Muhammad Speaks
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Muhammad Speaks was one of the most widely-read newspapers ever produced by an African American organization. Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad began the paper in 1961, its first issue bearing the title Some of this Earth to Call Our Own or Else. A weekly publication, it covered current events around the world as well as relevant news in African American communities, and especially items concerning the Nation of Islam itself.
The paper was sold door-to-door by Nation of Islam members, at select newsstands in major cities, and in the temples of the Nation of Islam. In his The Autobiography of Malcolm X, activist Malcolm X claimed to have founded the newspaper, but this has not been independently confirmed (it is, however, well-established that Malcolm X did assist in the creation of Mr. Muhammad Speaks, a different newspaper distributed locally in New York City).
Elijah Muhammad had previously used several literary vehicles to get his words to the US Black population, the most well-known being the Pittsburgh Courier. Once Muhammad Speaks began publication, it greatly surpassed the sales of the Courier, reaching a peak distribution of 500,000 papers a week. In 1975, it was renamed Bilalian News and was discontinued in 1981. However, there are a number of publications that hold claims to continuing in the tradition of the original paper, two of the most well-known among them being The Son of Man Speaks, a magazine published by the New Nation of Islam, and The Final Call, published by the Nation of Islam.
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