Krainz Woods (colloquially known as Krainz and Krainz Park ) is a neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan .
117-555: The neighborhood was named after Captain John Krainz Jr., a World War II hero from Detroit. The neighborhood was once home to Malcolm X , who lived on Keystone Street in the 1950s, and Spencer Haywood in the 1960s. The Sojourner Truth housing project is located there. Many Motown singing groups, such as The Dramatics and The Floaters , were from the Sojourner Truth housing projects. In 2009, Mayor of Detroit Dave Bing led
234-510: A nervous breakdown and was committed to Kalamazoo State Hospital . The children were separated and sent to foster homes . Malcolm and his siblings secured her release 24 years later. Malcolm attended West Junior High School in Lansing and then Mason High School in Mason, Michigan , but left high school in 1941, before graduating. He excelled in junior high school but dropped out of high school after
351-574: A Nation of Islam member, was beaten by two New York City police officers . On April 26, Johnson and two other passersby—also Nation of Islam members—saw the officers beating an African American man with nightsticks. When they attempted to intervene, shouting, "You're not in Alabama ... this is New York!" one of the officers turned on Johnson, beating him so severely that he suffered brain contusions and subdural hemorrhaging. All four African American men were arrested. Alerted by
468-531: A White teacher told him that practicing law, his aspiration at the time, was "no realistic goal for a nigger." Later, Malcolm X recalled feeling that the White world offered no place for a career-oriented Black man, regardless of talent. From age 14 to 21, Malcolm held a variety of jobs while living with his half-sister Ella Little-Collins in Roxbury , a largely African American neighborhood of Boston . After
585-470: A black man named Allah , of whom Fard Muhammad is the most recent. It claims that the first Allah created the earliest humans, the Arabic -speaking, dark-skinned Tribe of Shabazz , whose members possessed inner divinity and from whom all people of color descend. It maintains that a scientist named Yakub then created the white race. The whites lacked inner divinity, and were intrinsically violent; they overthrew
702-713: A child prodigy, by the age of 18 he had learned everything that Mecca's universities had to teach him. He attracted a following but caused trouble, leading the Meccan authorities to exile him and his 59,999 followers to Pelan, the Mediterranean island of Patmos . On Pelan, the NOI claims, Yakub engaged in a selective breeding program to create the white race. This entailed breeding new children, with those who were too dark being killed at birth and their bodies being fed to wild animals or incinerated. Over two centuries, Yakub's experiments created
819-423: A child. As an adult, he expressed conflicting beliefs on the question. After a dispute with creditors, Louise received a life insurance benefit (nominally $ 1,000 —about $ 20,000 in 2023) in payments of $ 18 per month; the issuer of another, larger policy refused to pay, claiming her husband Earl had committed suicide. To make ends meet, Louise rented out part of her garden, and her sons hunted game. During
936-545: A council of ruling imams; 12 greater and 12 lesser. Each of these imams would take a turn being the ruling Allah for one cycle each. The NOI refers to these early individuals as "god-scientists". They are part of what it calls the "Original" or "Asiatic" race, a people who were divided into 13 tribes. The Nation labels these people "black", describing them as having dark skin as well as smooth, straight hair, closely resembling dark-complexioned Arabians or South Asians rather than Sub-Saharan Africans. In portraying humanity as
1053-574: A cycle in history, taking over following the death of their predecessor. The Nation regards its founder, Fard Muhammad, as the latest of these Allahs, or "God in person". He is deemed the first to have attained the same powers as that of the earliest Allah, namely the ability to return the universe to its primordial darkness and then recreate it. The Nation teaches that although this founder disappeared in 1934, he had secretly moved to Mecca in Arabia and would live for another 409 years. The Nation promotes
1170-527: A demonstration "run by Whites in front of a statue of a president who has been dead for a hundred years and who didn't like us when he was alive." While the civil rights movement fought against racial segregation , Malcolm X advocated the complete separation of African Americans from Whites. He proposed that African Americans should return to Africa and that, in the interim, a separate country for Black people in America should be created. He rejected
1287-486: A dinner party; soon she was regularly attending his lectures. In 1956, she joined the Nation of Islam, changing her name to Betty X. One-on-one dates were contrary to the Nation's teachings, so the couple courted at social events with dozens or hundreds of others, and Malcolm X made a point of inviting her on the frequent group visits he led to New York City's museums and libraries. Malcolm X proposed during
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#17328443333271404-672: A fellow dishwasher at Jimmy's Chicken Shack in Harlem who aspired to be a professional comedian. Both men had reddish hair, so Sanford was called "Chicago Red" after his hometown, and Malcolm was known as "Detroit Red". Years later, Sanford became famous as comedian and actor Redd Foxx . Summoned by the local draft board for military service in World War II in late 1943, he feigned mental disturbance by rambling and declaring: "I want to be sent down South. Organize them nigger soldiers ... steal us some guns, and kill us [some] crackers ". He
1521-402: A flag based on that of Muslim-majority Turkey . The Nation has little in common with mainstream forms of Islam, regardless of whether they be Sunni , Shia , or Sufi . Mainstream Muslims generally see it as a movement that has "selectively adopted some Islamic beliefs and concepts", but which is not "truly Islamic". The scholars Jason Eric Fishman and Ana Belén Soage observed that although
1638-564: A group of about 500 area residents held a meeting in the W.L. Bonner Cultural Center about the prison, and the residents decided that they needed to have the prison closed. The residents said that, prior to the prison's construction, the state had said that "harden" and "violent" criminals would not be held in that facility. On November 5, 1994, about sixteen members of the Krainz Woods Neighborhood Organization, including at least eight elderly people, demonstrated in front of
