Malcolm X: The FBI File PDF
Preview Malcolm X: The FBI File
Edited FBI file copyright © 1991, 2012 by David Gallen Commentary copyright © 1991, 2012 by Clayborne Carson Introduction copyright © 1991, 2012 by Spike Lee All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [email protected]. Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. ISBN: 978-1-61608-376-2 Printed in the United States of America For my son, David Malcolm Carson ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The publisher gratefully acknowledges permissions to reprint from the following: Amsterdam News, for excerpts throughout. Barry Gray and WOR Radio, for interview June 8, 1964. William Kunstler, for WMCA Radio interview June 8, 1964. Irv Kupcinet, for WBKB Television interview January 30, 1965. Los Angeles Herald Dispatch, for excerpts throughout. New York Post, for “Malcolm X to Elijah: Let’s End the Fighting,” June 26, 1964. © 1964 by New York Post Company, Inc. The New York Times, for “Malcolm X Seeks U.N. Negro Debate,” August 13, 1964. © 1964 by The New York Times Company, Inc. Omaha World-Herald, for “Malcolm X’s Talk June 30,” June 15, 1964; “Malcolm X’s Talk Tonight,” June 30, 1964; “Malcolm X Declares Anything Whites Can Do Blacks Can Do Better,” by Duane Snodgrass, July 1, 1964. Pittsburgh Courier, for excerpts throughout. Mike Wallace, for WNTA Television interviews in “The Hate That Hate Produced,” July 13-17, 1959. Washington Post Company, Inc., for excerpts from New York Herald Tribune, April 26, 1964, and June 16, 1964. © 1964 by New York Herald Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Westinghouse Broadcasting Company and WBZ Radio (Boston), for interview on “The Bob Kennedy Show,” March 24, 1964. WMAL Radio, for interview February 2, 1963. WUST Radio, for interview May 12, 1963. CONTENTS Introduction Part I: Malcolm and the American State Social Origins of Malcolm’s Nationalism Malcolm and the FBI Politicization of Nationalism Malcolm’s Ambiguous Political Legacy Part II: Chronology Part III: The FBI File Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 Section 8 Section 9 Section 10 Section 11 Section 12 Section 13 Section 14 Section 15 Section 16 Section 17 Section 18 Section 19 Elsur Logs Appendix Index INTRODUCTION When I was growing up one of my favorite shows on television was THE FBI (Righter of the Wronged, Protector of the Weak). I liked how Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., the FBI Big Cheese, every week outguessed, outsmarted and outmaneuvered crooks, Communists, thieves, murderers, to uphold truth, justice and the American way. I know I couldn’t have been the only one who watched it; the man himself, J. Edgar Hoover, loved it also. Back in those days I was young and believed the FBI, CIA and the police were the good guys; they were righteous. Over time, I found out, like many others, this isn’t the case at all, except in television and the movies. One can safely say the Federal Bureau of Investigation has never been a friend to African-Americans. As far back as Marcus Garvey and A. Phillip Randolph the Bureau has more than kept its watchful eye on black leaders trying to uplift their people. I was fascinated reading this book. At the same time, though, I found it frightening. We all live in a wicked country where the government can and will do anything to keep people in check. I might add that I see the FBI, CIA and the police departments around this country as one and the same. They are all in cahoots and along with the Nation of Islam they all played a part in the assassination of Malcolm X. Who else? King? Both Kennedys? Evers? Hampton? The list goes on and on. J. Edgar Hoover was a known racist and he did all he could and more to stop any movement by or on behalf of blacks, all under the guise of protecting democrary. This book chronicles the growth in the evolution of Malcolm from his early “white man is the devil” days to his later, more developed world outlook right before he was killed. One can see that the Bureau and agencies like it cannot work successfully without informants. They had plants around Malcolm at the highest levels of all his organizations: The Nation of Islam, Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. To me, that’s the sad part. Malcolm was sold out. A house nigger turned him into Massa just like one did Nat Turner and countless others. It’s also ironic that Brother Gene, one of Malcolm’s bodyguards who gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation seconds after he’d been shot down and was dying, also proved to be a police informant. The Bureau knew Malcolm’s every move, knew he was being hunted down, but stood back and let him and Elijah fight it out in public (a dispute which they encouraged no doubt). I’m still surprised they even let these papers out. Turn that around and wonder what was destroyed: What documents will we never know about? It’s 1991 and the Federal Bureau of Investigation we know from television and Mississippi Burning are far, far from reality. Fortunately, there are books like this that combat these Walt Disney/John Wayne bogus images. The Bureau, however, would make THE GREAT AMERICAN GANGSTER MOVIE. —Spike Lee
The list of books you might like
