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By Root 1854 0

attempt, Messenger Magazine; he may have been drawing upon an older Harlem tradition, as a previous paper named the Messenger, edited by A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen, had been published from 1917 to 1928. The Amsterdam News advertisement promoting the journal promised it would present “Mr. Muhammad’s aims and accomplishments” and “the truth about the amazing success of the Moslems’ economic, educational, and spiritual growth among the Negroes of America.” The magazine failed to gain an audience, however, as did several other publishing ventures, until in 1960 Malcolm started printing a monthly newspaper, Muhammad Speaks. Temples began receiving hundreds of copies, and the publication quickly attracted tens of thousands of regular readers, the vast majority of them non-Muslims. The keys to its success were twofold. First, the publication hired legitimate, well-qualified journalists, who were given some leeway to cover their interests. Over time, the newspaper developed a schizophrenic character, with some articles praising Muhammad and promoting the NOI and the rest of the paper providing detailed coverage of black American issues, Africa, and the Third World. But the second reason was that all temples were ordered to sell a certain number of copies per week; the papers were doled out to individual FOI laborers, who were expected to place Muhammad Speaks everywhere.

Malcolm used the shake-up from Hate to recommend Temple No. 7’s secretary, John X Simmons, for the position of national secretary. Within a year Simmons would move to Chicago and be given an original name, John Ali, by Elijah Muhammad. The promotion pleased Malcolm, who believed he would have another strong ally in Chicago. He did not imagine that Ali would become one of his sharpest critics in the national headquarters.

After the ordeal of Betty’s trial, Malcolm decided that she and Attallah needed to be sent temporarily to her parents’ home in Detroit. Betty was opposed to the move, but she bent to Malcolm’s will. Her feelings did not change upon settling in, however, and in late March 1959 she complained to her husband about the arrangement, though he had little sympathy. He encouraged her to think about her absence from New York as a vacation. Though Betty worried for him in her absence, he assured her that he would survive. He missed her cooking, writing her that he had been eating regularly at the Temple’s restaurant. He found it difficult to express romantic love, or even to give Betty a compliment without qualifying it with a statement related to the NOI. For instance, he praised Betty’s cooking, but then added, “What would we Brothers do without our wonderful MGT Sisters? (smile).”

Betty’s involuntary “vacation” may have given Malcolm space, but it further taxed his already strained finances. On April 1 he sent her a second letter, enclosing twenty dollars. Malcolm urged her to spend as little as possible, reminding her that he was experiencing a “great financial burden.” He then reminded her that the airfare to Detroit had been expensive and that staying in Detroit would also be costly. Malcolm went on to offer a statement that seems almost comically paradoxical. He urged her again to “enjoy yourself but don’t buy anything” except items that were absolutely essential. To save money he instructed her not to phone him, but instead write a letter. He even enclosed some stamps in the envelope he mailed to her. Feeling spurned and stranded, Betty once again fell into a depression and entertained thoughts about fleeing her marriage. By this time Malcolm viewed his wife largely as a nuisance—someone he was obliged to put up with—rather than as a loving life partner. The wounds from Betty’s sexual taunting were still too fresh. He focused his energies instead on the Nation and the major events it had planned for 1959.

The largest public occasion involving Malcolm that year was a major rally and speech by Elijah Muhammad in July, at New York City’s St. Nicholas Arena. Muhammad declared that he and the Nation were “backed by 500 million people,