Lot 71
MALCOLM X WRITES FROM PRISON USING HIS MUSLIM NAME FOR LIKELY THE FIRST TIME
(1925 - 1965) American civil rights and Muslim leader, a brilliant orator who preached black separatism and nationalism, assassinated while giving a speech in Harlem. An especially early and important handwritten letter signed "Brother Malcolm X" at the conclusion and "Malcolm X. Little" in the address, very likely the very first known instance of his signing in this manner, 2 pp. 8 1/2 x 11", Feb. 15, 1950, from the experimental penal colony at Norfolk, Mass. to "Brother Raymond", most likely Raymond Sharieff, Supreme Captain of the bodyguard unit of the Nation of Islam and son in law of its leader, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm opens the letter with a variation of the Basmala, a phrase frequently recited by Muslims at the outset of prayers: "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, Great God of the Universe... and in the Name of His Holy Apostle and the true Servant, the Honorable Prophet Elijah Muhammad..." Malcolm writes that he has learned that Raymond has been hospitalized, in part: "... Sister Doris X. Jones enclosed your address in her most recent letter to me, and I take this opportunity to write to you, my dear Brother. She told me nothing whatsoever about you, not even what type of hospital you are in, nor of your illness. It really doesn''t matter, I guess. What is important is that you are a Muslim Brother... ''Allah'' has you in His arms, no matter where you are... and I pray you will constantly be in full submission to His Mighty Will, Guidance and Healing Power..." He goes on to discuss his own imprisonment: "... My confinement is of a different type; I''m just completing my fourth year of an 8 to 10 year term in prison... but these four years of seclusion have proven to be the most enlightening years of my 24 years upon this earth... and I feel this ''gift of Time'' was Allah''s reward to me as His way of saving me from the certain destruction for which I was heading..." The letter is clearly the first that Malcolm has sent to Raymond, and acts as a respectful introduction: "...You no doubt have much time on your hands, and can realize the preciousness of Solitude. Do spend some moments in corresponding with me, as I would enjoy hearing from you. Tell me all about yourself, how you came to the Truth... and every thing else that you care to speak of. I''m not a good writer, but I love to write letters and receive them. This one is short, but the rest will be more lengthy..." Malcolm was imprisoned in 1946 for his involvement in a string of burglaries targeting wealthy white families. While in prison, his siblings began to write to him about the Nation of Islam, a nascent religious movement preaching black self-reliance and striving for the return of the African diaspora to Africa. Malcolm struck up a correspondence with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, and officially joined the Nation in 1948. In 1950, he began signing his letters "Malcolm X", the "X" symbolizing the true African family name he believed had been stripped from his ancestors when they were enslaved. The letter shows original folds with minor splitting, else very good.
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