Leaders of the Nation of Islam Essay -- Black Muslim Malcolm X Elijah

Leaders of Nations The Nation of Islam impacted many African American people during its time. This Black Muslim nation demanded adherence to basic teachings, which included racial separation, white devilry, and the coming Armageddon. None of these basic teachings supported James Baldwin’s perceptions, which pitied whites for their inability to see through the color curtain and embrace differences that whites and blacks held together to create a better, inexorable, and supreme nation. Leaders such as Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X provided the vision of the Nation of Islam. These moguls proved to be two of the most powerful leaders of their time. They paved their way through history and rightfully landed a spot belonging to the Islam nation. Even after death, Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X still influence people in communities around the world to look beyond themselves and conquer a solution to the problems that societies still face. However there were some that did not concur with the Nation of Islam, and one of these people was James Baldwin. Although Baldwin, like a lost child, is not confident as to where or to whom he belongs to in life, Baldwin is certain that a black nation separated from all other races will only separate blacks from the future of a better nation and keep them from further developing as a community. Born in Georgia on October 7, 1897, the first leader of the Nation of Islam was a man named Elijah Muhammad. He has often been portrayed as a saint by his peers, but during World War II, Elijah Muhammad expressed support for Japan, on the basis of its being a nonwhite country, and was jailed for sedition. On August 24, 1946 Muhammad was released from prison in Milan, Michigan. Accord... ...We Need Not Look for Another. Phoenix, Arizona: Truth Publications, 1971. Harris, Robert L. "Malcolm and the Cross." Rev. of Malcolm and the Cross: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Christianity, by Louis A DeCaro Jr. New York University Press 1998. Hoffer, Eric. "The Negro Is Prejudiced Against Himself; The Negro Is Against Himself." New York Times 29 Nov. 1964, sec. M: 27-35. Kihss, Peter. â€Å"In Return for Years of Slavery, Four or Five States.† New York Times 23 Apr 1961: 1. Kihss, Peter. â€Å"Negro Extremist Groups Step Up Nationalist Drive.† New York Times 1 March 1961: 2. "Man of Myth and Fact: Elijah Muhammad." New York Times 29 June 1964: 32. Trinklein, Rhaya. The Official Website of Malcolm X. 24 Nov. 2003. CMG Worldwide. .