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REPORTS: |
1. July 2, 1964. Omaha, Nebraska 2. June 30, 1964. New York to Director. Teletype 3. July 7, 1964. SAC, New York to Director. Teletype 4. July 21, 1964. New York to Director. Teletype 5. August 7, 1964. New York to Director. Teletype 6. Sept 2, 1964. Asst. Att. Gen. Yeagley to Director 7. September 11, 1964. SAC, New York to Director 8. September 17, 1964. New York |
The major events of Malcolm’s summer of 1964 were his June 28 founding of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) and his July 7 trip to Africa, where he would remain until November, despite race riots in the United States and growing tension within his newly formed group. At a June 30 speech in Omaha, Malcolm related that the OAAU was dedicated to doing “whatever is necessary to bring the Negro struggle from the level of civil rights to the level of human rights.” He had altered his philosophy and accepted the possibility that “there were many whites who sincerely wanted to help the Negro cause.”
By no means had his change in philosophy reduced his militancy or his commitment to the right to defend oneself when attacked. His new ideology could in fact have made his militancy more effective, because now he could operate within the mainstream of civil rights leaders. Only days after the formation of the OAAU, Malcolm offered to “send some of our brothers . . . on [Dr. Martin Luther] King’s word” to Florida to defend Florida blacks from racist attacks.
Soon after the FBI received information that the NOI had released orders to kill him, Malcolm left on his third trip to Africa, his second in less than a year. The FBI kept close watch over him, and reported the audience’s warm reception of a speech he delivered at a banquet in Alexandria. Another speech indicated Malcolm’s continued interest in pursuing the human rights problem in the international arena.
Malcolm’s apparent success abroad must have begun to worry the Justice Department, because J. Walter Yeagley, Assistant Attorney General in the Internal Security Division, indicated to Director Hoover that he had knowledge that Malcolm had urged foreign governments to “take the issue of racialism in America before the United Nations as a threat to world peace.” Yeagley requested that the FBI look into Malcolm’s dealings and see if there were any “activities abroad indicating a possible violation of the Logan Act,” the act forbidding U.S. citizens to influence foreign governments without permission from the state. The FBI seemed to be interested in helping Mr. Yeagley as much as possible; The Logan Act is printed in a September 11 memo from the New York office to Hoover, and investigators were instructed to review Malcolm’s foreign travels and report any violations.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Omaha, Nebraska
July 2, 1964
MALCOLM K. LITTLE,
also known as Malcolm X
An article appeared in the Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, Nebraska, a daily newspaper, on June 15, 1964, which revealed that Reverend Kelsey Jones, President of the Citizens Coordinating Committee for Civil Liberties, announced that Malcolm X would speak in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Assembly Hall in the City Auditorium at 8:00 P.M. on June 30, 1964. Reverend Jones is quoted as stating, “If you can back Goldwater in Omaha, you ought to be able to listen to Malcolm X.”
An article appeared in the Omaha World-Herald newspaper on June 30, 1964, which stated that the man who had at one time been the fieriest spokesman for the Black Muslim movement stated his new group hopes to carry the American Negro’s plight to the United Nations. The article related that Malcolm X, who was returning to the city where he was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, said his new organization is called Afro-American Unity and dedicated to doing, “whatever is necessary to bring the Negro struggle from the level of civil rights to the level of human rights.”
The article continues by stating that Malcolm X’s organization had telegraphed the Reverend Martin Luther King that it was ready to send help to St. Augustine if the Federal Government does not provide aid. He stated that the day of “turning the other cheek to those brute beasts is over and that we can send enough help to get results.”
The article relates that Malcolm X displayed considerable tolerance toward other Negro rights groups which as a Black Muslim he had berated. In regard to these rights groups he stated, “If they have failed it is because of the terrific opposition they face. If they have not reached their goals, if they have stumbled, it’s because they have been tripped by the American people.” He warned that if negotiation does not bring more results the United States will face a “new situation in the struggle.”
