Online Book Reader

Home Category

Malcolm X_ A Life of Reinvention - Manning Marable [327]

By Root 1943 0
man named William Paul Lennon paid Malcolm “to disrobe him, place him on his bed, sprinkle him with talcum powder, and massage him until he reached his climax. . . . Like a prostitute, he sold himself as if the best he had to offer was his body.” Perry adds that Malcolm would later excuse his actions by insisting that another man actually gave his white male client “satisfaction.” Perry’s claims, when published in 1991, generated a firestorm of criticism from those devoted to Malcolm’s iconic image, who pointed out that his only credible source for these escapades was “Shorty” Jarvis. See Perry, Malcolm, pp. 75-77, 82-83. Since the publication of Perry’s book, other evidence has surfaced that supports his general assertions. For example, according to Rodnell Collins, Malcolm revealed details to Ella Collins about “a business deal he and Malcolm Jarvis had with an elderly, wealthy white millionaire, named Paul Lennon, who would pay them to rub powder over his body.” See Collins, Seventh Child, p. 76.

65 to Bernard and Nellie F. Lennon. Federal United States Census (1910), Rhode Island, Providence County.

65 active in local Democratic Party politics. Robert Grieve, An Illustrated History of Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Vicinity: A Narrative of the Growth and Evolution of the Community (Pawtucket, RI: Pawtucket Gazette and Chronicle, 1897), p. 368. Also see Federal United States Census (1900), Rhode Island, Providence County; and Edward Field, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the End of the Century: A History (Boston: Mason Publishing, 1902), p. 598.

65 “have had the requisite preliminary training.” The Catalogue of Brown University (Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 1960), p. 33.

65 his discharge he lived briefly with his parents. In the 1920 census, thirty-one-year-old William Paul Lennon appears residing in his parents’ household in Rhode Island. See Federal United States Census (1920), Rhode Island, Providence County.

65 to employ male secretaries in his home. Classified Ad 5, no title, New York Times, October 2, 1942; and Classified Ad 23, no title, New York Times, October 4, 1942.

66 as a “butler and occasional house worker.” “Employment History,” Prison File of Malcolm Little.

66 an affluent stretch of Arlington Street overlooking the Public Garden. Herstrom, July 23, 1946, Prison File of Malcolm Little.

66 “the old man would actually reach his climax from that.” Malcolm X and Haley, Autobiography , p. 143.

66 “send to his brothers and sisters in Lansing.” Collins, Seventh Child, pp. 68-69.

67 a mistake no veteran burglar would ever have made. Herstrom, July 23, 1946, Prison File of Malcolm Little; DeCaro, On the Side of My People, pp. 72-73; and Natambu, Malcolm X, pp. 100-101.

67 additional merchandise, with a total value estimated by police at $6,275. Malcolm Little, “Out-State Progress Report,” February 14, 1953, Division of Pardons, Paroles, and Probation, State of Michigan, Prison File of Malcolm Little.

67 everyone in the gang was promptly arrested. Ibid.; and DeCaro, On the Side of My People, p. 73.

68 “a fifteen-to-twenty-year sentence or life in prison.” Malcolm L. Jarvis, Myself and I (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995), pp. 33-35.

68 “I had had no business associating with white women.” Ibid., p. 42.

68 “‘friendless, scared lost girls.’” Collins, Seventh Child, p. 46.

68 “I would rather be dead than do ten years.” Jarvis, Myself and I, p. 34.

68 “constant fear,” she told the court with emotion. DeCaro, On the Side of My People, pp. 73-74; Natambu, Malcolm X, pp. 113-14; and Malcolm X and Haley, Autobiography, p. 153.

68 seven months of a five-year sentence. Jenkins, “Beatrice Caragulian Bazarian,” in Jenkins, ed., Malcolm X Encyclopedia, p. 95; and Natambu, Malcolm X, p. 119.

68 as a steerer for Harlem prostitutes. Malcolm X and Haley, Autobiography, p. 96.

69 “best possible source, from his own women.” Ibid., p. 94.

Chapter 3: Becoming ʺXʺ

70 “physically miserable and as evil-tempered as a snake.” Malcolm

Return Main Page Previous Page Next Page

®Online Book Reader