The Hate That Hate Produced
Encyclopedia
The Hate That Hate Produced is a television documentary
about the Nation of Islam
. It was produced in 1959 by Mike Wallace
and Louis Lomax
.
in New York
. Lomax told Wallace about the Nation of Islam, and Wallace became interested in the group. Lomax, who was African American
, was given rare access to the organization. Accompanied by two white
camera operator
s, Lomax conducted interviews with the Nation's leaders and filmed some of its events. The Hate That Hate Produced aired in five parts during the week of July 13–17, 1959, and was repeated several days later.
The cameras cut to a scene of Louis X (later known as Louis Farrakhan
) indicting "the white man" for his crimes:
Wallace returned to tell the audience:
During the course of the program, Wallace told viewers more about the Nation of Islam, which he described as "the most powerful of the Black supremacist
groups". The documentary included footage of the University of Islam, a school run by the Nation, where, according to Wallace, "Muslim children are taught to hate the white man". It also showed portions of a large Nation of Islam rally, while Wallace told viewers that the organization had 250,000 members, a tremendously inflated number.
The Hate That Hate Produced included interviews between Lomax and Elijah Muhammad
, the leader of the Nation of Islam. When Lomax asked him whether he was preaching hate, Muhammad answered that he was just teaching truth. Muhammad said he believed black people
were divine and white people were devils. He also said that Allah
was a black man.
The program also included Lomax's interviews with Malcolm X
, the Nation of Islam's charismatic spokesman. Lomax asked him if all white people were evil, and Malcolm X explained that white people collectively were evil: "History is best qualified to reward all research, and we don't have any historic example where we have found that they have, collectively, as a people, done good." When he was asked about the Nation's schools, such as the University of Islam, Malcolm X denied that they taught black children to hate; he said they were being taught the same things white students were taught, "minus the little Black Sambo
story and things that were taught to you and me when we were coming up, to breed that inferiority complex in us."
At the program's end, Wallace asked for support for black leaders who were "counseling patience and the relatively slow operation of legal measures". He said it was necessary to make the United States a nation that was truly "indivisible, with freedom and justice for all".
Some African Americans could not believe that black people were saying such things out loud, but more than a few agreed with it. The number of people attending Nation of Islam meetings increased significantly, and the group's membership doubled to 60,000 within weeks after the broadcast.
The Hate That Hate Produced catapulted Malcolm X to national attention. Although he had rarely been mentioned in the mainstream press before the program aired, Malcolm X soon became a frequent participant in television debates on race-related issues and one of the most sought-after speakers on college campuses across the United States.
".
One of the first things Wallace said about Muhammad and Malcolm X was that they had served time in prison, a statement that seemed designed to call their leadership credentials into question and suggest the organization itself was criminal. Wallace referred to "this disturbing story" and used phrases such as "black supremacy", "black racism", and "gospel of hate" to frighten the white audience, critics say, and no effort was made to balance the presentation.
In his book White Violence, Black Response, Herbert Shapiro criticizes Wallace's opening comments that the Nation of Islam "preach[es] a gospel of hate that would set off a federal investigation if it were preached by Southern whites." He noted that some Southern whites—including state and local elected officials—did in fact preach such a gospel of hate, but the federal government had done almost nothing to stop their hate propaganda. Shapiro also argues that Wallace confused the Nation's rhetoric that condemned white people with a specific plan for violence against white people.
Television documentary
Documentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
about the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
. It was produced in 1959 by Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
and Louis Lomax
Louis Lomax
Louis E. Lomax was an African-American journalist and author. He was also the first African-American television journalist.-Early years:...
.
Background
In 1959, Wallace and Lomax were television journalists for News Beat, a program on WNTA-TVWNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Lomax told Wallace about the Nation of Islam, and Wallace became interested in the group. Lomax, who was African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, was given rare access to the organization. Accompanied by two white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
camera operator
Camera operator
A camera operator or cameraman is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In filmmaking, the leading cameraman is usually called a cinematographer, while a cameraman in a video production may be known as a television camera operator, video camera operator, or videographer, depending on...
s, Lomax conducted interviews with the Nation's leaders and filmed some of its events. The Hate That Hate Produced aired in five parts during the week of July 13–17, 1959, and was repeated several days later.
The program
The Hate That Hate Produced began with a narration by Wallace:While city officials, state agencies, white liberals, and sober-minded Negroes stand idly by, a group of Negro dissenters is taking to street-corner step ladders, church pulpits, sports arenas, and ballroom platforms across the United States, to preach a gospel of hate that would set off a federal investigation if it were preached by Southern whites.
