Don Wildman

Part of the reason that's shorter is because there's a great transformation in this man in that time frame.

And this is where he runs into or encounters the Nation of Islam.

Can you explain that development?

Interesting.

And remember, by the time I just did a little arithmetic here, by the time we're talking about, you know, by the time he's out of prison, he's only 21 years old.

He's very young.

He's a very young man we're talking about.

This has been a teenager who's been going through all of this.

And by the time he realizes himself is when all of us realize ourselves in his early 20s.

We mentioned that it begins very small back in the 20s, the Nation of Islam, but it has grown rapidly.

In leaps and bounds.

By the time he's interested and reaches out, by the way, this happens in a fascinating way.

He writes a letter from that third prison where he's undergoing a lot of this transformation and study.

He writes a letter to Elijah Muhammad explaining what has happened to him.

And he gets a letter back with a five dollar bill in it, inviting him to come and be a part of this.

Right.

Clarence, explain to me the choice of the name Malcolm X. Where does that come from and what is that tradition?

That's something within the Nation of Islam, is that correct?

Yeah.

And Elijah Muhammad we're talking about was formerly Elijah Poole.