1755-480: A group of blonde, light-skinned people, the white race. As a group of people distinct from the Original Asiatic Race, the white race are degenerate, sub-human, and bereft of divinity, being intrinsically prone to lying, violence, and brutality. Elijah Muhammad repeatedly referred to whites as "the devil". The Nation maintains that most white people are unaware of their true origins, but that such knowledge
1872-580: A meeting at an area church to protest a proposed scattered-site housing and open occupancy. The whites in Krainz Woods wanted to recruit middle class blacks in Conant Gardens to oppose public housing. Ten prisoners escaped from the Ryan Correctional Facility on August 21, 1994. Nine prisoners were recaptured and, according to authorities, one died of a drug overdose. On Monday August 29, 1994
1989-523: A member of the Nation of Islam, maintaining a regular correspondence with Muhammad. In 1950, the FBI opened a file on Malcolm after he wrote a letter from prison to President Harry S. Truman expressing opposition to the Korean War and declaring himself a communist. That year, he also began signing his name "Malcolm X." Muhammad instructed his followers to leave their family names behind when they joined
2106-504: A mentor and confidant to Elijah Muhammad's son, Wallace D. Muhammad ; the son told Malcolm X about his skepticism toward his father's "unorthodox approach" to Islam. Wallace Muhammad was excommunicated from the Nation of Islam several times, although he was eventually re-admitted. During 1962 and 1963, events caused Malcolm X to reassess his relationship with the Nation of Islam, and particularly its leader, Elijah Muhammad. In late 1961, there were violent confrontations between
2223-553: A period of deteriorating racial tensions will culminate in the apocalypse. NOI members have repeatedly claimed that this apocalypse is imminent; Farrakhan for instance predicted that the Gulf War of 1990 would spark it, while Tynetta Muhammad predicted it would occur in 2001. According to Nation teaching, the apocalypse will come when the Mother Plane appears above the Earth and transports
2340-453: A racist and as a hate teacher, or as being anti-White or as teaching Black Supremacy". One of the goals of the civil rights movement was to end disenfranchisement of African Americans, but the Nation of Islam forbade its members from participating in voting and other aspects of the political process. The NAACP and other civil rights organizations denounced him and the Nation of Islam as irresponsible extremists whose views did not represent
2457-535: A religious dimension. It regards African Americans, or black people more broadly, as the Chosen People, espousing a cosmology in which the black race is superior and the white race inferior. We want our people in America whose parents or grandparents are descendants from slaves to be allowed to establish a separate state or territory of their own, either on this continent or elsewhere. We believe that our former slave masters are obligated to provide such land and that
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#17328443333272574-616: A ribbon-cutting dedication of Krainz Park. Originally, Krainz Woods was a deeply wooded area located west of the Village of Norris. It later became a part of Hamtramck Township , and the City of Detroit annexed the area in 1916. Between 1923 and 1940, about 1,000 houses were constructed in Krainz Woods. In 1966 the Krainz Woods Neighborhood Organization was mostly White. During that year, the organization posted an advertisement in an African-American newspaper that asked Conant Gardens residents to go to
2691-850: A self-educated man he would later describe as "the first man I had ever seen command total respect ... with words". Under Bembry's influence, Malcolm developed a voracious appetite for reading. At this time, several of his siblings wrote to him about the Nation of Islam , a relatively new religious movement preaching Black self-reliance and, ultimately, the return of the African diaspora to Africa, where they would be free from White American and European domination. He showed scant interest at first, but after his brother Reginald wrote in 1948, "Malcolm, don't eat any more pork and don't smoke any more cigarettes. I'll show you how to get out of prison", he almost instantly quit smoking and began to refuse pork. Following
2808-599: A serious violation of Nation teachings. After first discounting the rumors, Malcolm X came to believe them after he spoke with Muhammad's son Wallace and with the girls making the accusations. Muhammad confirmed the rumors in 1963, attempting to justify his behavior by referring to precedents set by Biblical prophets. Over a series of national TV interviews between 1964 and 1965, Malcolm X provided testimony of his investigation, corroboration, and confirmation by Elijah Muhammed himself of multiple counts of child rape. During this investigation, he learned that seven of
2925-543: A short time in Flint , Michigan, he moved to New York City's Harlem neighborhood in 1943, where he found employment on the New Haven Railroad and engaged in drug dealing, gambling, racketeering , robbery, and pimping . According to biographer Bruce Perry, Malcolm also occasionally had sex with other men, usually for money , though this conjecture has been disputed by those who knew him. He befriended John Elroy Sanford,
3042-683: A telephone call from Detroit in January 1958, and they married two days later. They had six daughters: Attallah (b. 1958; Arabic for "gift of God"; perhaps named after Attila the Hun ); Qubilah (b. 1960, named after Kublai Khan ); Ilyasah (b. 1962, named after Elijah Muhammad); Gamilah Lumumba (b. 1964, named after Gamal Abdel Nasser and Patrice Lumumba ); and twins Malikah (1965–2021) and Malaak (b. 1965, both born after their father's death, and named in his honor). The American public first became aware of Malcolm X in 1957, after Hinton Johnson,
3159-407: A visit during which Reginald detailed the group's teachings, including the notion that White people are considered devils, Malcolm initially struggled to accept this belief. Over time, however, Malcolm reflected on his past relationships with White individuals and concluded that they had all been marked by dishonesty, injustice, greed, and hatred. Malcolm, whose hostility to Christianity had earned him
3276-417: A witness, Malcolm X and a small group of Muslims went to the police station and demanded to see Johnson. Police initially denied that any Muslims were being held, but when the crowd grew to about five hundred, they allowed Malcolm X to speak with Johnson. Afterward, Malcolm X insisted on arranging for an ambulance to take Johnson to Harlem Hospital. Johnson's injuries were treated and by
