that visit, Brown's dentist observed that he looked "very bad ... weak and dazed". Instead of performing the work, the dentist advised Brown to see a physician right away about his medical condition.[152]
- The following day, Brown went to the Emory Crawford Long Memorial Hospital for medical evaluation and was admitted for observation and treatment.[153] According to Charles Bobbit, his longtime personal manager and friend, Brown had been struggling with a noisy cough since returning from a November trip to Europe. Yet, Bobbit said, the singer had a history of never complaining about being sick and often performed while ill.[152] Although Brown had to cancel upcoming concerts in Waterbury, Connecticut, and Englewood, New Jersey, he was confident that the doctor would discharge him from the hospital in time for his scheduled New Year's Eve shows at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey and the B. B. King Blues Club in New York, in addition to performing a song live on CNN for the Anderson Cooper New Year's Eve special.[153] Brown remained hospitalized, however, and his condition worsened throughout the day.
- Death [ edit ] On Christmas Day 2006, Brown died at approximately 1:45 a.m. EST (06:45 UTC),[16] at age 73, from congestive heart failure, resulting from complications of pneumonia. Bobbit was at his bedside[154] and later reported that Brown stuttered, "I'm going away tonight", then took three long, quiet breaths and fell asleep before dying.[155]
- In 2019, an investigation by CNN and other journalists led to suggestions that Brown had been murdered.[136][139][146][156][157]
- Memorial services [ edit ] Public memorial at the Apollo Theater in HarlemAfter Brown's death, his relatives, a host of celebrities, and thousands of fans gathered, on December 28, 2006, for a public memorial service at the Apollo Theater in New York City and, on December 30, 2006, at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia. A separate, private ceremony was held in North Augusta, South Carolina, on December 29, 2006, with Brown's family in attendance. Celebrities at these various memorial events included Michael Jackson, Jimmy Cliff, Joe Frazier, Buddy Guy, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Dr. Dre, Little Richard, Dick Gregory, MC Hammer, Prince, Jesse Jackson, Ice-T, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bootsy Collins, LL Cool J, Lil Wayne, Lenny Kravitz, 50 Cent, Stevie Wonder, and Don King.[158][159][160][161] Rev. Al Sharpton officiated at all of Brown's public and private memorial services.[162][163]
- Public funeral in Augusta, Georgia, with Michael Jackson attendingBrown's memorial ceremonies were all elaborate, complete with costume changes for the deceased[clarification needed ] and videos featuring him in concert. His body, placed in a Promethean casket'--bronze polished to a golden shine'--was driven through the streets of New York to the Apollo Theater in a white, glass-encased horse-drawn carriage.[164][165] In Augusta, Georgia, his memorial procession stopped to pay respects at his statue, en route to the James Brown Arena. During the public memorial there, a video showed Brown's last performance in Augusta, Georgia, with the Ray Charles version of "Georgia on My Mind" playing soulfully in the background.[158][159][166] His last backup band, the Soul Generals, also played some of his hits during that tribute at the arena. The group was joined by Bootsy Collins on bass, with MC Hammer performing a dance in James Brown style.[167] Former Temptations lead singer Ali-Ollie Woodson performed "Walk Around Heaven All Day" at the memorial services.[168] Brown was buried in a crypt at his daughter's home in Beech Island, South Carolina.[169]
- Last will and testament [ edit ] Brown signed his last will and testament on August 1, 2000, before J. Strom Thurmond Jr., an attorney for the estate.[170] The irrevocable trust, separate and apart from Brown's will, was created on his behalf, that same year, by his attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, one of three personal representatives of Brown's estate. His will covered the disposition of his personal assets, such as clothing, cars, and jewelry, while the irrevocable trust covered the disposition of the music rights, business assets of James Brown Enterprises, and his Beech Island, South Carolina estate.[171]
- During the reading of the will on January 11, 2007, Thurmond revealed that Brown's six adult living children (Terry Brown, Larry Brown, Daryl Brown, Yamma Brown Lumar, Deanna Brown Thomas and Venisha Brown) were named in the document, while Hynie and James II were not mentioned as heirs.[170][172] Brown's will was signed 10 months before James II was born and more than a year before Brown's marriage to Tomi Rae Hynie. Like Brown's will, his irrevocable trust omitted Hynie and James II as recipients of Brown's property. The irrevocable trust had also been established before, and not amended since, the birth of James II.[173]
- On January 24, 2007, Brown's children filed a lawsuit, petitioning the court to remove the personal representatives from the estate (including Brown's attorney, as well as trustee Albert "Buddy" Dallas) and appoint a special administrator because of perceived impropriety and alleged mismanagement of Brown's assets.[174][175] On January 31, 2007, Hynie also filed a lawsuit against Brown's estate, challenging the validity of the will and the irrevocable trust. Hynie's suit asked the court both to recognize her as Brown's widow and to appoint a special administrator for the estate.[176]
- On January 27, 2015, Judge Doyet Early III ruled that Tomi Rae Hynie Brown was officially the widow of James Brown. The decision was based on the grounds that Hynie's previous marriage was invalid and that James Brown had abandoned his efforts to annul his own marriage to Hynie.[107][177]
- On February 19, 2015, the South Carolina Supreme Court intervened, halting all lower court actions in the estate and undertaking to review previous actions itself.[178] The South Carolina Court of Appeals in July 2018 ruled that Hynie was, in fact, Mr. Brown's wife.[179] In 2020, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Hynie had not been legally married to Brown and did not have a right to his estate.[180] It was reported in July 2021 that Brown's family had reached a settlement ending the 15-year battle over the estate.[180]
- Legacy [ edit ] Brown received awards and honors throughout his lifetime and after his death. In 1993, the City Council of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, conducted a poll of residents to choose a new name for the bridge that crossed the Yampa River on Shield Drive. The winning name, with 7,717 votes, was "James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge". The bridge was officially dedicated in September 1993, and Brown appeared at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the event.[181] A petition was started by local ranchers to return the name to "Stockbridge" for historical reasons, but they backed off after citizens defeated their efforts because of the popularity of Brown's name. Brown returned to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on July 4, 2002, for an outdoor festival, performing with bands such as the String Cheese Incident.[182]