The cameras cut to a scene of Louis X (later known as Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
) indicting "the white man" for his crimes:
I charge the white man with being the greatest liar on earth! I charge the white man with being the greatest drunkard on earth.... I charge the white man with being the greatest gambler on earth. I charge the white man, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, with being the greatest murderer on earth. I charge the white man with being the greatest peace-breaker on earth.... I charge the white man with being the greatest robber on earth. I charge the white man with being the greatest deceiver on earth. I charge the white man with being the greatest trouble-maker on earth. So therefore, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I ask you, bring back a verdict of guilty as charged!
Wallace returned to tell the audience:
The indictment you've just heard is being delivered over and over again in most of the major cities across the country. This charge comes at the climax of a morality play called The Trial. The plot, indeed the message of the play, is that the white man has been put on trial for his sins against the black man. He has been found guilty. The sentence is death. The play is sponsored, produced, by a Negro religious group who call themselves "The Muslims".
During the course of the program, Wallace told viewers more about the Nation of Islam, which he described as "the most powerful of the Black supremacist
Black supremacy
The term black supremacy is a blanket term for various ideologies which hold that black people are superior to people of other races.-Overview:...
groups". The documentary included footage of the University of Islam, a school run by the Nation, where, according to Wallace, "Muslim children are taught to hate the white man". It also showed portions of a large Nation of Islam rally, while Wallace told viewers that the organization had 250,000 members, a tremendously inflated number.
The Hate That Hate Produced included interviews between Lomax and Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
, the leader of the Nation of Islam. When Lomax asked him whether he was preaching hate, Muhammad answered that he was just teaching truth. Muhammad said he believed black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
were divine and white people were devils. He also said that Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
was a black man.
The program also included Lomax's interviews with Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, the Nation of Islam's charismatic spokesman. Lomax asked him if all white people were evil, and Malcolm X explained that white people collectively were evil: "History is best qualified to reward all research, and we don't have any historic example where we have found that they have, collectively, as a people, done good." When he was asked about the Nation's schools, such as the University of Islam, Malcolm X denied that they taught black children to hate; he said they were being taught the same things white students were taught, "minus the little Black Sambo
Little Black Sambo
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, and first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children....
story and things that were taught to you and me when we were coming up, to breed that inferiority complex in us."
At the program's end, Wallace asked for support for black leaders who were "counseling patience and the relatively slow operation of legal measures". He said it was necessary to make the United States a nation that was truly "indivisible, with freedom and justice for all".
Public reaction
The Hate That Hate Produced shocked many of the millions of people who watched it. Most white people had never heard of the Nation of Islam before, and many were stunned to learn that some black people had such strong feelings toward white people. For many white viewers, it was the first time they learned there was a radical black alternative to the Civil Rights Movement.Some African Americans could not believe that black people were saying such things out loud, but more than a few agreed with it. The number of people attending Nation of Islam meetings increased significantly, and the group's membership doubled to 60,000 within weeks after the broadcast.
The Hate That Hate Produced catapulted Malcolm X to national attention. Although he had rarely been mentioned in the mainstream press before the program aired, Malcolm X soon became a frequent participant in television debates on race-related issues and one of the most sought-after speakers on college campuses across the United States.
Modern analysis
Recent commentators generally feel that The Hate That Hate Produced was biased against the Nation of Islam. One writer said "its title reflected its severe view". Others have described it as "marked [by] a tendency to caricature", "blatantly one-sided", and a "piece of yellow journalismYellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
".
One of the first things Wallace said about Muhammad and Malcolm X was that they had served time in prison, a statement that seemed designed to call their leadership credentials into question and suggest the organization itself was criminal. Wallace referred to "this disturbing story" and used phrases such as "black supremacy", "black racism", and "gospel of hate" to frighten the white audience, critics say, and no effort was made to balance the presentation.
In his book White Violence, Black Response, Herbert Shapiro criticizes Wallace's opening comments that the Nation of Islam "preach[es] a gospel of hate that would set off a federal investigation if it were preached by Southern whites." He noted that some Southern whites—including state and local elected officials—did in fact preach such a gospel of hate, but the federal government had done almost nothing to stop their hate propaganda. Shapiro also argues that Wallace confused the Nation's rhetoric that condemned white people with a specific plan for violence against white people.
External links
- The Hate That Hate Produced at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Portions of The Hate That Hate Produced, The Malcolm X Project at Columbia University