3393-605: Is the Merkabah that appears in the Book of Ezekiel (1: 4–28). It teaches that Allah and many of his scientists live in a magnificent city on the Mother Plane, from which they monitor humanity; Farrakhan has claimed that Elijah Muhammad never died but is resident aboard this ship. The Nation teaches that there are also smaller vessels, "baby planes", docked inside the Mother Ship and that these travel to visit Earth. The Nation teaches that
3510-407: Is "completely divorced" from mainstream Islam. The two differ in regard to the fundamental ontological divide between humanity and God, as well as God's nature, which for mainstream Muslims is deemed eternal and non-anthropomorphic. Also conflicting with mainstream Islam is the NOI's claim that there is no afterlife; Elijah Muhammad wrote that "when you are dead, you are DEAD". Notions of Heaven ,
3627-442: Is a new religious movement , a black nationalist religion, and an African-American religion. As well as being characterised as an "ethno-religious movement", it has been labelled a social movement . Scholars of religion have also highlighted commonalities between the NOI and UFO religions , with extraterrestrial spaceships featuring in the group's ideas about the forthcoming end of the world. Although they have both employed
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3744-570: Is a man and we just cannot make Him other than a man, lest we make Him an inferior one; for man's intelligence has no equal in other than man. His wisdom is infinite; capable of accomplishing anything that His brain can conceive. Elijah Muhammad, Message to the Black Man , 1965 The sociologist of religion David V. Barrett noted that the Nation's theology is "very distinct" and "extremely detailed". The Nation provides conflicting statements about its theology; although it professes commitment to
3861-480: Is also a widely celebrated figure within African American and Muslim communities for his pursuit of racial justice. Malcolm spent his adolescence living in a series of foster homes or with relatives after his father's death and his mother's hospitalization. He committed various crimes, being sentenced to 8 to 10 years in prison in 1946 for larceny and burglary. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, adopting
3978-471: Is held by senior white Freemasons . The NOI's ideas regarding white people have been labelled both racist and racialist . According to the Nation's teachings, Yakub's newly created white race sowed discord among the black race, and thus were exiled to live in the caves of "West Asia", meaning Europe. In this narrative, it was in Europe that the white race engaged in bestiality and degenerated, resulting in
4095-484: Is living in end times . It propounds a distinct eschatology drawing on the Book of Revelation . Central to its view of the apocalypse is a large spaceship, known as the Wheel, the Mother Plane, or the Mother Ship, and which members usually refer to using female pronouns. Elijah Muhammad described this as "a small human planet", claiming that it is half a mile by half a mile in diameter. The Nation teaches that this vessel
4212-581: Is our brother, our central responsibility is with the Black man here in the wilderness of North America". Rather than treating Africa as a homeland, the Nation's origin myths present Mecca as the original home of African Americans; Africa itself is often portrayed in Nation writings as the least desirable of the Original Asiatic lands. The NOI's teachings on gender issues are conservative and patriarchal, promoting strict gender roles for men and women. Emphasis
4329-407: Is placed on the family unit; the Nation maintains that the security of the black family unit is ensured when its members adhere to their gendered duties and responsibilities. Seeking to restore black manhood, the Nation expresses great concern regarding the emasculation of black men, attributing this attitude to the failure of black men to prevent the sexual assault of black women by white men over
4446-459: The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca; Elijah Muhammad himself did so three times. The Nation requests that, as a declaration of mental emancipation, new members change any names inherited from slave-owners who owned their ancestors. This is not considered necessary if the new member has a name that is already African in origin. In the NOI's early years, Wallace Fard Muhammad bestowed new names on followers for
4563-578: The Malcolm ;X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center . A posthumous autobiography , on which he collaborated with Alex Haley , was published in 1965. Malcolm Little was born May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska , the fourth of seven children of Grenada -born Louise Helen Little (née Langdon) and Georgia -born Earl Little. Earl was an outspoken Baptist lay speaker, and he and Louise were admirers of Pan-African activist Marcus Garvey . Earl
4680-553: The Pan-African Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). Throughout 1964, his conflict with the Nation of Islam intensified, and he was repeatedly sent death threats. On February 21, 1965, he was assassinated in New York City . Three Nation members were charged with the murder and given indeterminate life sentences . In 2021, two of the convictions were vacated. Speculation about the assassination and whether it
4797-601: The monotheistic idea of a single God, its discourse refers to multiple gods, meaning that it can be interpreted as polytheistic . In the NOI's view, each Allah (god) is not an incorporeal spiritual entity but a flesh-and-blood person. These Allahs are anthropomorphic, taking the form of black men, which was the shape that the first Allah consciously adopted. In Nation teaching, the Allahs are not immortal, instead typically living for around 200 to 300 years. They have varying abilities and degrees of power, with each ruling over
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4914-602: The 1930s, white Seventh-day Adventists witnessed to the Little family; later on, Louise Little and her son Wilfred were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Malcolm said the Adventists were "the friendliest white people I had ever seen." In 1937, a man Louise had been dating—marriage had seemed a possibility—vanished from her life when she became pregnant with his child. In late 1938, she had
5031-503: The 6th/7th century Arabian religious leader Muhammad was the final nor the most important messenger of God, instead treating its first two leaders, Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad, as being more important. From mainstream Islamic perspectives, its teachings are heretical , with its theology being shirk ( blasphemy ). Accordingly, some scholars of religion have characterised it as "quasi-Islamic", or referred to it as "Fardian Islam", "pseudo-Islam", or "nontraditional Islam". God
