various NOI programs. One of these programs which the NOI has proudly advertised in its newspaper and by signs on public transportation vehicles is "Muhammad's 3-Year Economic Plan." This so-called self-help savings plan deserves close examination.
Elijah Muhammad began laying the groundwork for his new savings bank program in two articles on economics which appeared in the July 3 and 17, 1964, issues of "Muhammad Speaks." In these articles, Elijah renewed his often-repeated claims that "the white man's time is growing shorter" and that "Christianity has never been able to produce the right leadership for our people--and never will." He again berated the "black man in America" as "a people who do not want to accept their own responsibility," who are "begging and praying to the white man to accept you." Elijah complained that "it is difficult to plan an economic system for a people who are subject to the whim of another people. You are limited in your jobs, salaries and income by the white man. But you can still learn not to be reckless and wasteful spenders."
Elijah advised his readers, "You can save hundreds of millions of dollars--even billions--if you would accept the right economic program and stop using things which destroy your health, such as tobacco, which doctors warn us can cause cancer. X-rays are known also to be dangerous and produce