- During his long career, Brown received many prestigious music industry awards and honors. In 1983 he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Brown was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction dinner in New York on January 23, 1986. At that time, the members of his original vocal group, the Famous Flames (Bobby Byrd, Johnny Terry, Bobby Bennett, and Lloyd Stallworth) were not inducted.[183] However, on April 14, 2012, the Famous Flames were automatically and retroactively inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Brown, without the need for nomination and voting, on the basis that they should have been inducted with him in 1986.[184][185] On February 25, 1992, Brown was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th annual Grammy Awards. Exactly a year later, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards.[186] A ceremony was held for Brown on January 10, 1997, to honor him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[186]
- On June 15, 2000, Brown was honored as an inductee to the New York Songwriters Hall of Fame. On August 6, 2002, he was honored as the first BMI Urban Icon at the BMI Urban Awards. His BMI accolades include an impressive ten R&B Awards and six Pop Awards.[187] On November 14, 2006, Brown was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and he was one of several inductees to perform at the ceremony.[188] In recognition of his accomplishments as an entertainer, Brown was a recipient of Kennedy Center Honors on December 7, 2003.[186] In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked James Brown as No. 7 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[189] In an article for Rolling Stone, critic Robert Christgau cited Brown as "the greatest musician of the rock era".[190] He appeared on the BET Awards June 24, 2003, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Michael Jackson, and performed with him. In 2004, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Aretha Franklin.[191][192]
- Statue of James Brown in AugustaBrown was also honored in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia, for his philanthropy and civic activities. On November 20, 1993, Mayor Charles DeVaney of Augusta held a ceremony to dedicate a section of 9th Street between Broad and Twiggs Streets, renamed "James Brown Boulevard", in the entertainer's honor.[186] On May 6, 2005, as a 72nd birthday present for Brown, the city of Augusta unveiled a life-sized bronze James Brown statue on Broad Street.[186] The statue was to have been dedicated a year earlier, but the ceremony was put on hold because of a domestic abuse charge that Brown faced at the time.[193] In 2005, Charles "Champ" Walker and the We Feel Good Committee went before the County commission and received approval to change Augusta's slogan to "We Feel Good". Afterward, officials renamed the city's civic center the James Brown Arena, and James Brown attended a ceremony for the unveiling of the namesake center on October 15, 2006.[186]
- On December 30, 2006, during the public memorial service at the James Brown Arena, Dr. Shirley A.R. Lewis, president of Paine College, a historically black college in Augusta, Georgia, bestowed posthumously upon Brown an honorary doctorate in recognition and honor of his many contributions to the school in its times of need. Brown had originally been scheduled to receive the honorary doctorate from Paine College during its May 2007 commencement.[194][195]
- During the 49th Annual Grammy Awards presentation on February 11, 2007, James Brown's famous cape was draped over a microphone by Danny Ray at the end of a montage in honor of notable people in the music industry who died during the previous year. Earlier that evening, Christina Aguilera delivered an impassioned performance of Brown's hit "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" followed by a standing ovation, while Chris Brown performed a dance routine in honor of James Brown.[196]
- On August 17, 2013, the official R&B Music Hall of Fame honored and inducted James Brown at a ceremony held at the Waetjen Auditorium at Cleveland State University.
- Traffic box public art commissioned to be painted by Ms. Robbie Pitts Bellamy in tribute to Brown in 2015ART THE BOX began in early 2015 as a collaboration between three organizations: the City of Augusta, the Downtown Development Authority and the Greater Augusta Arts Council. 19 local artists were selected by a committee to create art on 23 local traffic signal control cabinets (TSCCs). A competition was held to create the James Brown Tribute Box on the corner of James Brown Blvd. (9th Ave.) and Broad St. This box was designed and painted by local artist, Ms. Robbie Pitts Bellamy and has become a favorite photo opportunity to visitors and locals in Augusta, Georgia.
- "I have a lot of musical heroes but I think James Brown is at the top of the list", remarked Public Enemy's Chuck D. "Absolutely the funkiest man on Earth ... In a black household, James Brown is part of the fabric '' Motown, Stax, Atlantic and James Brown."[197]
- In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Brown at No. 44 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[198] On April 24, 2023, James Brown was inducted into the newly established Atlantic City Walk Of Fame presented by The National R&B Music Society Inc.[199][200] Brown's daughter Deanna Brown Thomas accepted the honor on his behalf. The unveiling and induction ceremony took place at Brighton Park in Atlantic City, NJ. Brown was inducted by Bowlegged Lou of the production team Full Force. Other inductees included, Little Anthony & The Imperials, The Delfonics and Grover Washington Jr.[201]
- Tributes [ edit ] As a tribute to James Brown, the Rolling Stones covered the song, "I'll Go Crazy" from Brown's Live at the Apollo album, during their 2007 European tour.[202] Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has remarked, "He [James Brown] was almost a musical genre in his own right and he changed and moved forward the whole time so people were able to learn from him."[203]
- On December 22, 2007, the first annual "Tribute Fit For the King of King Records" in honor of James Brown was held at the Madison Theater in Covington, Kentucky. The tribute, organized by Bootsy Collins, featured Tony Wilson as Young James Brown with appearances by Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D of Public Enemy, the Soul Generals, Buckethead, Freekbass, Triage and many of Brown's surviving family members. Comedian Michael Coyer was the MC for the event. During the show, the mayor of Cincinnati proclaimed December 22 as James Brown Day.[204]
- As of September 2021, a significant collection of James Brown clothing, memorabilia, and personal artifacts are on exhibit in downtown Augusta, Georgia, at the Augusta History Museum.
