Voice of the Nation of Islam... Stokely Carmichael... Mouhammad Ali...
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April 21, 1967
MUHAMMAD SPEAKS, Chicago, Illinois, April 21, 1967
* Nation of Islam religious movement
* Elijah Muhammad - founder
* Fight for civil rights era original
This newspaper was one of the most widely-read ever produced by an African American organization. Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad began the publication on May 1960 as a weekly publication. It was distributed nationwide by the Nation Of Islam and covered current events around the world as well as relevant news in African American communities, especially items concerning the Nation of Islam.
The bold banner headline: "JUSTICE ON TRIAL!", which includes an illustration depicting Uncle Sam holding a gun directing a black man to prison, captioned: "Jail Is Better Than The Cemetery!", and continues on inside pages.
Page 9 has: "Muhammad Ali's 10th Title Bout Off, But Record Tops Other Heavyweights" and "Demonstrations Sweep London Blasting Draft of World Heavyweight Champ" along with a side-by-side photos of Muhammad Ali and Joe Lewis.
Other articles include: "Whites Cry: 'Oh Lord, Do Something About Stokely" "Report Blasts Neglect of Negro in Baltimore Schools" "Cicero: Day in the Diary of the Devil" "When Black Africans Revolt, Will U.S. Send Troops to Help Whites?" and much more. See images for details.
Complete in 28 pages, tabloid size, some foxing, good condition.
background: The April 21, 1967, issue of Muhammad Speaks stands as a quintessential artifact of the Black Power era, capturing the precise moment when the Nation of Islam’s theology of self-reliance merged with the global anti-war movement. Its significance lies in its bold framing of Muhammad Ali’s draft resistance—encapsulated by the provocative "Jail Is Better Than The Cemetery!" headline—which reframed the Vietnam War not as a patriotic duty, but as a colonialist trap for Black men. By juxtaposing Ali with the legendary Joe Louis and covering the revolutionary rhetoric of Stokely Carmichael alongside the domestic struggles in Cicero and Baltimore, the paper bridged the gap between religious separatism and political activism. It served as a powerful counter-narrative to the white-dominated media of 1967, asserting that the fight for Black liberation was a global struggle against systemic "justice on trial," thereby solidifying the newspaper's role as the primary intellectual and propaganda engine for African American defiance during the mid-20th century.
* Nation of Islam religious movement
* Elijah Muhammad - founder
* Fight for civil rights era original
This newspaper was one of the most widely-read ever produced by an African American organization. Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad began the publication on May 1960 as a weekly publication. It was distributed nationwide by the Nation Of Islam and covered current events around the world as well as relevant news in African American communities, especially items concerning the Nation of Islam.
The bold banner headline: "JUSTICE ON TRIAL!", which includes an illustration depicting Uncle Sam holding a gun directing a black man to prison, captioned: "Jail Is Better Than The Cemetery!", and continues on inside pages.
Page 9 has: "Muhammad Ali's 10th Title Bout Off, But Record Tops Other Heavyweights" and "Demonstrations Sweep London Blasting Draft of World Heavyweight Champ" along with a side-by-side photos of Muhammad Ali and Joe Lewis.
Other articles include: "Whites Cry: 'Oh Lord, Do Something About Stokely" "Report Blasts Neglect of Negro in Baltimore Schools" "Cicero: Day in the Diary of the Devil" "When Black Africans Revolt, Will U.S. Send Troops to Help Whites?" and much more. See images for details.
Complete in 28 pages, tabloid size, some foxing, good condition.
background: The April 21, 1967, issue of Muhammad Speaks stands as a quintessential artifact of the Black Power era, capturing the precise moment when the Nation of Islam’s theology of self-reliance merged with the global anti-war movement. Its significance lies in its bold framing of Muhammad Ali’s draft resistance—encapsulated by the provocative "Jail Is Better Than The Cemetery!" headline—which reframed the Vietnam War not as a patriotic duty, but as a colonialist trap for Black men. By juxtaposing Ali with the legendary Joe Louis and covering the revolutionary rhetoric of Stokely Carmichael alongside the domestic struggles in Cicero and Baltimore, the paper bridged the gap between religious separatism and political activism. It served as a powerful counter-narrative to the white-dominated media of 1967, asserting that the fight for Black liberation was a global struggle against systemic "justice on trial," thereby solidifying the newspaper's role as the primary intellectual and propaganda engine for African American defiance during the mid-20th century.
Category: The 20th Century
