Jump to content

Page:1965 FBI monograph on Nation of Islam.djvu/82

From Wikisource
This page has been validated.

technical quality. Large headlines in unusual combinations of black and white lettering on a shaded background-streak across the pages. Since mid-1964, more and more pictures have been printed in color.

On the front page of every issue, an article by Elijah Muhammad, usually accompanied by his photograph, dramatically sets forth some phase of his teachings. Very often, also appearing on the front page is either a large picture or a drawing which emphasizes racial strife, police brutality, or some form of violence against the black man. Throughout the paper, nearly everything printed tends to aggravate the soreness of race relations. in the United States and around the world. Always, the white man is portrayed as the brutal oppressor and the black man as the innocent victim. One- or two-paragraph news articles and filler-type inserts printed throughout the paper follow this same line. Some of the articles are dated, but many are not. The time element is not important. One recent issue contained six filler inserts all of which referred to Negro slave revolts in the United States during the 19th century.

To emphasize the progress. of the black man through following Elijah's teachings, many articles describe the achievements of members who operate their own businesses. Each issue of the paper also contains a section called "What Islam Has Done For Me." Therein, various NOI members relate the circumstances which led them into the cult. In all

- 64 -