The article quotes him as saying, “I used to believe in Elijah Muhammad (the Black Muslim leader). I believed in him as a person and I believed in his philosophy that the white man is the embodiment of evil.” He said he left the organization “because of internal problems” and not because of the punishment given him over the remarks he had made on President Kennedy’s death. He said, “If Elijah Muhammad teaches the white race is evil how can he condemn me for remarks made when one of them dies?”
The article relates that he realized there were many whites who sincerely wanted to help the Negro cause. He stated, “But they don’t need to join us. They should join each other to change the attitudes of the white community toward the black community.”
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
COMMUNICATIONS SECTION
JUNE 30, 1964
TELETYPE
CODED TELETYPE
FBI NEW YORK
220 PM URGENT 6-30-64 JAM
TO DIRECTOR /4/ 100-399321 JACKSONVILLE AND
NEW ORLEANS
FROM NEW YORK 105-8999 IP
MALCOLM K. LITTLE, AKA IS-MMI.
[BUREAU DELETION] ADVISED INSTANT DATE THAT SUBJECT LEADER OF MUSLIM MOSQUE INCORPORATED /MMI/ AS CHAIRMAN OF NEW ORGANIZATION OF AFRO-AMERICAN UNITY SENT TELEGRAM THIS MORNING TO MARTIN LUTHER KING CONCERNING ATTACKS ON NEGROES IN ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA BY PEOPLE OF WHITE RACE. SUBJECT ADVISED KING THAT IF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL NOT SEND TROOPS TO KING-S ASSISTANCE THAN ON KING-S WORD “WE WILL IMMEDIATELY DISPATCH SOME OF OUR BROTHERS THERE TO ORGANIZE OUR PEOPLE INTO SELF DEFENSE UNITS AMONG OUR PEOPLE AND THE KU KLUX KLAN WILL RECEIVE A TASTE OF ITS OWN MEDICINE. THE DAY OF TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK TO THE HUMAN BRUTE BEASTS IS OVER.”
[BUREAU DELETION]
BUREAU AND INTERESTED OFFICES WILL BE ADVISED OF ANY FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS MATTER.
LHM FOLLOWS
END
MSL
FBI WASH DC
FBI
Date: 7/7/64
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TO |
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DIRECTOR, FBI (100-399321) |
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FROM |
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SAC, NEW YORK (105-8999) |
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SUBJECT |
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MALCOLM K. LITTLE AKA IS-MMI |
On 7/5/64, subject was in contact with [BUREAU DELETION] told him that orders to kill him (MALCOLM) came from Chicago. [BUREAU DELETION] can furnish witnesses if MALCOLM wants to take them to court. [BUREAU DELETION] also told MALCOLM he should tell the FBI all about the threats against him
On 7/5/64, subject contacted [BUREAU DELETION] MALCOLM informed [BUREAU DELETION] had filed suits against ELIJAH for illegitimacy and non-support, and he urged her to talk one of the other mothers (not named) into filing suit against him. He also told her that ELIJAH has been putting money in Switzerland lately, and CLARA has been putting hers in Beirut and CAIRO. MALCOLM also told her “that that [BUREAU DELETION] has been giving ELIJAH money for several years.
The above is being furnished for information.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
COMMUNICATIONS SECTION
JULY 21, 1964
TELETYPE
CODED TELETYPE
FBI NEW YORK
10-33 PM URGENT 7-21-64 DAE
TO DIRECTOR -19- 100-399321
FROM NEW YORK 105-8999
MALCOLM X LITTLE AKA, IS-MMI.
