singer called "The Charmer," had written our Nation's popular first song, titled "White Man's
Heaven is Black Mali's Hell." Minister Louis X had also authored our first play, "Orgena" ("A
Negro" spelled backwards); its theme was the all-black trial of a symbolic white man for his world
crimes against non-whites; found guilty, sentenced to death, he was dragged off shouting about
all he had done "for the nigra people."
Younger even than our talented Louis X were some newer ministers, MinisterThomas J. X of the
Hartford Temple being one example, and another the Buffalo Temple's Minister Robert J. X.
I had either originally established or organized for Mr. Muhammad most of the represented
temples. Greeting each of these Temples' brother ministers would bring back into my mind
images of "fishing" for converts along the streets and from door-to-door wherever the black
people were congregated. I remembered the countless meetings in living rooms where maybe
seven would be a crowd; the gradually building, building-on up to renting folding chairs for dingy
little storefronts which Muslims scrubbed to spotlessness.
We together on a huge hall's speaking platform, and that vast audience before us, miraculously
manifested, as far as I was concerned, the incomprehensible power of Allah. For the first time, I
truly understood something Mr. Muhammad had told me: he claimed that when he was going
through the sacrificial trials of fleeing the black hypocrites from city to city, Allah had often sent
him visions of great audiences who would one day hear the teachings; and Mr. Muhammad said
the visions also buoyed him when he was locked up for years in the white man's prison.
The great audience's restless whisperings would cease....
At the microphone would be the Nation's National Secretary John Ali, or the Boston Temple
Minister Louis X. They enlivened the all-black atmosphere, speaking of the new world open to the
black man through the Nation of Islam. Sister Tynetta Dynear would speak beautifully of the
Muslim women's powerful, vital contributions, of the Muslim women's roles in our Nation's efforts
to raise the physical, mental, moral, social, and political condition of America's black people.
Next, I would come to the microphone, specifically to condition the audienceto hear Mr.
Muhammad, who had flown from Chicago to teach us all in person.
I would raise up my hand, "As-Salaikum-Salaam-"
"Wa-Alaikum-Salaam!" It was a roared response from the great audience's Muslim seating
section.
There was a general pattern that I would follow on these occasions:
"My black brothers and sisters-of all religious beliefs, or of no religious beliefs-we all have in
common the greatest binding tie we could have... we all are black people!
"I'm not going to take all day telling you some of the greatnesses of The Honorable Elijah
Muhammad. I'm just going to tell you now his greatest greatness! He is the first, the only
black leader to identify, to you and me, who is our enemy!
"The Honorable Elijah Muhammad is the first black leader among us with the courage to tell us-
out here in public-something which when you begin to think of it back in your homes, you will
realize we black people have been living with, we have been seeing, we have been
suffering, all of our lives!
"Our enemy is the white man!
"And why is Mr. Muhammad's teaching us this such a great thing? Because when you know