- Discography [ edit ] Studio albums
- Filmography [ edit ] Biopics [ edit ] Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014), released in April 2014, written and directed by Alex Gibney, produced by Mick Jagger.Get on Up (2014), released in theaters on August 1, 2014. Chadwick Boseman plays the role of James Brown in the film. Originally, Mick Jagger and Brian Grazer had begun producing a documentary film on Brown in 2013. A fiction film had been in the planning stages for many years and was revived when Jagger read the script by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth.[205]In other media [ edit ] Games
- In the video game World of Warcraft, the first boss character of the Forge of Souls dungeon is Bronjahm, "the Godfather of Souls". His quotes during the fight are musical references, and he has a chance of dropping an item called "Papa's Brand New Bag".[206]Television
- As himself (voice) in the 1993 The Simpsons episode "Bart's Inner Child".[207]In 1991, Brown did a Pay Per View Special with top celebrities such as Quincy Jones, Rick James, Dan Aykroyd, Gladys Knight, Denzel Washington, MC Hammer and others attended or were opening acts. This was produced with boxing promoter Buddy Dallas. 15.5 million households tuned in at a cost $19.99.[208]In 2002, Brown starred in the Jackie Chan movie The Tuxedo as himselfOn December 1, 2018, Nickelodeon airs the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode ''Al Be Back'' in which the character Raphael is dressed in an outfit and wig reminiscent of James Brown's iconic red suits and hairstyle in order to perform a Soul-inspired set at a local carnival.See also [ edit ] Progressive soulList of dancersReferences [ edit ] Footnotes
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In re estate of James Brown a/k/a James Joseph Brown, deceased, Case No. 2007-CP-02-0122". State of South Carolina Circuit Court, County of Aiken. January 31, 2007. Archived from the original on March 7, 2007 . Retrieved March 21, 2007 '' via FindLaw. ^ "Court order states Tommie Rae Brown as James Brown's wife and legal surviving spouse". WRDW-TV News. Augusta, Georgia. January 26, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. ^ "S.C. Supreme Court freezes James Brown estate case" Aiken Standard Archived May 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine ^ "James Brown was legally married to wife, appeals court rules" Archived April 21, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Augusta Chronicle ^ a b Kinnard, Meg (July 23, 2021). "Family of James Brown settles 15-year battle over his estate". AP News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021 . Retrieved July 25, 2021 . ^ Crowl, D. (June 29, 2002). "The godfather's bridge: James Brown snatched a piece of steamboat history nine years ago" Archived November 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Steamboat Pilot & Today. Retrieved January 12, 2007. ^ "The String Cheese Independence Incident returns to Steamboat: Earl Scruggs and Family and Friends, Yonder Mountain String Band, James Brown & Corey Harris round out music acts" Archived October 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (June 26, 2002). Steamboat Ski Two, U.S.A. Retrieved January 29, 2007. ^ "The Famous Flames". Future Rock Legends. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012 . Retrieved May 4, 2012 . ^ "The Famous Flames Biography | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012 . Retrieved May 4, 2012 . ^ Redferns (April 6, 2012). "The Famous Flames: James Brown was their leader, but they were R&B legends, too (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2012)". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012 . Retrieved May 4, 2012 . ^ a b c d e f The James Brown review Archived December 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (December 30, 2006). The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved January 12, 2007. ^ "BMI Celebrates Urban Music at 2002 Awards Ceremony". bmi.com. August 6, 2002. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008 . Retrieved September 27, 2010 . ^ UK Music Hall of Fame 2006 Archived November 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine (March 11, 2006). Endemol UK Plc. Retrieved January 12, 2007. ^ Rubin, R. (April 15, 2004). The Immortals: The first fifty '' 7 James Brown Archived November 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Rolling Stone Magazine (issue 946). Retrieved January 10, 2007. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The Genius: James Brown" Archived May 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2010. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016 . Retrieved December 26, 2020 . ^ "2004 Summit Highlights Photo". 2004. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020 . Retrieved December 26, 2020 . 2004 honoree James Brown, the 'Godfather of Soul,' performs his famous hit song from 1965, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" at the Academy of Achievement's Banquet of the Golden Plate in Stanley Hall of Chicago's Field Museum. ^ "James Brown's legal troubles delay statue unveiling" (May 1, 2004). The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved January 14, 2007, from the Lexis-Nexis Academic database. ^ "Remembering James Brown: Augusta memorial memorable" Archived July 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, WKBF-TV (Augusta, Georgia). Retrieved January 10, 2007. ^ "James Brown receives posthumous degree" Archived January 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (January 2, 2007). Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Retrieved March 16, 2007. ^ Hasty, J. (February 12, 2007). "Grammy performances look forward and back" Archived June 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2007. ^ Mojo, March 2002 ^ "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. January 1, 2023 . Retrieved September 6, 2023 . ^ "Atlantic City Walk of Fame Induction". Press of Atlantic City. April 24, 2023. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023 . Retrieved April 26, 2023 . ^ "GALLERY: Atlantic City Walk of Fame induction ceremony". Press of Atlantic City. April 24, 2023. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023 . Retrieved April 26, 2023 . ^ Fertsch, Cindy (April 20, 2023). "Musicians to be inducted in Atlantic City Walk of Fame". Shore Local Newsmagazine. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023 . Retrieved April 28, 2023 . ^ "Rolling Stones show they are still greatest rock band" Archived August 13, 2023, at the Wayback Machine (August 22, 2007). The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 24, 2007. ^ Ross Bennett. Jimmy Page: "The Records That Changed My Life!" #10 Archived January 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Mojo. Retrieved December 31, 2010. ^ Tunis, W. (December 21, 2007). "Feel good again: Show to pay tribute to the Godfather of Soul, a year after his death", Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved December 23, 2005. Archived January 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine ^ Browne, David (January 31, 2013). "James Brown Estate Revs Up With Biopic". Rolling Stone. No. 1175. p. 22. ^ "Bronjahm '' NPC '' World of Warcraft". Wowhead.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011 . Retrieved July 6, 2011 . ^ Chilton, Martin (December 17, 2014). "The Simpsons: best musical guests" . The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022 . Retrieved September 10, 2018 . ^ Jet Magazine, July 1, 1991, pp. 58''60. Sources
- M. Cordell Thompson (December 30, 1971). "James Brown Goes through Some New Changes". Jet. Vol. XLI, no. 14. pp. 54''61. "Singer James Brown in Poor Health". Jet. January 6, 2003. Brown, James; Tucker, Bruce (1986). James Brown: The Godfather of Soul. New York: Macmillan. Brown, James; Tucker, Bruce (1997). James Brown: The Godfather of Soul. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-388-6. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013 . Retrieved August 7, 2019 '' via worldcat.org. Brown, James; Tucker, Bruce (2002). James Brown: The Godfather of Soul. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 1560253886. [permanent dead link ] Rhodes, Don (2008). Say It Loud! My Memories of James Brown, Soul Brother No. 1. Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-59921-674-4. Smith, R. J. (2012). The One: The Life and Music of James Brown. New York: Gotham Books. ISBN 9781101561102. Whitburn, Joel (2010). Hot R&B Songs From Billboard's R&B Charts, 1942''2010. Records Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4. Further reading [ edit ] Danielsen, Anne (2006). Presence and pleasure: The funk grooves of James Brown and Parliament. Wesleyan University Press.George, Nelson, and Leeds, Alan (editors). (2008). The James Brown Reader: 50 Years of Writing about the Godfather of Soul. New York: Plume.Lethem, J. (June 12, 2006). "Being James Brown", Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2007. Archived May 5, 2009, at the Wayback MachineMcBride, James (2016) Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul. New York: Spiegel & GrauSullivan, James. (2008). The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved The Soul Of America. New York: Gotham Books. ISBN 9781592403905Sussman, M. (producer). (December 25, 2006). Arts: Soul classics by James Brown (multimedia presentation). The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2007.Wesley, Fred. (2002). Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman. Durham: Duke University Press.Whitney, Marva and Waring, Charles. (2013) God, The Devil & James Brown:(Memoirs of a Funky Diva). New Romney: Bank House BooksExternal links [ edit ] "James Brown Showcase". Local Music Scene South Carolina. James Brown at AllMusic James Brown at CurlieJames Brown discography at DiscogsJames Brown at IMDbStudio albumsLive albumsNotable compilation albumsBand membersAssociated actsRelated articles
- Raynoma Gordy Singleton, an Early Motown Force, Dies at 79 - The New York Times
- Raynoma Gordy and Barney Ales, left, and Berry Gordy Jr., far right, in a Detroit nightclub around 1960. Credit... Barney Ales Collection Raynoma Gordy Singleton, who played a vital role in the early days of Motown as the business partner and second wife of Berry Gordy Jr., the record label's founder and patriarch, died on Nov. 11 in Woodland Hills, Calif. She was 79.