ARTICLE IN “NEW YORK JOURNAL AMERICAN” DATED JULY TWENTY ONE SIXTY FOUR, REFLECTS THAT MALCOLM X IS OR HAS RETURNED TO THE U. S. FROM HIS AFRICAN TOUR AND WILL BE FORMING RIFLE CLUBS. [BUREAU DELETION] ON JULY TWENTY SIXTY FOUR ADVISED MALCOLM X CONTACTED [BUREAU DELETION] FROM CAIRO, EGYPT, SAME DATE AND INFORMED HER THAT HE WILL NOT RETURN TO THE U. S. THE FIRST TWO WEEKS IN AUGUST SIXTY FOUR, ALTHOUGH HE HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE RIOTS IN HARLEM, BUT WILL INSTEAD GO TO ARABIA AND OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND WILL CONTACT [BUREAU DELETION] AGAIN ON JULY TWENTY ONE SIXTY FOUR. [BUREAU DELETION] ADVISED JULY TWENTY ONE SIXTY FOUR THAT THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT MALCOLM X HAS CHANGED HIS PLANS SINCE JULY TWENTY SIXTY FOUR AND IS DEFINITELY NOT IN NYC AT PRESENT TIME. [BUREAU DELETION]
END AND PLS HOLD
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
COMMUNICATIONS SECTION
AUGUST 7, 1964
TELETYPE
SENT BY CODED TELETYPE
FBI NEW YORK
10-15 PM URGENT 8-7-64 DAE
TO DIRECTOR -14- 100-399321-ENCODED
FROM NEW YORK 105-8999
MALCOLM K. LITTLE, IS-MMI.
[BUREAU DELETION] ADVISED EIGHT SEVEN SIXTY FOUR, THAT [BUREAU DELETION]ON SAME DATE TOLD [BUREAU DELETION] HE RECEIVED A “WRITE-UP OF A PRESS RELEASE” FROM MALCOLM THAT HE IS GOING TO RELEASE TODAY. RELEASE STATES THAT ON EIGHT, FOUR SIXTY FOUR IN ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT, MALCOLM X ADDRESSED OVER EIGHT HUNDRED MUSLIM STUDENTS REPRESENTING SEVENTY THREE DIFFERENT AFRICAN AND ASIAN COUNTRIES AT A BANQUET GIVEN BY THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF ISLAMIC AFFAIRS IN WHICH HE EXHORTED THEM TO CALL TO THE ATTENTION OF THEIR GOVERNMENTS WHO IN TURN SHOULD BRING TO THE ATTENTION OF THE UN THE PLIGHT OF THE NEGRO IN AMERICA. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE BANQUET, ACCORDING TO THE RELEASE, ONE [BUREAU DELETION] /LNU/ OFFERED MALCOLM X TWENTY FREE EXPENSE PAID SCHOLARSHIPS TO AL-AZER /PH/ UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO SO THAT MALCOLM X CAN HAVE YOUNG MEN TRAINED IN THE /MUSLIM/ RELIGION, [BUREAU DELETION] STATED THAT ONE [BUREAU DELETION] HAD INVITED MALCOLM-S MUSLIM MOSQUE, INC., /MMI/ TO JOIN THE ISLAMIC FEDERATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND THAT MALCOLM-S [BUREAU DELETION] SHOULD BE A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MMI WHICH [BUREAU DELETION] AGREED TO BECOME. THE ABOVE IS DETAIL OF INFO OF THAT SUBMITTED IN SUMMARY TELETYPE THIS DATE.
LHM FOLLOWS.
END AND PLS HOLD.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
MEMORANDUM
DATE: September 2, 1964
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TO |
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Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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FROM |
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J. Walter Yeagley |
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SUBJECT |
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MALCOLM K. LITTLE |
Information has come to our attention reflecting that Malcolm K. Little, aka “Malcolm X,” in the course of his recent tour of Middle East and African states has reportedly been in communication and contact with heads of foreign governments urging that they take the issue of racialism in America before the United Nations as a threat to world peace.
Since such activities could conceivably fall within the provisions of the Logan Act, and are moreover deemed to be inimical to the best interests of our country, prejudicial to our foreign policy, we are requesting the Secretary of State to make appropriate inquiries of our Embassies in the Middle East and Africa for any pertinent information concerning Malcolm X’s alleged contacts and communications with heads of foreign governments.
We would also appreciate having your Bureau furnish us with any information which you may receive concerning Malcolm X’s activities abroad indicating a possible violation of the Logan Act.
9/11/64
SAC, New York (105-8999)
Director, FBI (100-399321)
MALCOLM K. LITTLE
SECURITY MATTER - MMI
Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter from Assistant Attorney General J. Walter Yeagley, Internal Security Division, Department of Justice.
