Charles Preston Profile picture
Sep 26, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
"A frequent rumor among non-Muslims was 'Malcolm X is making a pile of money.' All Muslims at least knew better than that. Me making money? The F.B.I. and the C.I.A. and the I.R.S. all combined can't turn up a thing I got, beyond a car to drive and a seven-room house to live in."
"(And by now the Nation of Islam is jealously and greedily trying to take away even that house.) I had access to money. Yes! Elijah Muhammad would authorize for me any amount that I asked for."
"But he knew, as every Muslim official knew, that every nickel and dime I ever got was used to promote the Nation of Islam. My attitude toward money generated the only domestic quarrel that I have ever had with my beloved wife Betty."
"As our children increased in number, so did Betty's hints to me that I should put away something for our family. But I refused, and finally we had this argument. I put my foot
down."
"I knew I had in Betty a wife who would sacrifice her life for me if such an occasion ever presented itself to her, but still I told her that too many organizations had been destroyed by leaders who tried to benefit personally, often goaded into it by their wives."
"We nearly broke up over this argument. I finally convinced Betty that if anything ever happened to me, the Nation of
Islam would take care of her for the rest of her life, and of our children until they were grown. I could never have been a bigger fool!"

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More from @_CharlesPreston

Jul 13
Y’all know I collect things, right?

Today, I went to an estate sale in Chatham, Chicago.

I bought this book.

Published in 1969, it won the Book of the Year Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1971.

For every like, I’ll tweet a page in the thread. Image
Image
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Read 123 tweets
Dec 15, 2023
I'm reading about boycotts in Mississippi during the 1960's.

There are cases where Black folks betrayed a boycott and patronized the targeted white business, only to be met by their community — Black boycotters — delivering a punishment.
“Folks go shop, break the boycott, they didn’t get home with the damn groceries ... cause somebody was waiting for them when they got there.” Image
"Names of Blacks who violated the NAACP boycott were announced at mass meetings."
Read 5 tweets
Nov 8, 2023
Chicago actually has more Ukrainian refugees than Venezuelan refugees. But the United States’ geopolitical relationship with Ukraine is vastly different than the one with Venezuela.

And you know…there’s you know…that thing.
“…Ukrainian refugees arrived with a status granted by the federal government that made their path easier, including programs that opened the door to obtaining work permits immediately.”

abc7chicago.com/amp/venezuelan…
The benefits people thinking Venezuelan refugees received, like work permits, were immediately granted to Ukrainian refugees.

But no one wants to talk about that because people just like to be mad and don’t do research!
Read 6 tweets
Nov 2, 2023
I thought this was timely for Chicago.
Pictured is a white power rally flyer from the 1960s in response to MLK's End Slums campaign.

What caught my attention about this flyer is that they were using the fact that Black people were moving into Chicago's white neighborhoods as a means to organize.

"...FIGHTING THE BLACK SLUM INVASION OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS."Image
Hmm... are there any groups in Chicago that aren't wanted in neighborhoods today that people are willing to organize around...just like the white power people? 🤔🤔🤔

Hmmm...
"The only reason Martin Luther King keeps winning is because he PUTS BLACK MOBS IN THE STREETS"

"Then we will march on the blacks in THEIR neighborhood with masses of "Back To Africa" signs"

"WHITE CHICAGO WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY INVASIONS OF WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS BY BLACK SCUM" Image
Read 5 tweets
Apr 23, 2023
There have always been Black men in Chicago that mobilized in response to violence. There are so many historical examples of this.

In my opinion, their mobilization is an indictment of a corporate political class that refuses to eradicate the root causes of violence.
See Pastor Robin Hood helping to organize mothers who've lost their children, or Pastor Donovan Price that arrives at the scene of many shootings, or New Era Chicago patrolling the Red Line Station...

And these are just recent examples.
We can go back decades!
When Chairman Fred Hampton was organizing the Black Panther Party, one of his and the party's goals were to organize peace treaties amongst young Black gangs to mobilize Black Power against the city government. COINTELPRO and the Chicago Police Department undermined his efforts.
Read 5 tweets
Nov 3, 2022
Whenever "cancel culture" is brought up amongst celebrities, no one ever mentions Paul Robeson.

During the height of his career, the United States government revoked his passport for eight years for being a communist, advocating for Black Americans and independence in Africa.
The NAACP wouldn't touch him.
Jackie Robinson and Roy Wilkins denounced him.
Paul Robeson was blacklisted from performing.
Paul Robeson's yearly income dropped from more than $150,000 to less than $3,000.
Paul Robeson's All-American Athlete status was scrubbed by Rutgers Univ.
He literally had to testify before the government...

(Testimony of Paul Robeson before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, June 12, 1956)
Read 5 tweets

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