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Elijah Muhammad Typed Letter Signed ...
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Description
Elijah Muhammad Typed Letter Signed "Your bro. E. Mohammed". Two pages, 8.5" x 11", Chicago, Illinois; January 6, 1947. A letter addressed to Benjamin [Mitchell] X, Secretary of the #4 Temple, which discusses a case trial and addresses other problems occurring at various temples. This letter was written soon after Muhammad's release from prison, where he had been held for four years on charges of sedition. Upon his release and return to Chicago, he found that the Nation of Islam had started to deteriorate in his absence and he sought to rectify some of the issues. The letter reads, in part:"...this case you mentioned to me, seems to have all the names of the officials involved. You say such has been going on quite awhile, even when we were in prison. The main one that you must have at the hearing is the Sister you spoke of and you tell me she has left town or cannot be found by the investigators. I don't see what you can do with the case until you can bring the Sister before the Temple for trial. That is true the Devil is after making you remove the bulletin board, but they must have a law prohibiting such sign before a religious place of meeting. Otherwise it cannot be done, there being no law against it...I rec'd a letter from the former Capt. of the M.G.T.&.G.C.C. informing me that your Asst. Sec. Sister Agnes X, caused confusion in the Class last week over the selection of a Captain. You go over to the Class, first tell your wife I chose her to be the Captain, she was my preference. Go to the Temple and make it know [sic] that your wife was my selection and that the little Sister's (AgnesX) actions came as a complete surprize [sic] to me. I gave her my choice with out a shadow of a doubt. Why she brought about the confusion after having my exact words I understand. If you say so I will remove her from her position at once and fine another Sister who will be more capable if you say so. I will not tolerate one with such high position to take a message from me and cause other than peace...Deep in her little imposing mind she really wanted her Sister Margaret or her Mother for Captain. In the future I shall never trust her to carry any message to the Class or Temple or me. If the Class wants the letter I sent Sister Agnes X I can easily mail it to you. The Sister had no right to do other than she was told that is giving Sister Clara as my pick. Tell her to go out there and do her duty as Captain also if they fail to obey write me at once." The letter is accompanied by the original transmittal cover.
Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Poole), one of the most influential black leaders of the twentieth century, was born in the South in 1897 and came North with his young wife and children as part of the great migration after the crash of 1929. In Detroit, he heard Master W. Fard Muhammad speak at the Temple of Islam in 1931, and immediately converted. Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam, gave Elijah his new name and made him a minister, and he became an integral part of the Temple. By 1934, Elijah Muhammad had inherited the leadership of the Nation and relocated the center from Detroit to Chicago, where he established Temple No. 2. After his imprisonment, Elijah Muhammad continued to lead the Nation of Islam for the next 40 years during which time he expanded the membership, established many businesses and mentored many notable members including Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.
Condition: Flattened mail folds with light toning throughout. There are a few notations throughout made in pencil in an unknown hand. Small spot of soiling on page 2 at the left edge. Overall very good. The envelope has toning, soiling, and is torn with paper loss.
Auction Info
2019 May 14 Historical Manuscripts Grand Format Auction - Dallas #6210 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
May, 2019
14th
Tuesday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 1
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