- The cause was brain cancer, her family said. Her death was not immediately announced.
- In most versions of Motown's founding myth, Mr. Gordy, a former boxer and Detroit autoworker, created his musical enterprise '-- a series of interconnected labels and other companies '-- in early 1959 to gain greater control over his budding career as a songwriter and producer.
- But by his side from the earliest days was Ms. Singleton, whom Mr. Gordy met when she auditioned as a singer in 1958, impressing him with her perfect pitch. From then until 1964, when she left Motown for the first time, Ms. Singleton helped Mr. Gordy run some of his most important businesses, including Jobete, the company that managed Motown's music publishing rights.
- She also created arrangements for Motown's studio musicians and taught future stars like Smokey Robinson the fundamentals of music theory. It was Ms. Singleton who, in 1959, found the former photography studio at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit that became the label's headquarters, known as Hitsville U.S.A.
- Many of Ms. Singleton's achievements, however, are little known. In part that may be because Motown's golden era in the mid-1960s, when it churned out Top 10 hits by the dozen, came after Ms. Singleton left the company and divorced Mr. Gordy, said Adam White, who wrote the book ''Motown: The Sound of Young America,'' published this year, with the former Motown executive Barney Ales.
- ''So much happened subsequently'' to Ms. Singleton's time there, Mr. White said in an interview, ''that it's obscured the importance of her role at that critical early stage.''
- Yet as Ms. Singleton saw it, Mr. Gordy himself was the cause of her obscurity.
- In her book ''Berry, Me, and Motown: The Untold Story'' (1990), Ms. Singleton bitterly accused her former husband '-- whom she called ''that thief of dreams'' '-- of denying her credit for helping to found the label, and of persuading her to remove her name from company legal papers, leaving her with no financial stake. After the Motown label was sold in 1988 for $61 million, she said, she received only a plaque.
- Raynoma Mayberry was born in Detroit on March 8, 1937. Her father, Ashby, was a janitor at a Cadillac plant; he and her mother, Lucille, encouraged her musical talent at a young age. At Cass Technical High School, Raynoma learned to play 11 instruments, including the harp.
- Image Raynoma Gordy Singleton's memoir. Credit... McGraw-Hill She married Charles Liles, a saxophonist, in 1955, and divorced him two years later. After meeting Mr. Gordy in 1958, she quickly became his business and romantic partner, and in 1959 she gave birth to their son, Kerry; she and Mr. Gordy married the following year.
- In Motown's infancy, Ms. Singleton held a variety of roles. As one of the Rayber Voices '-- the name was a combination of Raynoma and Berry '-- she was a backup singer on many early songs, including Marv Johnson's ''Come to Me,'' the inaugural record on Tamla, Mr. Gordy's first label.
- She also worked as a producer under the name Miss Ray. And as a label executive, she signed the first contract for one of Motown's most important early talents: Stevie Wonder.
- Ms. Singleton and Mr. Berry had already decided to divorce, when she was sent to New York in 1963 to open a branch of Jobete. But their relationship collapsed the next year when she bootlegged 5,000 copies of Mary Wells's single ''My Guy,'' peddling the record out of a silver Lincoln Continental; she spent a night in jail.
- According to Ms. Singleton's book, she agreed to a settlement with Motown to avoid being prosecuted. She signed a general release from the label, she said, in exchange for $10,000 and monthly payments including child support.
- She divorced Mr. Gordy in 1964, and the next year she married Eddie Singleton, a songwriter. The two started a new label, Shrine, in Washington. But after a few years, the label failed and Ms. Singleton returned to the Motown fold, for a time working as an assistant to Diana Ross. Her marriage to Mr. Singleton also ended in divorce.
- Despite her break with Mr. Gordy, Ms. Singleton continued to have various affiliations with Motown. In the late 1970s she managed Apollo, a band that included her son Kerry and was signed to a Motown label. In 1983, credited as Ray Singleton, she was an executive producer of ''Somebody's Watching Me,'' the hit album by Rockwell (a stage name for Kennedy Gordy, another Motown scion).
- Already estranged from the Motown circle by the time she published her book '-- she called her status an ''exile'' '-- she eventually reconciled with Mr. Gordy. In his 1994 memoir, ''To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown,'' Mr. Gordy disputed some of the claims in her book. Ms. Singleton apologized to him personally, he wrote, and the two had become ''closer than ever.''
- Ms. Singleton, who lived in Woodland Hills, is survived by her sons, Cliff Liles, Kerry Gordy and Eddie Singleton Jr.; her daughter, Rya Singletary; four grandchildren; and a sister, Juanita Dickerson.
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- Berry Gordy - Wikipedia
- American music executive and record producer
- Birth name Berry Gordy III Also known as Berry Gordy Jr.Born ( 1929-11-28 ) November 28, 1929 (age 93) [1]Detroit, Michigan, U.S.GenresOccupation(s)Record executiverecord producersongwriterfilm producertelevision producer Years active 1953''2019[2][3]LabelsMotownMusical artist
- Berry Gordy III[citation needed ] (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr.,[4] is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.[5]
- As a songwriter, Gordy composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Lonely Teardrops" and "That's Why" (Jackie Wilson), "Shop Around" (The Miracles), and "Do You Love Me" (The Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit "Reet Petite" (Jackie Wilson). As part of the Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back" and "ABC". As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, and choreography of his acts.
- Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in 2016, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021. In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
- Early years [ edit ] Berry Gordy III (also known as Berry Gordy Jr.) was the seventh of eight children (Fuller, Esther, Anna, Loucye, George, Gwen, Berry and Robert), born on November 28, 1929,[6] in Detroit, to middle-class parents, Berry Gordy II (also known as Berry Gordy Sr.) and Bertha Fuller Gordy, who had relocated to Detroit from Oconee, Washington County, Georgia, in 1922.[4]
- His grandfather, named Berry Gordy I, was the son of James Gordy, a white plantation owner in Georgia, and one of his slaves. His half-brother, James (son of the elder James and his legal wife), was the grandfather of President Jimmy Carter. Berry Gordy II was led to Detroit both by the job opportunities offered by the booming automotive businesses,[4] and also by worries over the atmosphere in the American South where black men were lynched "with chilling regularity by the Ku Klux Klan"; in the first twenty years of the twentieth century, 1,502 lynchings were reported, most in Southern states.[7] Gordy's father opened a grocery store, owned a plastering and carpentry business, and a printing shop. While his brothers Fuller and George were happy to work at jobs their father assigned to them in construction and printing, Berry and Robert, the younger boys, were less inclined to follow that path. Both Robert and Berry liked dancing and music, but Berry's greatest interest was in boxing.[8]
- Gordy dropped out of Northeastern High School in the eleventh grade to become a professional boxer[9][10] in hopes of becoming rich quickly; he boxed professionally until 1950, when he was drafted by the United States Army in 1951 for service in the Korean War. Arriving in Korea in May 1952, Gordy was first assigned to the 58th Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, near Panmunjom. He later became a chaplain's assistant, driving a jeep and playing the organ at religious services at the front. His tour in the Korean War was completed in April 1953. He obtained a GED, which is equivalent to a high school diploma.[11]
- After his return from Korea in 1953, he married 19-year-old Thelma Louise Coleman in Toledo, Ohio.[11] Gordy developed his interest in music by writing songs and opening the 3-D Record Mart, a record store featuring jazz music and 3-D glasses.[12] The store was unsuccessful, and Gordy sought work at the Lincoln-Mercury plant, but his family connections put him in touch with Al Green (no relation to the singer Reverend Al Green), owner of the Flame Show Bar Talent Club, where he met the singer Jackie Wilson.[13]
- In 1957, Wilson recorded "Reet Petite", a song Gordy had co-written with his sister Gwen and writer-producer Billy Davis. It became a modest hit, but had more success internationally, especially in the UK, where it reached the Top 10 and even later topped the chart on re-issue in 1986. Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years, including "Lonely Teardrops", which topped the R&B charts and got to number 7 in the pop chart. The Gordy siblings and Davis also wrote "All I Could Do Was Cry" for Etta James at Chess Records.[14][15]
- Motown Record Corporation [ edit ] Gordy reinvested the profits from his songwriting success into producing. In 1957, he discovered the Miracles (originally known as the Matadors) and began building a portfolio of successful artists. In 1959, with the encouragement of Miracles leader Smokey Robinson, Gordy borrowed $800 (about $8,404 in 2023) from his family to create an R&B record company. Originally, Gordy wanted to name the new label Tammy Records, after the song recorded by Debbie Reynolds. However, that name was taken, and he chose the name Tamla Records. The company began operating on January 12, 1959.[6] "Come to Me" by Marv Johnson was issued as Tamla 101. United Artists Records picked up "Come to Me" for national distribution, as well as Johnson's more successful follow-up records such as "You Got What It Takes", co-produced by Gordy, who also received a co-writer credit, though the song was originally written and recorded by guitarist Bobby Parker for Vee-Jay Records a year and a half earlier. Gordy's next release was the only 45 ever issued on his Rayber label, featuring Wade Jones with an unnamed female backup group. The record did not sell well and is now one of the rarest issues from the Motown stable. Berry's third release was "Bad Girl" by the Miracles, the first release on the Motown record label. "Bad Girl" was a solid hit in 1959 after Chess Records picked it up. Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" initially appeared on Tamla and then charted on Gordy's sister's label, Anna Records, in February 1960. It was The Miracles who gave the label its first million-selling hit single, with the 1960 Grammy Hall of Fame smash, "Shop Around" and this song, and its follow up hits,"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (another Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted hit), "Mickey's Monkey","What's So Good About Goodbye", and "I'll Try Something New", made The Miracles the label's first stars.[citation needed ]
- The Tamla and Motown labels were then merged into a new company, Motown Record Corporation, incorporated on April 14, 1960. In 1960, Gordy signed an unknown singer, Mary Wells, who became the fledgling label's second star, with Smokey Robinson penning her hits "You Beat Me to the Punch", "Two Lovers", and "My Guy". The Miracles' hit "Shop Around" peaked at No. 1 on the national R&B charts in late 1960 and at No. 2 on the Billboard magazine pop charts on January 16, 1961 (No. 1 pop, Cash Box), which established Motown as an independent company worthy of notice. Later in 1961, the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" made it to the top of both charts.[citation needed ]
- Berry Gordy House, known as the Motown mansion, in Detroit's Boston-Edison Historic District[16]Gordy's gift for identifying and bringing together musical talent, along with the careful management of his artists' public image, made Motown a major national and then international success. Over the next decade, he signed such artists as the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, the Contours, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Commodores, the Velvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5. Though he also signed some white acts to the label (Rare Earth, Rustix, via the Rare Earth label), he mainly promoted African American artists but carefully controlled their public image, dress, manners and choreography for across-the-board appeal.[17]
- Relocation to Los Angeles [ edit ] In 1972, Gordy relocated to Los Angeles, where he produced the commercially successful biographical drama film on Billie Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues, starring Diana Ross (who was nominated for an Academy Award), Richard Pryor, and Billy Dee Williams (cast in a role originally for Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops). Initially the studio, over Gordy's objections, rejected Williams after several screen tests. However, Gordy, known for his tenacity, eventually prevailed, and the film established Williams as a major movie star. Berry Gordy soon after produced and directed Mahogany (Tony Richardson was the original director, but Gordy fired Richardson and took over direction himself after a dispute over minor casting), also starring Ross and Williams. In 1985, he produced the cult martial arts film The Last Dragon, which starred martial artist Taimak and one of Prince's proteges, Vanity.[citation needed ]
- Although Motown continued to produce major hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s by artists including the Jacksons, Rick James, Commodores, Lionel Richie, and long-term signings Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, the record company was no longer the major force it had been. Gordy sold his interests in Motown Records to MCA and Boston Ventures on June 28, 1988, for $61 million (equivalent to $122,340,000 in 2021). He later sold most of his interests in Jobete publishing to EMI Publishing. Gordy wrote or co-wrote 240 of the approximately 15,000 songs in Motown's Jobete music catalogue. However, the true test of the label's worth would come a few years later, when Polygram paid over $330 million (Diana Ross was given shares in this version of the label) for the Motown catalog.[citation needed ]
- Gordy published an autobiography, To Be Loved, in 1994.[18]
- Awards and accolades [ edit ] Berry Gordy with John Legend, Smokey Robinson, and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House in 2011.Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.[19] In 1993 he received the CBC Lifetime Achievement Award.[20] He was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2009.[21]
- When Gordy received the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Pioneer Award on June 13, 2013, he was the first living individual to receive the honor.[22]
- In 2016, Gordy received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama for "helping to create a trailblazing new sound in American music. As a record producer and songwriter, he helped build Motown, launching the music careers of countless legendary artists. His unique sound helped shape our Nation's story."[23]
- Berry Gordy Square in Los Angeles was designated by the City Council at intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Argyle where the office of Motown was located.[24]
- In 2021, he was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Justino Daz, and Lorne Michaels.[25]
- In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.[26]
- In 2022, he was awarded with an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan.[27]
- Statements about Motown artists [ edit ] Following the funeral of Marvin Gaye on April 5, 1984, Gordy declared Gaye "the greatest of his time." Berry said the singer "had no musical equals," while also discussing how he carried on the legacy of other soul singers who tackled a range of themes, from love to civil rights, such as Billie Holiday.