The Logan Act mentioned by the Department’s letter is Title 18, Section 953, U. S. Code Annotated and reads as follows:
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects. June 25, 1948, c. 645, 62 Stat. 744.
While the Logan Act is not a statute over which the Bureau has primary investigative jurisdiction, your attention is called to the Assistant Attorney General’s request in the last sentence of his letter. You are to review your file on Little beginning with his first departure on foreign travel for any information which may tend to show a violation of the above-mentioned statute. This request should also be kept in mind during future investigation of the subject. Any information which appears pertinent to Mr. Yeagley’s request should be promptly submitted in a memorandum suitable for dissemination to the Department.
Note:
Little, former minister of Nation of Islam Temple No. 7, New York City, is now head of the Muslim Mosque, Inc., which he organized as a militant quasi-religious Negro organization deeply involved in the Harlem race demonstrations. His name is included in the Security Index.
Enclosure
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
New York, New York
September 17, 1964
Malcolm K. Little
Internal Security - Muslim Mosque Incorporated
A confidential source who has furnished reliable information in the past [BUREAU DELETION] made available a press release dated July 17, 1964, under the letterhead “Organization of Afro-American Unity” (OAAU), containing a cover sheet which stated, “During the midst of the racial turmoil here in America, the most militant of the militant Negroes—Malcolm X—was in Cairo, Egypt, where he was the only American allowed into the conference of the Organization of African Unity.”
“A resolution was passed at this conference condemning racism in the United States. Sincerely, OAAU.”
This press release stated that it is a “Copy of the statement that was prepared by Malcolm X on behalf of the OAAU and the 22 million Afro-Americans, and was delivered by him to the conference which opened in Cairo, Egypt, on July 17, 1964.”
The statement alleged to be prepared by Malcolm X was addressed to Their Excellencies, First Ordinary Assembly of Heads of State and Governments, Organization of African Unity, Cairo, U.A.R.
Editor’s note. “Our problems are your problems,” Malcolm asserts repeatedly throughout this plea to the Independent African States for aid in the battle of “twenty-two million African Americans whose human rights are being violated daily by the racism of American imperialists.” Malcolm counts African Americans among the lost—a people taken in chains to a strange land that has submitted them for three hundred years to physical abuse and mental torture; a people today left defenseless by a government that has continually failed to protect their lives or property simply because they are black and of African descent. The problem, as Malcolm presents it, belongs not to a single nation, or even a continent, but the the world and to humanity; for “it is not a problem of civil rights, but a problem of human rights.”
America, Malcolm argues, is no less guilty of violating the human rights of her black citizens than is South Africa. In fact, Malcolm finds the situation in America worse because, in addition to being racist, “she is also deceitful and hypocritical.” South Africa, he points out, “practices what she preaches”—segregation—whereas in America what is practiced is segregation but what is preached is integration. To Malcolms view, “the much publicized, recently passed Civil Rights bill” amounts to little more than a “propaganda maneuver” designed to blind African nations to the injustices of American racism and the sufferings of the American black populace.
According to Malcolm, the struggle of African Americans for their freedom should not be perceived at all as a domestic issue, and indeed the intent of the OAAU is “to ‘internationalize’ it by placing it at the level of human rights.” Thus he beseeches the Independent African States to place this issue before the United Nations because, firstly, the United States government is “morally incapable of protecting the lives and property of twenty-two million African Americans” and, secondly, their “deteriorating plight is definitely becoming a threat to world peace.”
As Malcolm sees it, “frustration and hopelessness” have pushed young blacks in America to the breaking point. By whatever means and whatever the consequences, these blacks, along with him and the OAAU, will “assert the right of self-defense . . . and reserve the right of maximum retaliation against [their] racist oppressors" No longer will they be turning the other cheek, Malcolm says, but rather they will meet “violence with violence, eye for eye and tooth for tooth,” in a “racial conflict . . . that could easily escalate into a violent, worldwide, bloody race war.”
It is “in the interests of world peace and security,” then, that Malcolm couches his final plea for an investigation by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. He does add a final caveat to the Independent African States: “Don’t escape from European colonialism only to become even more enslaved by deceitful, ‘friendly’ American dollarism.”