“Message to the Grass Roots”: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Early Black Power

This chapter explores the significance of Garveyism to informing Midwest-linked, nationally influential, globally connected early Black Power formations during the early 1960s. A new generation of Black militants in heartland-connected groups, like the Revolutionary Action Movement, looked to Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X for inspiration in advancing socialism, antiracism, anticolonialism, self-defense, and Third World solidarity. Malcolm’s encounters with young Black militants in Detroit and Cleveland played an important role in radicalizing him and in facilitating his break from the Nation of Islam less than one year before his assassination in February 1965. In addition, the chapter discusses Christine Johnson of Chicago, a dynamic educator and globetrotter, who promoted Black public history among African Americans in Chicago and beyond. The chapter also discusses the importance of Black women radicals like St. Louis–raised social worker and world traveler Alice Windom in influencing Malcolm’s political evolution in the final year of his life.