Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Wife Clara Muhammad

[Lady Blues Jacqueline Amos]

THE BLACK Man here in America, in Africa and everywhere on our planet earth is hated, despised and opposed by the white man for his efforts to do something for self.

OUR DIVINE DUTY today, is to unite on a constructive plan that I have by the Help and Guidance of Allah (God), set before you. Your efforts, Blind Black leaders, is to have it to say that you lead this people into that plan, in order to get some name for your own Black leadership, which you are not qualified to do, today. It is Divine Leadership that will win for the Black Man and not political leadership, nor Christian leadership.

CHRISTIAN LEADERS have in the past and up to the present day, made much merchandise out of the Black Man in America. It takes a very good spiritual and understanding church preacher to do anything constructive for his people. And he cannot do anything constructive through Christianity. He will have to come to Islam for there is no hope for you in the church. The church is a house of slavery made by the white man for you and me a long time ago and its head is in Rome, Italy. We see how much trouble the head is having. There is not hope for us in any Christian religion and you the Black preachers are the big boosters of the Christian religion. It was organized and is backed by the white man in order to make merchandise out of the Black Man. he has made you to think that Jesus established the church. Jesus prophesied the doom of the white man and all who go in their religious belief.

THERE ARE a few white people who believe in Islam. We give them credit for their belief, but they are not by nature a true Muslim. The Black Man is born a Muslim; by nature, he is a Muslim. The Black man is not to be made into a Muslim. But white people, if they accept Islam, they will be made Muslim on the principle of their belief in Allah and His True Religion, Islam. We call them Muslim through their faith or belief, but they are not Muslim by nature. But we the Black People are Muslim, by nature.

THE DUTY of the BLACK MAN is to do for self and think for self. This duty is now made binding upon us because of the loss of the world power of the white man. The power of the white man is falling hourly.

We can no longer look forward for the white man of America or of the world of his kind, Europe, to care for us. I keep warning you of this. Do not you remember the parable (in the Bible) of Jesus concerning the rich man and the poor man (Lazarus)? The poor man lay at the rich man's gate. While the poor man was suffering in poverty and want and begging, the rich man lived sumptuously, but at last the rich ma died. In the hell of poverty and want the rich man lifted up his eyes to Lazarus and asked for his help.

MANY people think that this could never come to a flourishing and powerful nation, such as America. But rich and powerful nations have fallen in the past and it is happening today and it will happen in your and my time, to this people.

THE BLACK MANS DUTY is for the self-preservation of his Black self and Black kind. I have given you an example through my own work and I am still giving you an example of how you can do something for self.
YOUR BLACK BROTHER AND BLACK FRIEND,

[Harry Nicholson]

Yes, Jacqueline, what you've said is a fact.

An earlier comment mentioned the state of things in the 50s and 60s, and I've been pondering that. In 1959 my ship put into New Orleans; such was my innocence I happily sat in the 'wrong' half of a segregated bus. There were big grins all round.

Confused shipmates who wandered into the 'wrong' New Orleans bars reported a really good night out.

[Lady Blues Jacqueline Amos]

Harry everybody is not the same, we must look at each others as individuals, we can't change the past, but we can work on the future, 

[Lady Blues Jacqueline Amos]

Thank you

[Creative Conversation Interviews]

If you don’t mind me saying so I can see why Harry would feel like he did because this is a blog of quotes but the statements don’t have quotation marks or an explanatory introduction. Some people (or their significant others :- ) will recognize them from studies or films but without that background these can feel intimidating when you read them. Somebody can set me straight if I get this wrong but it’s probably important to remember that Elijah Muhammad promoted these “teachings” during the 1950s and 1960s when the United States and a lot of other countries were still extremely racially segregated. This was the “liberation ideology” used to help battle the oppressiveness of the times. It’s really powerful to compare that era to everything that’s going on now globally.

[Harry Nicholson]

Thanks for the response, Jaqueline. I feel reasonably relaxed, but saddened to read the sentiments in that article; they seem out of harmony with the third guideline of this site.

"The black man here in America, in Africa and everywhere on our planet earth is hated, despised and opposed by the white man for his efforts to do something for self."

Such generalisation leaves me stunned.  

[Lady Blues Jacqueline Amos]

There is nothing is this article racist, there is no attack on any race, Harry we have passed that stage, relax 

[Lady Blues Jacqueline Amos]

Thank you

[Lady Blues Jacqueline Amos]

I did not write this it is written by Elijah Muhammad dont take it personal

[Harry Nicholson]

That incoherant and racist post causes me to doubt that this might be a place of creative thought. 

[Author-Poet Aberjhani]

This is one of the best visual representations of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad with his wife Clara that I have ever seen. So great to see it posted here at CTI. Thank you for the sharing.

Aberjhani