Whiteman and the Hypocrites Love Malcolm

Muhammad Speaks, October 3, 1969 (enlarge)

Years
after Malcolm X left Inkster, the Nation of Islam and this mortal plane
his former sect attacked him mercilessly with excoriating harangues.
Foolishly so. From an outsider's vantage point it makes one suspect that
Malcolm was not only right in his estimation of Elijah Muhammad and the
accusations against him but dead-on.

In the October 3, 1969
issue of Muhammad Speaks John Ali, then National Secretary for the
Nation of Islam, exclaimed that both the Whiteman and hypocrites love
Malcolm. Which, I believe even in the loosest terms was and is a
complete falsehood. I would say that both entities, the group and the
man, were maligned though I would guess that Malcolm X became the more
sympathetic figure after his execution.

Personally, I have issues
with each side in terms of general philosophy, being that I am not a
Marxist or a sectarian, but I also agree with both sides on certain aspects.
One being that forced integration was a bad idea. Legislating morality
never works. A natural inclination is to live among one's own people.
Hence why most cities have a Chinatown or Mexicantown, etc. Whether by
financial constraints or personal choice these things evolve
organically.

Secondly, that collectivism never ends in a Utopian
society except for the leaders of the movements, with a trickling down
of power through the ruler's marshals. Thus, my disbelief in pressure
groups as a proper power mechanism. They will be the death of the
American ideal.

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A Dudley Randall Poem in Milestone 2

I bought this Milestone 2 poetry Magazine at a Livonia estate sale this week. Milestone was the literary publication of Wayne (State) University and this second issue dates to 1949. While I don't recognize most of the names, Dudley Randall was both a nationally known poet and the librarian for the Wayne County General Hospital at Eloise via the Wayne County Library System. The poem featured is The Southern Road which was a revised version of the completed poem from 1948 that h as a handful or two of word differences between the two. I don't know if Randall edited the poem for later collected works editions or earlier but this link features it in its likely final form in 2009. Neither version particularly enchants me but the block print in the magazine is an added bonus.

A Cabinet Card of a Dead Man Lying in Repose From Wayne Photographer Susan Doolittle

The City of Wayne, Michigan was not a large village at the turn of the 20th century so it stands to reason that there wasn't a glut of photographers practicing their trade there. As such, the 3 cabinet cards and carte de visites that I own represents roughly a quarter of the early ones. Considering that the wives of Frank Hickok and William Corlett, first Village President of Wayne, took over after Frank's death in 1892 the list grows smaller beyond those two families. Had I snagged the Doolittle dead man cabinet card I'd be even that much more Wayne-rich in photographs. Speaking of Susan Doolittle, of whom I have learned very little about, it is interesting to note that Wayne had three women photographers in an era oft dominated by men in that very field. This photograph of a corpse is a startling example of her work.

Frederick Soop: Not An Equal Opportunity Restraunteer

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The Nankin Township Historical Society

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