Chapter 16 - Summary, The Autobiography Of Malcolm X | The Autobiography of Malcolm X -Summary, Themes & Characters - Novels PDF Download

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• In 1961 Elijah Muhammad suddenly gets much, much sicker. This might not seem like such a big deal to you, but it's a huge deal to the Nation of Islam because Elijah Muhammad basically is the Nation of Islam.
• Now Malcolm X works harder than ever to promote his cause. Actually, he wishes that he could do even more, but the other ministers don't want to. Besides this, though, Malcolm is pretty happy with how well the Nation is growing.
• But there's a different problem. People are starting to get very jealous of Malcolm X. They say that he's trying to take credit for Elijah Muhammad's teaching and that he's probably making a ton of money. Malcolm denies all of the accusations, but no one believes him.
• He's even blacklisted from his own paper! To curb jealousy, Malcolm stops appearing in so many papers and only gives a few public speeches. He even refrains from speaking when important Civil Rights Movement moments occur. All for the Nation of Islam.
• Mr. Muhammad pays Malcolm X the greatest compliment ever, but all is not as it seems over at the Nation of Islam, though Malcolm doesn't know it yet. When he does find out, the news makes Malcolm nearly go insane.
• Around 1963, Malcolm starts to focus his sermons more on social issues and politics than religion and morality. There's a pretty good reason for this. He's discovered that Elijah Muhammad has been committing adultery, and probably for quite a while.
• To put this in perspective, when other people are accused of adultery they are banned from the Nation of Islam. But this is the head honcho! He's the guy who does the banning!
• Malcolm X doesn't want to believe it. He has dedicated his entire life to Elijah Muhammad, after all. But everybody else knows, and they talk about it constantly.
• Finally, Malcolm decides to take things into his own hands and talk to the women impregnated by Elijah Muhammad. He learns everything is true. But not just that, Mr. Muhammad also thinks that Malcolm is dangerous.
• Malcolm X is in so deep with the Nation of Islam that, despite everything he's learned, he still doesn't give up on Muhammad. He searches the Bible for examples of patriarchs who have been adulterous but are still known as heroes. He starts preaching this message, hoping that by the time the scandal hit his message would have taken hold.
• Malcolm goes to visit Muhammad in April, where he basically admits everything.
• So now it's time for new plan. Malcolm X decides to tell six east coast Muslim officials about the scandal. They already knew. He was the last one to know. Ouch.
• On November 22, John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Elijah Muhammad tells everyone in the Nation of Islam that they are not allowed to comment on the assassination. Shortly after the assassination, Malcolm gives a speech titled "God's Judgment of White America."
• After the speech is over, the first question Malcolm is asked is about the assassination. He gives his famous chickens come home to roost answer, and it is all over the papers.
• The next day Malcolm X has a meeting with Mr. Muhammad, and it doesn't go well. He's silenced for 90 days. And that's not all, he learns that there is something deeper to this silencing, and it sounds like someone is plotting to kill him.
• You can imagine that he is just a teensy-weensy bit stressed. Luckily for him, he is friends with Cassius Clay a.k.a. Muhammad Ali. Cassius invites him to Miami for some rest and relaxation and it's pretty awesome. Well, except that Malcolm can't get the plot to kick him out of the Nation of Islam (and maybe even kill him) out of his mind.
• During his vacation, Malcolm takes Cassius Clay under his wing. Even though he was the underdog, Clay comes out of his big fight the new heavyweight champion. He's not Cassius Clay anymore. He’s Muhammad Ali.
• Back to those death threats. They're getting pretty serious now. Someone is hired to blow up his car, but decides not to and tells Malcolm X about the plan instead. It's only then that Malcolm realizes he's really been kicked out of the Nation of Islam.
• Malcolm X goes on a kind of strange digression talking about hustlers in the ghetto and how they are the angriest and least-brainwashed black people in the United States. He says that he's going to get back on track, and he talks about the importance of black people voting as a political block instead of individually. The problem, he says, is that black people don't have moral, economic, or political power.
• He thinks he's found the solution, though. Malcolm X will found an organization that includes any religion and is focused on action. Tons of people decide to join before the building is even created. He calls it Muslim Mosque Incorporated.
• But there's one more thing he has to do. He takes a plane to Boston and asks Ella to help him get to Mecca. All she says is, "How much do you need?" That's a great big sister.