- On March 20, 2009, Gordy was in Hollywood to pay tribute to his first group and first million-selling act, the Miracles, when the members received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Speaking in tribute to the group, Gordy said: "Without the Miracles, Motown would not be the Motown it is today."[29][30][31][32]
- At the age of 79, Gordy spoke at the memorial service for Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. He suggested that "The King of Pop" was perhaps not the best description for Jackson in light of his achievements, referring to him instead as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
- Motown: The Musical [ edit ] On May 15, 2011, it was announced that Gordy was developing a Broadway musical about Motown. The show is said to be an account of events of the 1960s and how they shaped the creation of the label. Gordy hoped that the musical would improve the reputation of Motown Records and clear up any misconceptions regarding the label's demise.[33]
- Motown: The Musical began previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 11, 2013, and began regular performances there on April 14.[34]The musical closed in January 2015.[35]
- The UK version of Motown: The Musical opened in London's West End in January 2016. Berry Gordy was present at the opening night.
- Personal life [ edit ] Berry Gordy celebrating his daughter's birthday (1971)Gordy, who was married and divorced three times, has eight children with six different women. His publishing company, Jobete, was named after his three eldest children: Joy, Berry and Terry.
- He had three children with his first wife, Thelma Coleman, whom he married in 1953 (they were divorced in 1959):
- Hazel Joy Gordy (born August 24, 1954), was once married to Jermaine JacksonBerry Gordy IV (born October 1955), father to Skyler Austen GordyTerry James Gordy (born August 1956)In the spring of 1960 he married Raynoma Mayberry Liles (they were divorced in 1964).[36][37] They had one son:
- Kerry Gordy (born June 25, 1959)With Jeana Jackson, Gordy had one daughter:
- Sherry Gordy (born May 23, 1963)[38]With his then-mistress Margaret Norton, Gordy had a son who would later become more popularly known as Motown musician Rockwell (born March 15, 1964):
- Kennedy William Gordy (born March 15, 1964)Gordy had a daughter with Motown artist Diana Ross, with whom he had an intimate relationship from 1965 through 1970:
- Rhonda Suzanne (born August 14, 1971; her legal father is Robert Ellis Silberstein under California family law)Gordy's eighth and youngest child is a son born to Nancy Leiviska. He is known by his stage name, Redfoo, as one member of the duo LMFAO (the other member is Skyler Gordy, born August 23, 1986, and known professionally as SkyBlu; he is the grandson of Gordy and Thelma Coleman through their son Berry IV and his wife, Valerie Robeson):
- Stefan Kendal Gordy (born September 3, 1975)Berry married Grace Eaton on July 17, 1990; they divorced in 1993.
- He is also related to former US President Jimmy Carter.[39] His relationship with Carter stems from his white great-grandfather James Thomas Gordy who owned a black, female slave named Esther Johnson.[40][41]
- Vistas Stables [ edit ] Berry Gordy owned the colt Powis Castle whom he raced under the nom de course Vistas Stables.[42] Racing in California, Powis Castle won the 1994 Oceanside Stakes and Malibu Stakes then finished 8th in the Kentucky Derby and 9th in the Preakness Stakes, the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series.[42]
- Film [ edit ] Broadway [ edit ] In popular culture [ edit ] Gordy was portrayed by Billy Dee Williams (whose career Gordy had helped to jump-start in the 1970s) in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream.Gordy was portrayed by Obba Babatunde in the 1998 miniseries The Temptations. He also plays a key role in Ain't Too Proud, which tells the story of The Temptations in a musical format.The character Gordy Berry (also played by Babatunde) in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a reference to Berry Gordy.The character of Curtis Taylor Jr., a music executive in the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls, has been described as "appeared to be patterned after him."[43] The film was based on the 1981 musical Dreamgirls, but the film made the connection to Gordy and Motown much more explicit than the musical did, by, among other things, moving the setting of the story from Chicago to Detroit. Taylor appears in the film as unethical and insensitive to his artists, which caused Gordy and others to criticize the film after its release. Gordy called the portrayal "100% wrong," while Smokey Robinson said it "blatantly painted a negative picture of Motown and Berry Gordy and of the Supremes."[43]Gordy was portrayed by Brandon Victor Dixon in the 2013 stage play production Motown: The Musical.See also [ edit ] Biography portal Album eraList of songs written by Berry GordyReferences [ edit ] ^ "Berry Gordy | Motown Museum | Home of Hitsville U.S.A." Motown Museum. ^ Allard, Fran§ois; Lecocq, Richard (October 4, 2018). Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Octopus Books. ISBN 9781788401234 . Retrieved November 25, 2019 . ^ Jem Aswad (September 24, 2019). "Motown Founder Berry Gordy to Retire". Variety . Retrieved December 20, 2019 . ^ a b c Gordy, Berry Sr. (1979). Movin' Up '' Pop Gordy Tells His Story. Harper Collins. ISBN 0060220538. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (January 1, 2006). Encyclopedia of African American Business. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313331107. ^ a b "Berry Gordy Jr". Biography. April 2, 2014 . Retrieved March 15, 2019 . ^ George, Nelson, Where Did Our Love Go, pg. 5 ^ Where Did Our Love go, Nelson George, pg. 12 ^ Birmingham, Stephen (May 15, 1978). "Mystery man runs largest black company" . The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. p. B-1 . Retrieved January 28, 2022 '' via Newspapers.com. ^ "Berry Gordy". BoxRec . Retrieved June 24, 2019 . ^ a b George, Nelson, Where Did Our Love Go, p. 14 ^ BBC (May 22, 2016). "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Berry Gordy" . Retrieved May 25, 2016 . I was heavily into Jazz and so I opened up this Jazz record store, and in Detroit the people that came in there were asking for the Blues ^ George, Nelson (1985). Where Did Our Love Go? : The Rise & Fall of the Motown Sound (1st ed.). New York, New York. p. 19. ISBN 0312866984. OCLC 12694993. {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) ^ Finn, Natalie (January 20, 2012). "Five Memorable Etta James Songs'--Besides At Last". E! Online . Retrieved March 20, 2019 . ^ Danois, Ericka Blount (July 22, 2016). "Why So White, 'Mad Men' Finale?". EBONY . Retrieved March 20, 2019 . ^ "Motownmansion.com". Motownmansion.com . Retrieved June 30, 2014 . ^ "Berry Gordy". Entrepreneur. October 10, 2008 . Retrieved June 24, 2019 . ^ Miles, Milo (November 27, 1994). "Mr. Motown". The New York Times. ^ "Berry Gordy to Receive Pioneer Award From Songwriters Hall of Fame". Rolling Stone. March 12, 2013. ^ Arsenio hall to get black caucus award. (1993, Sep 16). Los Angeles Sentinel. ^ "Michigan Rock and Roll Legends - BERRY GORDY JR". Michiganrockandrolllegends.com. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Songwriters Hall of Fame to Honor Motown's Berry Gordy" Archived April 11, 2013, at archive.today Playbill.com, March 12, 2013. ^ Dwyer, Colin (September 22, 2016). "At White House, A Golden Moment For America's Great Artists And Patrons". NPR. ^ Wick, Julia (November 26, 2019). "When Motown came to L.A." Newsletter. Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 30, 2020 . ^ "Kennedy Center Honors celebrate Bette Midler, Berry Gordy". UPI . Retrieved December 7, 2021 . ^ Nazareno, Mia (December 17, 2021). "Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, Jr. & More to Be Inducted at 2022 Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame". Billboard . Retrieved December 27, 2021 . ^ "UMich celebrates first in-person commencement since 2019". May 2, 2022. ^ "Photo from Reuters Pictures". Daylife.com. March 20, 2009. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012 . Retrieved April 16, 2012 . ^ "The Miracles Honored At The Hollywood Walk Of Fame - Pictures". Zimbio. March 20, 2009 . Retrieved April 16, 2012 . ^ "The Miracles Honored At The Hollywood Walk Of Fame - Pictures". Zimbio. March 20, 2009 . Retrieved April 16, 2012 . ^ "The Miracles Honored At The Hollywood Walk Of Fame '' Pictures". Zimbio. March 20, 2009 . Retrieved April 16, 2012 . ^ "Motown Founder Develops Own Story for Broadway". Broadway.me. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011 . Retrieved May 15, 2011 . ^ "Berry Gordy, Doug Morris, Smokey Robinson Preview 'Motown: The Musical' ". The Hollywood Reporter. December 4, 2012 . Retrieved December 24, 2012 . ^ "Motown Will Move Out! Musical Will Take Broadway Hiatus With U.K. Plans in Store". playbill.com. Playbill. August 21, 2014. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014 . Retrieved August 22, 2014 . ^ "Shrine -The Full and first issue story by Andy Rix MISS RAY ARRIVES". Soul Articles . Retrieved February 22, 2001 . ^ Green, Michelle (November 5, 1990). "After Decades of Silence, Raynoma Singleton Is Singing the Blues About Her Ex-Husband Berry Gordy". People . Retrieved April 16, 2012 . ^ Gordy, Sherry. "Sherry Gordy's personal webpage". Archived from the original on December 24, 2013 . Retrieved December 22, 2013 . ^ "Berry Gordy". Walkoffame.com. October 25, 2019 . Retrieved February 28, 2022 . ^ Carter, Jeff, Ancestors of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. (2012), 94 ^ Hayter-Menzies, Grant, Lillian Carter: A Compassionate Life, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers (2015), 207 ^ a b "Powis Castle". Equibase Inc. December 28, 2018 . Retrieved December 28, 2018 . ^ a b Berry Gordy speaks out on 'Dreamgirls', Jet, March 19, 2007, archive Sources [ edit ] Ritz, David (1991). Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81191-X. External links [ edit ] Awards for Berry Gordy
- PerformersThe Beach BoysAl Jardine, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis WilsonThe BeatlesGeorge Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo StarrThe DriftersBen E. King, Rudy Lewis, Clyde McPhatter, Johnny Moore, Bill Pinkney, Charlie Thomas, Gerhart ThrasherBob DylanThe SupremesFlorence Ballard, Diana Ross, Mary WilsonEarly influencesNon-performers(Ahmet Ertegun Award)
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- Frances Cress Welsing - Wikipedia
- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- American psychiatrist (1935''2016)
- Welsing receives Community Award at National Black LUV Festival on September 21, 2008
- ( 1935-03-18 ) March 18, 1935DiedJanuary 2, 2016 (2016-01-02) (aged 80)Alma materAntioch College (B.S.),Howard University (M.D.)OccupationPhysicianKnown forThe Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (1991)Frances Luella Welsing (n(C)e Cress; March 18, 1935 '' January 2, 2016) was an American psychiatrist and well-known proponent of the black supremacist melanin theory.[1][2][3]:'3' [4]:'80' Her 1970 essay, The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism (White Supremacy),[5] offered her interpretation of what she described as the origins of white supremacy culture.
