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Table of Contents
Elijah Muhammad was an influential black religious separatist leader of the Nation of Islam movement in the mid-twentieth century. He served as a mentor to Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and Louis Farrakhan.
See the fact file below for more information on the Elijah Muhammad or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Elijah Muhammad worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
Early Life
- Elijah Muhammad was born Elijah Robert Poole on October 7, 1897 in Sandersville, Georgia.
- He was the the seventh of thirteen children of William Poole Sr., a Baptist preacher, and Mariah Hall. His parents were both sharecroppers.
- He stopped schooling when he was in the third grade and became a sharecropper to help his family.
Life As Elijah Poole
- Elijah Poole married Clara Evans on March 7, 1917.
- They were among the thousands of black families forming the First Great Migration. They moved to Hamtramck, Michigan.
- Poole had seen for himself white men lynching black men.
- During the Great Depression era when the economy was at a low, Poole had a hard time finding and keeping work.
- Elijah and Clara had eight children – six boys and two girls.
Conversion to Islam
- In Detroit, Elijah attended meetings of Black Nationalist movements.
- In August 1931, he attended a speech on Islam and black empowerment by Wallace Fard Muhammad, as part of the Allah Temple of Islam movement.
- In his speeches, Wallace Fard would talk about the culture and history stolen from the blacks because of slavery and the opportunity to regain their right to self-determination.
- Because of Poole’s first hand experience of the racial struggles of blacks in the South, he quickly aligned himself with Fard’s ideology.
- Poole, his wife, and some of his brothers joined Fard’s movement.
- Poole was then given a Muslim surname: first, it was Karriem, then it was changed to Muhammad.
- He became the leader of the Nation’s Temple No. 2 in Chicago.
- Elijah became the leader of the Detroit group.
- The Allah Temple of Islam changed its name to the Nation of Islam.
- Wallace Fard disappeared in 1934 and Elijah became his successor as “Minister of Islam”.
- In 1934, the Nation of Islam founded Final Call to Islam, a newspaper to educate members and recruit new ones.
- Children of its members attended the newly founded Muhammad University of Islam, an institution that was challenged by the Detroit and Chicago boards of education.
- The controversial school system caused Elijah’s board members of the University to be sent to jail in 1934, but the University stayed open.
- They also experienced violent encounters with the police.
Nation of Islam Leadership
- As Elijah Muhammad assumed leadership of Temple No. 1, he faced battles and received death threats from other potential leaders.
- In 1935, Muhammad moved to Chicago, because of this clash.
- As the battles continued, Muhammad left his family to go to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he founded Temple No. 3, and eventually to Washington, D.C., where he founded Temple No. 4.
- Elijah was arrested in 1942 for not enlisting in the draft for World War II.
- Once he got out, he fled to Washington, D.C.
- He returned to Chicago after a seven-year absence.
- Muhammad was in prison from 1942 to 1946 for sedition and so his wife ran the organization while he was in jail.
- When he was released, he continued his leadership in the Nation of Islam.
- The Nation of Islam grew from four temples in 1946 to 15 by 1955.
- By 1959, the Nation of Islam had 50 temples in 22 states.
- As the movement’s leader, Muhammad preached that the Nation of Islam’s goal was to regain the hegemony stolen from the blacks by the whites throughout the United States.
- The group’s focus on economic development attracted young, economically disadvantaged, black males who didn’t have their financial needs addressed by churches.
- The Nation of Islam provided these men employment and housing.
- The Nation of Islam owned numerous establishments, shops, and real estate by the 1970s, such as farmland, bakeries, and tractor trailers.
- In 1972 the Nation of Islam took controlling interest in the Guaranty Bank and Trust Co.
- By 1974, the group had established schools in 47 cities in the United States.
Controversial Rifts
- Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, also known as Ernest 2X McGee, former national secretary of the Nation of Islam, criticized Muhammad to the media, which was followed by the murders of several of his family members.
- Although initially a mentor of Malcolm X, a rift formed because of rumors surrounding Muhammad’s extramarital affairs with young Nation secretaries.
- Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam in March 1964 and went to form his own group namely Muslim Mosque Inc.
Death and Legacy
- At 77 years old, Muhammad died of congestive heart failure on February 25, 1975.
- Elijah had more children with other women: three with Lucille Rosary Muhammad, one with Evelyn Muhammad, four with Tynnetta Muhammad; and more from other relationships.
- Following his death, his son Warith Deen Mohammed succeeded him.
- The Nation of Islam disbanded in 1976 under the leadership of Warith.
- Warith then founded the American Society of Muslims, an orthodox mainstream Islamic organization.
Elijah Muhammad Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Elijah Muhammad across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Elijah Muhammad worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Elijah Muhammad who was an influential black religious separatist leader of the Nation of Islam movement in the mid-twentieth century. He served as a mentor to Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and Louis Farrakhan.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Elijah Muhammad Facts
- Short Bio
- Odd One Out
- Fast Facts
- Word Search
- Nation Of Islam
- About Islam
- Mentor Muhammad
- Million Man March
- Flag Letters
- Letter To Elijah
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Link will appear as Elijah Muhammad Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, February 8, 2019
Use With Any Curriculum
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