5148-561: The Advancement of Colored People , regarding them as "Uncle Tom Negroes". In contrast to King's calls for non-violent protest against segregation and racial violence, the Nation maintained that self-defence it was a moral obligation for African Americans. The NOI called for the creation of a separate and sovereign African-American nation-state in the southern part of what is currently the United States, with Elijah Muhammad stipulating that
5265-591: The Assembly, and Malcolm X met publicly with him as part of a welcoming committee of Harlem community leaders. Castro was sufficiently impressed with Malcolm X to suggest a private meeting, and after two hours of talking, Castro invited Malcolm X to visit Cuba. From his adoption of the Nation of Islam in 1952 until he broke with it in 1964, Malcolm X promoted the Nation's teachings . These included beliefs: Louis E. Lomax said that "those who don't understand biblical prophecy wrongly label him as
5382-597: The Elders of Zion was authentic and introduced it to NOI members, while accusing the Jewish people of "perfecting the modern evil" of neo-colonialism . He helped change the Black community's image of The Holocaust , engaging in Holocaust trivialization and claiming that the Jews "brought it on themselves". In 1961, Malcolm X spoke at a NOI rally alongside George Lincoln Rockwell ,
5499-572: The NOI also seeks to reclaim what it regards as the historic Muslim identity of the African-American people, with the group's second leader, Elijah Muhammad , stating that "Islam is the natural religion of the Black Nation." The Nation sees itself as part of the Islamic world, and Islamic elements in its practices include the use of the Arabic language, prayers five times a day, and the adoption of
5616-431: The NOI is black nationalist, and has sometimes been perceived as a Black Power political organization. Scholar of religion Mattias Gardell commented that the idea of black unity is "at the very core of the NOI ideology". It seeks to empower black people by giving them a positive self-identity, purging ideas of white superiority, and black inferiority, from its followers. In the Nation's view, black liberation requires
5733-422: The NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the African diaspora , especially on African Americans . While describing itself as Islamic and using Islamic terminologies, its religious tenets differ substantially from orthodox Islamic traditions . Scholars of religion characterize it as a new religious movement . The Nation teaches that there has been a succession of mortal gods, each
5850-477: The Nation appointed its first woman minister, Ava Muhammad, as head of Mosque Number 15 in Georgia. In various cases, Nation women still play an active role in their communities, sometimes challenging established gender norms in the organization. The NOI strictly enforces heterosexual monogamy among its members and encourages sexual abstinence prior to marriage. Members seeking to court another are expected to inform
5967-409: The Nation claims, are a lie used by white Christians to keep black people docile. Instead Elijah Muhammad taught that there is no spiritual realm beyond the material universe, although he also stated that humans could develop parapsychological powers and that he personally had telepathic abilities. The Nation teaches that in the beginning there was nothing but darkness. Then, 76 trillion years ago,
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#17328443333276084-605: The Nation draws influence from both Christianity and Islam while offering profoundly different interpretations of their central scriptures, the Bible and the Quran . Having arising from within a Christian-majority society, the Nation denigrates Christianity, presenting it as a tool of white supremacy . For the group—whose members are commonly called "Black Muslims" —their Islamic identity offers an alternative to mainstream, Christian-dominated American culture. In describing itself as Islamic
6201-447: The Nation labels "white man's religion". The group deems Christianity a tool of white supremacy used to subjugate black people, and expresses the belief that the oppressed (African Americans) and the oppressors (European Americans) cannot share the same god. The Nation claims that in their enslaved state, black people have lost their morality by engaging in sinful behaviour such as fornication and drinking alcohol, something encouraged by
6318-527: The Nation of Islam after Elijah Muhammad. He is largely credited with helping the group's dramatic increase in membership between the early 1950s and early 1960s—from around 1,200 to between 50,000 and 100,000 members, with up to 25,000 actively attending, according to estimates. He inspired the boxer Muhammad Ali to join the Nation, and the two became close. In January 1964, Ali brought Malcolm X and his family to Miami to watch him train for his fight against Sonny Liston . When Malcolm X left
6435-691: The Nation of Islam and use "X" instead. When the time was right, after they had proven their sincerity, he said, he would reveal the Muslim's "original name." In his autobiography, Malcolm X explained that the "X" symbolized the true African family name that he could never know. "For me, my 'X' replaced the white slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears." After his parole in August 1952, Malcolm X visited Elijah Muhammad in Chicago. In June 1953, he
6552-479: The Nation of Islam members and police in South Central Los Angeles , and numerous Muslims were arrested. They were acquitted, but tensions had been raised. Just after midnight on April 27, 1962, two LAPD officers, unprovoked, shoved and beat several Muslims outside Temple Number 27. A large crowd of angry Muslims emerged from the mosque and the officers attempted to intimidate them. One officer
6669-550: The Nation of Islam, as well as with its leader, Elijah Muhammad . He subsequently embraced Sunni Islam and the civil rights movement after completing the Hajj to Mecca and became known as " el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz," which roughly translates to "The Pilgrim Malcolm the Patriarch". After a brief period of travel across Africa, he publicly renounced the Nation of Islam and founded the Islamic Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI) and
6786-413: The Nation of Islam, he tried to convince Ali (who had just been renamed by Elijah Muhammad) to join him in converting to Sunni Islam , but Ali instead broke ties with him, later describing the break as one of his greatest regrets. Malcolm X mentored and guided Louis X (later known as Louis Farrakhan ), who eventually became the leader of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X also served as