- She was the author of The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (1991).[6]
- Early life [ edit ] Welsing was born Frances Luella Cress in Chicago on March 18, 1935. Her father, Henry Noah Cress, was a physician, and her mother, Ida Mae Griffin, was a teacher. She was the middle child of three girls, her elder sister named Lorne, and the younger Barbara. In 1957, she earned a B.S. degree at Antioch College, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1961, she met and eventually married Johannes Kramer Welsing, a Ghanaian, while enrolled at Howard University Medical School. They had no children. In 1962, she received an M.D. from Howard University.[citation needed ] In the 1960s, Welsing moved to Washington, D.C., and worked at many hospitals, especially children's hospitals.[7] While Welsing was an assistant professor at Howard University she formulated her first body of work in 1969, The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and self-published it in 1970.[5] The paper subsequently appeared in the May 1974 edition of The Black Scholar. This was an introduction to her thoughts that would be developed in The Isis Papers.[8] Twenty-two years later she released The Isis Papers, a compilation of essays she had written about global and local race relations.[9]
- Career [ edit ] In 1992, Welsing published The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors. The book is a compilation of essays that she had written over 18 years.
- The name "The Isis Papers" was inspired by an ancient Egyptian goddess. Isis was the sister/wife of the most significant god Osiris. According to Welsing, all the names of the gods were significant; however, also according to Welsing, Osiris means "lord of the perfect Black,'' although there is no etymological validity to this assertion. Welsing specifically chose the name Isis for her admiration of "truth and justice" that allowed for justice to be stronger than gold and silver.[8]
- In this book she talks about the genocide of people of color globally, along with issues black people in the United States face. According to Welsing, the genocide of people of color is caused by white people's inability to produce melanin. The minority status of whites has caused what she calls a preoccupation with white genetic survival.
- She believed that injustice caused by racism will end when "non-white people worldwide recognize, analyze, understand and discuss openly the genocidal dynamic."[8] She also tackled issues such as drug use, murder, teen pregnancy, infant mortality, incarceration, and unemployment, in the black community. According to Welsing, the cause of these issues is white supremacy (the white man's race to the top). Black men are at the center of Welsing's discussion because, according to her, they "have the greatest potential to cause white genetic annihilation."[8]
- Views [ edit ] In The Isis Papers, she described white people as the genetically defective descendants of recessive genetic mutants. She wrote that due to this "defective" mutation, they may have been forcibly expelled from Africa, among other possibilities.[10] Racism, in the views of Welsing, is a conspiracy "to ensure white genetic survival". She attributed AIDS and addiction to crack cocaine and other substances to "chemical and biological warfare" by white people.[10]
- Welsing defined racism as:
- "Racism (white supremacy) is the local and global power system dynamic, structured and maintained by those who classify themselves as white; whether consciously or subconsciously determined; this system consists of patterns of perception, logic, symbol formation, thought, speech, action and emotional response, as conducted simultaneously in all areas of people activity: economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex, and war. The ultimate purpose of the system is to ensure white genetic survival and to prevent white genetic annihilation on Earth'--a planet in which the overwhelming majority of people are classified as non-white (black, brown, red, and yellow) by white skinned people. All of the non-white people are genetically dominant (in terms of skin coloration) compared to the genetic recessive white skinned people".
- Welsing was against white supremacy and what she saw as the emasculation of black men.[8] She theorized that white people were the first people with Albinism who were driven from Africa by the black natives.[11]
- Criticisms [ edit ] Welsing caused controversy after she said that homosexuality among African-Americans was a ploy by white males to decrease the black population,[12] arguing that the emasculation of the black man was a means to prevent the procreation of black people. She also believed that white homosexuality was effeminate and an attempt by weak men at gaining more masculinity. Welsing believed that homosexuality is one of the products of the white peoples' race toward supremacy (using their own weaknesses as a weapon).[clarification needed ]
- Death [ edit ] By December 30, 2015, Welsing had suffered two strokes and was placed in critical care at a Washington, D.C.-area hospital.[13] She died on January 2, 2016, at the age of 80.[13][14]
- Film appearances [ edit ] Welsing appeared in the documentary 500 Years Later (2005), directed by Owen Alik Shahadah, and written by M. K. Asante.[15]Welsing also appeared in Hidden Colors: The Untold History of People of Aboriginal, Moor, and African Descent, a 2011 documentary film by Tariq Nasheed.[16]Works [ edit ] The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors, Chicago: Third World Press, c 1992 (3rd printing); ISBN 978-0-88378-103-6, ISBN 978-0-88378-104-3.References [ edit ] ^ Newkirk, Pamela (September 2002). Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-5800-7. ^ "Controversial Black Doctor Provokes Reporters' Reactions - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. ^ Newkirk, Pamela (September 2002). Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media. NYU Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8147-5800-7 . Retrieved December 31, 2020 . ^ Walker, Clarence E. (June 14, 2001). We Can't Go Home Again: An Argument About Afrocentrism. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-535730-1 . Retrieved December 31, 2020 . ^ a b Welsing, Frances Cress (May 1, 1974). "The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation". The Black Scholar. 5 (8): 32''40. doi:10.1080/00064246.1974.11431416. ISSN 0006-4246. ^ Jaynes, Gerald D. (2005). Encyclopedia of African American society, Volume 1. Sage. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-7619-2764-8. ^ This was from the previous wiki article ^ a b c d e Welsing, Frances (1991). Isis Papers. Washington, DC: C.W Publishing. pp. i''9. ISBN 978-1-60281-959-7. ^ "PE THE 'PIGMENT ENVY' THEORY - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. ^ a b Ortiz de Montellano, Bernard R. (1993). "Melanin, afrocentricity, and pseudoscience". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 36 (S17): 33''58. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330360604. ^ "Afrocentricity vs Homosexuality: The Isis Papers". www.spunk.org . Retrieved April 4, 2018 . ^ Lehr, Valerie (1999). Queer Family Values: Debunking the Myth of the Nuclear Family. Temple University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-56639-684-4. ^ a b "Educator Frances Cress Welsing Dies at 80". Rolling Out.com . Retrieved January 1, 2016 . ^ "Dr. Frances Cress Welsing Dead at 80". The Root.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016 . Retrieved January 2, 2016 . ^ "500 Years Later" (PDF) . African Holocaust.com . Retrieved January 2, 2016 . ^ " 'Hidden Colors' Filmmaker Tariq Nasheed: 'Eric Garner Was Lynched' ". Huffington Post.com. July 30, 2014 . Retrieved January 2, 2016 . External links [ edit ] Ortiz de Montellano, B. (2001) Magic Melanin: Spreading Scientific Illiteracy to Minorities, csicop.org; accessed June 29, 2017.
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