The Klan In The Stands

Malcom X had a very unlikely super fan; George Lincoln Rockwell, a white man. Not just any white man, *checks notes * The father of Amerikkkan nazis. Rockwell loved X so much he talked about how he wanted to go on a speaking tour with him. When asked about it X replied “He must think I’m nuts!!”.

How did he become such a big fan of X? Well, the Nation of Islam and Amerikkkan nazis had a working relationship That can be tracked into the 80’s. In the 1960’s the relationship between the NOI and the Amerikkkan nazis became so friendly, Nazis gave speeches at two different NOI conventions.

The two groups shared beliefs that were closely tied into white supremacy.

Separation

The Nation of Islam is a Black nationalist organization. They had no desire to work within a white dominated nation. An all Black American separate nation was the goal of the NOI. Nazis did not want Black people in America; causing the two to have common ground.

Religion

Deeming christianity the religion of the white man and racist; the Nation of Islam took up well, Islam.The practices of the muslim faith however, were only loosely adopted. It was never really rooted in faith or spirituality and that’s most likely the reason it somehow eventually goes down a weird scientology route (I digress).

The NOI much like the white nationalist used religion as tool of control rather than a form of spirituality. When we look at the white nationalist of Amerikkka they have historically used their own version of Christianity to progress their agenda and promote violence against others/dissenters of white supremacy. The NOI used these same tactics to carry out the assassination of X.

Antisemitism

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” - some dead dude

Both the Amerikkkan nazis and the NOI had a hatred for the Jewish community. This is something that they were able to bond over that. In photo taken by a Jewish photographer at a NOI and had slurs hurled at her from both sides.

Rockwell, had a working relationship with the NOI for the reasons above, but his fandom of X was more personal. Malcom X had the ability to fill stadiums and make them go absolutely wild. His writings were well received in the Black community and his followers were loyal. Rockwell was unable to produce the popularity or the loyalty.

I’ll let X sum it up:

Malcom X was a loyal follower of Elijah Muhammad; we all know this by now. He tolerated this relationship between the two groups. He even said in an interview he helped broker a 20,000 acre land deal between the NOI and the nazis down in Georgia. However, by all public accounts and responses to reporter he hated Rockwell and the nazis.

After leaving the NOI, X no longer had to hold himself back. After his house was firebombed, Malcom gave a speech the next day. In the speech he mentioned Rockwell when it came to white supremacist agitating a Dr. King protest. This is what he had to say:

“When I saw it I dispatched a wire to Rockwell; Rockwell was one of the agitators down there, Rockwell, this Lincoln Rockwell. And the wire said in essence that this is to warn him that I am no longer held in check from fighting white supremacists by Elijah Muhammad’s separatist Black Muslim movement. And that if Rockwell’s presence in Alabama causes harm to come to Dr. King or any other Black person in Alabama who’s doing nothing other than trying to enjoy their rights, then Rockwell and his Ku Klux Klan friends would be met with maximum retaliation from those of us who are not handcuffed by this nonviolent philosophy. And I haven’t heard from Rockwell since.”

These two men were both killed at the hands of white supremacy. Malcolm was a dissenter and moved away from the NOI; leading to the members eventually killing him. Rockwell pushed to allow a Greek man into the nazi party expanding who can be considered white. For that he was also a dissenter and a member of the party he created killed him.

White supremacy has no place for thought that questions it. We can see that today. Anybody can get it if they go against MAGA even if it is only a small dissent from their beliefs, however, anyone can ride the wave (ex: fucking Nicki Minaj) . White supremacy is a mindset that has been around for hundreds of years. Even as Black folks it is instilled in our brains because of the world we live in.

The practice of decolonizing our minds and removing white supremacy from our lives has become talking points lately, but the truth is we will not survive white supremacy. Our job is not to end it, but much like X and other ancestors we are here to move forward. I think that is important to state because a lot of people view the civil rights era as an era of perfect activism. No, our ancestors were just like us. They had flaws, they were messy and even as they were fighting to improve Black life in America; white supremacy found its way in.

Malcom X is an ancestor I hold in very high regard. Discovering this bizarre side story to Malcolm X’s life was shocking. However, it was a reminder activism does not mean perfection. He was devoted to giving us a better future. He thought the NOI was devoted to the same cause, but they were not. When he came to that realization he left the group knowing the danger it put him in. He then spent the rest of his short life continuing to fight for us. It is our turn to return the favor and do our best to move progress forward knowing that we don’t have to be perfect in our work, but we have to work.

P.S. If you ever find yourself being idolized by a white supremacist, turn and run.

Stay woke,

Loc

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