6903-830: The Nation of Islam. During 1955, Malcolm X continued his successful recruitment of members on behalf of the Nation of Islam. He established temples in Springfield , Massachusetts (Number 13); Hartford , Connecticut (Number 14); and Atlanta (Number 15). Hundreds of African Americans were joining the Nation of Islam every month. Besides his skill as a speaker, Malcolm X had an impressive physical presence. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed about 180 pounds (82 kg). One writer described him as "powerfully built", and another as "mesmerizingly handsome ... and always spotlessly well-groomed". In 1955, Betty Sanders met Malcolm X after one of his lectures, then again at
7020-465: The Nation uses many standard Islamic terms, it gives them "profoundly different meanings" to those understood by most Muslims. The Nation's views differ from the Five Pillars , which are typically seen as central to Islam; its claims that Allah (God) takes anthropomorphic form and that there is no afterlife differ fundamentally from Muslim teaching. Unlike most forms of Islam, the NOI does not hold that
7137-614: The Nation's leadership would be theocratic , authoritarian, and totalitarian . Unlike the Garveyites and Rastafari who strongly emphasise links between the African diaspora and Africa itself, Elijah Muhammad and the NOI instead focused their attention on the African diaspora in the Americas, rejecting a specifically Pan-African ideology. Elijah Muhammad stated that "where as the Black man in Africa
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#17328443333277254-677: The Nation. During the 1960s, the NOI's places of worship were called both temples and mosques. As well as serving a religious function, these can also be used as a community center, bank, school, and child-care facility. Those attending meetings will sometimes be searched by members of the Fruit of Islam or the Muslim Girl's Training group, who look both for weapons and for objects like cosmetics and cigarettes which are disapproved of. After this, attendees are seen to their seats, usually rows of benches. The sexes are segregated during worship; women on
7371-516: The Original Asiatic Race. Elijah Muhammad for instance referred to "black, brown, yellow [and] red" people as collectively constituting "black mankind", which he then juxtaposed against the "white race". The NOI promotes a story called the myth of Yakub , which received its fullest exposition in Elijah Muhammad's 1965 book Message to the Blackman . In this narrative, Yakub was a black scientist;
7488-867: The Ryan Correctional Facility), and the Mound Correctional Facility . The community is bounded by Ryan Road, Mound Road, Nevada, and 7 Mile Road East. Due to its proximity to Conant Gardens , Krainz Woods is often mistaken for, and erroneously considered as part of, that neighboring community. The Krainz Woods business community consists of The Bay at Cranbrook Health and Rehabilitation Center, three party stores (F&S Market, Moore Market and Piper Liquors), and two restaurants (Nevada Coney Island, and 7's Deli). Residents are zoned to Detroit Public Schools . Mason Elementary-Middle School serves K-8. Pershing High School serves 9–12. The National Heritage Academies Legacy Charter Academy, located in
7605-536: The Ryan Correctional Facility, saying that the state did not implement promised measures, improving neighborhood lighting, hiring employees from the neighborhood, and implementing a grant to pay for security doors on the houses of the residents. The Krainz Woods Neighborhood Organization serves a 17- city block area, east of Conant Gardens , and adjacent to the Detroit Reentry Center (formerly
7722-488: The Tribe of Shabazz and achieved global dominance. Setting itself against the white-dominated society of the United States, the NOI campaigns for the creation of an independent African-American nation-state, and calls for African Americans to be economically self-sufficient and separatist . A millenarian tradition, it maintains that Fard Muhammad will soon return aboard a spaceship , the "Mother Plane" or "Mother Ship", to wipe out
7839-494: The U.S. should financially support this new country for 20 to 25 years. This is presented as compensation for the unpaid labor of their enslaved ancestors. Farrakhan has also suggested that the countries of Africa should set aside land on that continent for the African diaspora, characterising this as a reparation for the complicity of West African states in the Atlantic slave trade. Gardell suggested that any nation-state formed under
7956-640: The United States, the Nation of Islam has also established a presence abroad, with membership open only to people of color. In 2007 it was estimated to have 50,000 members. The Nation has proven to be particularly successful at converting prisoners. The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League have characterized it as a black supremacist hate group that promotes racism towards white people , antisemitism , and anti-LGBT rhetoric . Muslim critics accuse it of promoting teachings that are not authentically Islamic. The Nation of Islam (NOI)
8073-493: The apocalypse, "Peace, joy and happiness will have no end." Those living in this perfect society will eat the finest food and wear clothes of silk interwoven with gold. The NOI has taught that the white ruling elite are aware of this forthcoming apocalypse and that the U.S. exploration of space and the Strategic Defense Initiative are futile attempts to protect themselves against the Mother Plane. Ideologically,
8190-694: The area around Mecca in the Arabian peninsula. The Nation calls this region "East Asia", reflecting its belief that Asia and Africa were once a single continent. It was because they moved into the "jungles of East Asia" (i.e. Africa), Elijah Muhammad claimed, that members of this Original Asiatic Race developed Afro-textured hair . The Nation teaches that the Original Race were Muslims by their intrinsic nature, but that many created heretical deviations such as Hinduism ; some of those who broke Islamic rules were exiled from Asia-Africa to North America, where they became
8307-542: The area must be fertile and minerally rich. Elijah Muhammad, 1965 The Nation is black separatist , rejecting the integration of the black and white races. This racial separatism was at odds with the mainstream civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The Nation was critical of African-American activists who promoted racial integration, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and the National Association for
