Chuck Bryan

And we're fairly successful at that because it was not smooth sailing at this point.

So, you know.

The real fracture comes, you know, all this is sort of leading up to what I think was the real fracture was when Malcolm X finds out about Elijah Muhammad having three children out of wedlock with three very young members of the Nation of Islam and essentially started looking upon him as a false prophet.

That was just sort of a guy in power that was using that power to philander.

And he was like, I don't think he's fit to lead the nation of Islam anymore.

And in 1963 of April of that year, he confronted Elijah Muhammad about this.

And that was not something that Elijah Muhammad wanted to hear.

Yeah, I think the final nail in the coffin was when Kennedy was assassinated.

He got explicit direction from Elijah Muhammad to to shut up about it, to not say anything to the press, to just let this pass, because it was such a monumental thing for all of America, certainly for white America.

And he was like, we need to stay out of this if we know what's good for us.

And Malcolm X did not do that.

He went to the reporters and he said that Kennedy's death was, quote, a case of chickens coming home to roost, end quote.

And Elijah Muhammad was super upset.

He said, you're suspended for three months.

A month into that, he removed him from most of his leadership roles.

And that was the writing was on the wall that that was really the beginning of the final split.

Yeah, for sure.

You know, after he was expelled, basically, not formally expelled, but, you know, removed from his formal duties, he went down to stay with Cassius Clay, future Muhammad Ali, at his place in Miami.

And he stayed there for a week.

He was given spiritual guidance leading up to his heavyweight bout with Sonny Liston.