8424-485: The captain of their local Fruit of Islam or Muslim Girls Training branch about their intentions. Men found to have beaten their wives are temporarily suspended from Nation membership. Divorce is frowned upon, but not forbidden. Children are expected to study hard, avoid street culture, and respect their elders. Farrakhan was initially highly critical of rap music because he argued it promoted sexual promiscuity . Although Nation members are allowed to marry non-members,
8541-414: The centuries. It expects men to be providers for their family. Women are expected to act as caretakers of the household and the children, and are cautioned from forming friendships with men. Outsiders often perceive the Nation's women as being victims of male oppression and control. The group's leadership is overwhelmingly male, although several women rose to senior positions during the 1990s; in 1998
8658-431: The civil rights movement's strategy of nonviolence , arguing that Black people should defend and advance themselves " by any means necessary ". His speeches had a powerful effect on his audiences, who were generally African Americans in northern and western cities. Many of them—tired of being told to wait for freedom, justice, equality and respect —felt that he articulated their complaints better than did
8775-408: The civil rights movement. Malcolm X has been widely accused of being antisemitic . His autobiography contains several "antisemitic charges and caricatures of Jews ". Alex Haley , the autobiography's co-author, had to rewrite some of the book to eliminate a number of negative statements about Jews in the manuscript. Malcolm X believed that the fabricated antisemitic text The Protocols of
8892-478: The common interests of African Americans. Malcolm X had been equally critical of the civil rights movement. During this period, he denounced Martin Luther King Jr. as a "chump," and referred to other civil rights leaders as being "stooges" of the White establishment and was strongly against any kind of racial integration. He called the 1963 March on Washington "the farce on Washington," and said he did not know why so many Black people were excited about
9009-463: The continent's native population. For the Nation, everyone not of West European genetic origin is a descendant of the Original Asiatic Race. In contrast to understandings of race held by most Americans, for the Nation, "black" does not simply mean those of Sub-Saharan African genetic descent, but all people of color , including Asians, North Africans, and Native Americans. Even some Eastern Europeans, such as Albanians , are considered descendants of
9126-604: The course of its history. The Nation is a highly centralized, hierarchical, and authoritarian movement. Unlike practitioners of Rastafari , a contemporary of the NOI which shares many of its key concerns, members of the Nation do not exhibit considerable variation in their approach to the religion, displaying a high degree of uniformity and conformity among followers. Despite this, not all members have believed all of its teachings implicitly, and there are also members who have privately broken its rules on personal behavior and lifestyle. Having no specific holy text of its own,
9243-414: The creation of the first Allah, rather than a product of evolution , the Nation endorses a form of creationism and believes dinosaurs to be a hoax created by white scientists. According to Nation teaching, one of the god-scientists was a renegade and, 66 trillion years ago, tried to destroy the Earth with explosives. The resulting explosion forced a chunk of the Earth's mass into orbit, where it became
9360-421: The devil In the Nation's teachings, the ruling Allah permitted the white race to rule the Earth for 6000 years, a period that came to an end in 1914. It claims that the ruling Allahs allowed this so that the black race would discover humanity's inner potential for evil and learn how to defeat it, thus enabling them to realize their inner divine capacity and become gods. The NOI claims that over 6000 years ago
9477-465: The eight girls had become pregnant as a result of this. He also revealed an assassination attempt made on his life, through a discovered explosive device in his car, as well as the death threats he was receiving, in response to his exposure of Elijah Muhammad. Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam ( NOI ) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization,
9594-503: The emergence of apes and monkeys. To help the whites develop, the ruling Allah then sent prophets to them, the first of whom was Musa ( Moses ), who taught the whites to cook and wear clothes. According to the Nation, Jesus was also a prophet sent to try and civilise the white race. The group reject the Christian belief that Jesus was a unique manifestation of God, that he was the Messiah ,
9711-462: The event, but no charges were laid against the police. The coroner ruled that Stokes's killing was justified. To Malcolm X, the desecration of the mosque and the associated violence demanded action, and he used what Louis X (later Louis Farrakhan) later called his "gangsterlike past" to rally the more hardened of the Nation of Islam members to take violent revenge against the police. Malcolm X sought Elijah Muhammad's approval which
9828-652: The family relocated in 1926 to Milwaukee , and shortly thereafter to Lansing, Michigan . There, the family was frequently harassed by the Black Legion , a White racist group Earl accused of burning their family home in 1929. When Malcolm was six, his father died in what has been officially ruled a streetcar accident, though his mother Louise believed Earl had been murdered by the Black Legion. Rumors that White racists were responsible for his father's death were widely circulated and were very disturbing to Malcolm X as
9945-465: The first Allah willed himself into being, taking 6 million years to form into his desired appearance; that of a black man. In this account, this god chose his skin color in reference to the blackness from which he had emerged. The first Allah then created the Sun and the planets, as well as fellow black gods, who lived predominantly on the Earth but also on Mars . Of these, the first Allah and 23 others formed
10062-527: The former Atkinson Elementary School, is in Krainz Woods. Previously Atkinson Elementary School in Krainz Woods served the community as the zoned elementary school. At one time Van Zile Elementary School served the community. Previously Farwell Middle School served the community. 42°25′47″N 83°03′15″W / 42.4297°N 83.0542°W / 42.4297; -83.0542 Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little , later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz ; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965)
10179-541: The group stipulates that they should only marry other black people, claiming that sex with white women emasculates black men. Birth control methods are criticised as an attempt by the white establishment to lower the black birthrate, although Farrakhan stated support for abortion in cases of rape, incest or where the woman's life is endangered by the pregnancy. Same-sex relationships are condemned as immoral; Farrakhan for instance banned gay men from his Million Man March , bringing accusations of homophobia against him and
10296-618: The group. Following Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975, his son Warith Deen Mohammed took over the organization, moving it towards Sunni Islam and renaming it the World Community of Islam in the West . Members seeking to retain Elijah Muhammad's teachings re-established the Nation of Islam under Louis Farrakhan 's leadership in 1977. Farrakhan has continued to develop the NOI's beliefs, for instance by drawing connections with Dianetics , and expanding its economic and agricultural operations. Based in
10413-467: The head of the American Nazi Party . Rockwell saw overlap between black nationalism and white supremacy. According to historian Stephen H. Norwood , Malcolm X's negative statements about Jews continued even close to his death, referring to Jews as "bloodsucker[s]" in statements he made during the last months of his life. Malcolm X is widely regarded as the second most influential leader of
10530-522: The idea that "God is man and man is God, that God has a presence inside human individuals," with Elijah Muhammad espousing the view that "all Muslims are Allahs". Accordingly, the NOI teaches that the black race, in its natural state, is divine, a "nation of Gods". According to the NOI's teachings, "knowledge of self" is key for black people to realize their inner divinity. The NOI thus teaches that by following its teachings, its adherents can recognize their inner godliness. The Nation of Islam's theology
10647-495: The leadership of the NOI was assumed by Elijah Muhammad . He expanded the NOI's teachings and declared Fard Muhammad to be the latest Allah. Attracting growing attention in the late 1950s and 1960s, the NOI's influence expanded through high-profile members such as the black nationalist activist Malcolm X and the boxer Muhammad Ali . Deeming it a threat to domestic security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked to undermine
10764-412: The mainstream civil rights movement for its emphasis on non-violence and racial integration . Malcolm X also expressed pride in some of the Nation's social welfare achievements, such as its free drug rehabilitation program. From the 1950s onward, Malcolm X was subjected to surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In the 1960s, Malcolm X began to grow disillusioned with
10881-636: The ministers, who may also read verses from either the Bible or Qur'an. In the late 1950s, Elijah Muhammad published a prayer manual outlining how his followers should pray five times a day; this involved an ablution beforehand. He stipulated that these prayers should be in English, although commented that in future he would explain how to do so in Arabic. In later articles, he explained that his followers should face towards Mecca as they pray, symbolising their journey toward
10998-582: The moon. One of the 13 tribes was trapped on the moon, where they died due to lack of water. The Nation also maintains that 15,000 years ago, the god-scientists wrote down knowledge of the future in a text, the Mother Book, parts of which have passed down in the Torah , Gospels , and Quran. Of the twelve tribes that remained on Earth, the most resilient was the Tribe of Shabazz; they settled in Egypt's Nile Valley and
11115-417: The name Malcolm X to symbolize his unknown African ancestral surname while discarding "the white slavemaster name of 'Little ' ", and after his parole in 1952, he quickly became one of the organization's most influential leaders. He was the public face of the organization for 12 years, advocating Black empowerment and separation of Black and White Americans , and criticizing Martin Luther King Jr. and
11232-515: The officers who beat Johnson. In October, Malcolm X sent an angry telegram to the police commissioner. Soon the police department assigned undercover officers to infiltrate the Nation of Islam. By the late 1950s, Malcolm X was using a new name, Malcolm Shabazz or el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz ("The Pilgrim Malcolm the Patriarch"), although he was still widely referred to as Malcolm X. His comments on issues and events were being widely reported, in print and on radio and television. He
11349-399: The police killing of black youths, that they flooded black-majority areas with drugs, and that they created AIDS to exterminate black people. The Nation is also openly critical of U.S. aggression towards countries with non-white and Muslim majorities, and in keeping with its ethos has adopted an anti-Zionist position regarding Israel. The NOI is millenarian , believing that humanity
11466-412: The prison nickname "Satan," became receptive to the message of the Nation of Islam. In late 1948, Malcolm wrote to Elijah Muhammad , the leader of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad advised him to renounce his past, humbly bow in prayer to God and promise never to engage in destructive behavior again. Though he later recalled the inner struggle he had before bending his knees to pray, Malcolm soon became
11583-452: The restoration of black greatness. The most important date in the Nation's year is February 26, Saviours' Day , which is believed to be the birthday of Fard Muhammad. This is the date on which the organization holds its annual national convention. Under Farrakhan, the Nation has also held a second Saviour's Day each year, on October 7, to mark the birth of Elijah Muhammad. In addition to marking festivals, NOI members are encouraged to make
11700-399: The right and men on the left. The tone of Nation services is sombre and quiet. Services typically begin with the statement " As-salamu alaykum " (peace be upon you), with the congregation responding "Wa 'alaikum As-salam" (and also upon you). Meetings at the mosque are both opened and closed with prayers, and the Nation's "national anthem" may be played. A lecture will be provided by one of
11817-474: The righteous to live upon it. It will then use the baby planes to bury bombs beneath the Earth's surface, which will explode and wipe out the old, white-dominated order. The Earth's atmosphere will then burn for 390 years and spend another 610 cooling down. Once the Earth has returned to a habitable state, the ruling Allah will return the righteous to live on the planet, in a new black paradise. In his book The Supreme Wisdom , Elijah Muhammad claimed that after
11934-400: The same name, the Nation of Islam has represented two distinct organizations: the first group was established by Wallace Fard Muhammad in the 1930s and existed until 1975, after which the second organization was created by Louis Farrakhan in the late 1970s. Farrakhan's second Nation bears some distinct differences from its predecessor, reflecting how the Nation's teachings have shifted over
12051-641: The station house and gave a hand signal to the crowd. Nation members silently left, after which time the rest of the crowd also dispersed. One police officer told the New York Amsterdam News : "No one man should have that much power." Within a month the New York City Police Department arranged to keep Malcolm X under surveillance; it also made inquiries with authorities in other cities in which he had lived, and prisons in which he had served time. A grand jury declined to indict
12168-454: The time he was returned to the police station, some four thousand people had gathered outside. Inside the station, Malcolm X and an attorney were making bail arrangements for two of the Muslims. Johnson was not bailed, and police said he could not go back to the hospital until his arraignment the following day. Considering the situation to be at an impasse, Malcolm X stepped outside
12285-587: The white race and establish a utopia . Members worship in buildings called mosques or temples . Practitioners are expected to live disciplined lives, adhering to strict dress codes, specific dietary requirements, and patriarchal gender roles. Wallace Fard Muhammad established the Nation of Islam in Detroit . He drew on various sources, including Noble Drew Ali 's Moorish Science Temple of America , black nationalist trends like Garveyism , and black-oriented forms of Freemasonry . After Fard Muhammad disappeared in 1934,
12402-406: The whites began to dominate the world, achieving this using treacherous tactics that the Nation calls "tricknology". As part of this, the whites enslaved the Tribe of Shabazz, shipping many of them to the Americas through the Atlantic slave trade. The NOI claims that most enslaved blacks forgot their true names, their Arabic language, and their Muslim identity, instead embracing Christianity, which
12519-440: The whites. In making thus argument, the NOI equates the United States with the city of Babylon as presented in the Bible. The Nation thus understands the modern subjugation of African Americans as part of an ancient white conspiracy. The group interprets many of the problems facing African Americans in this light; Farrakhan for instance claimed that the white establishment encouraged a black gang culture to provide an excuse for
12636-525: Was a local leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and Louise served as secretary and "branch reporter", sending news of local UNIA activities to Negro World ; they inculcated self-reliance and black pride in their children. Malcolm X later said that White violence killed four of his father's brothers. Because of Ku Klux Klan threats, Earl's UNIA activities were said to be "spreading trouble" and
12753-417: Was an African American revolutionary, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1965. A spokesman for the Nation of Islam (NOI) until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the African American community. A controversial figure accused of preaching violence, Malcolm X
12870-501: Was conceived or aided by leading or additional members of the Nation, or with law enforcement agencies, has persisted for decades. He was posthumously honored with Malcolm X Day , on which he is commemorated in various cities across the United States. Hundreds of streets and schools in the U.S. have been renamed in his honor, while the Audubon Ballroom , the site of his assassination, was partly redeveloped in 2005 to accommodate
12987-505: Was declared "mentally disqualified for military service". In late 1945, Malcolm returned to Boston, where he and four accomplices committed a series of burglaries targeting wealthy White families. In 1946, he was arrested while picking up a stolen watch he had left at a shop for repairs, and in February began serving a sentence of eight to ten years at Charlestown State Prison for larceny and breaking and entering. Two years later, Malcolm
13104-492: Was denied, stunning Malcolm X. Malcolm X was again blocked by Elijah Muhammad when he spoke of the Nation of Islam starting to work with civil rights organizations, local Black politicians, and religious groups. Louis X saw this as an important turning point in the deteriorating relationship between Malcolm X and Muhammad. Rumors were circulating that Muhammad was conducting extramarital affairs with young Nation secretaries—which would constitute
13221-461: Was disarmed; his partner was shot in the elbow by a third officer. More than 70 backup officers arrived who then raided the mosque and randomly beat Nation of Islam members. Police officers shot seven Muslims, including William X Rogers, who was hit in the back and paralyzed for life, and Ronald Stokes, a Korean War veteran, who was shot from behind while raising his hands over his head to surrender, killing him. A number of Muslims were indicted after
13338-593: Was featured in a 1959 New York City television broadcast about the Nation of Islam, The Hate That Hate Produced . In September 1960, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Malcolm X was invited to the official functions of several African nations. He met Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea, and Kenneth Kaunda of the Zambian African National Congress . Fidel Castro also attended
13455-682: Was named assistant minister of the Nation's Temple Number One in Detroit. Later that year he established Boston's Temple Number 11; in March 1954, he expanded Temple Number 12 in Philadelphia; and two months later he was selected to lead Temple Number 7 in Harlem, where he rapidly expanded its membership. In 1953, the FBI began surveillance of him, turning its attention from Malcolm X's possible communist associations to his rapid ascent in
13572-468: Was the product of a virgin birth, or was crucified and resurrected. God say you're the real devil. And you damn sure are. Ain't another devil nowhere else. Ain't no use you get mad with me, white people. You are the devil. The only hell-raiser on the earth. I'm not sayin' that you are responsible, 'cause you are made devil. But I'm not gonna make a mistake in thinkin' that you can be made better through love. Louis Farrakhan’s views on white people being
13689-480: Was transferred to Norfolk Prison Colony (also in Massachusetts ). Between Mr. Muhammad's teachings, my correspondence, my visitors ... and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life. —Malcolm X When Malcolm was in prison, he met fellow convict John Bembry,
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