Also, how do I get this the 20th Century Black History flair?

I know you posted this several months ago and may no longer care, but that's actually a topic I've been working on for my next book, so i figured I'd try to practice putting it into (kind of) simple terms.

To start off, this seemingly contradictory situation was being observed by some people all the way back in the late 1950s. I found a 1958 article by an african American leftist who was just as at a loss for an explanation as most people are today. A big reason for that is that the rise of the Nation of Islam (the group malcolm was in when he became popular) was dependent on several complex but very subtle forces, so it was very difficult to observe. I'll list a few of these forces

-raising of expectations and frustrations due to many african Americans thinking that the civil rights movement wasn't effective enough--many people saw the more radical views of malcolm as the only realistic path

-region: the mass base of the CRM was in the South. The Muslims' base was the urban North. This means that the 2 movements were drawing from 2 very different types of communities with very different experiences and expectations. For example, one of the big differences was the northerners had discovered firsthand that the north was far from being a sanctuary from racism, a notion that had previously been the dream that led to tens of thousands of African Americans to leave the south in the great migration. After coming to the north and discovering that they were still 2nd class citizens, that they were still subject to violence, and that some things were even worse in the north (like having to live in slums), this convinced many that there was no hope of whites ever treating blacks as equals

-social networks: the early CRM overwhelmingly recruited people from churches, whereas the muslims drew a lot of their followers in the 1950s and 60s from among non-churchgoing people, often prisoners and petty criminals, as well as people who had already been in different black nationalist and Muslim groups. This resulted in several different outcomes. First, prisoners and criminals, even after they are reformed through conversion, tend to have a more pessimistic and violent outlook on the world, partly due to the lives they've lived, and partly because they tend to come from broken homes and have emotional problems. In fact, ive discovered evidence from several different time periods that suggests that the people who joined the Muslims tended to be worse off (in many ways) than the typical African American. These people were also more likely to have retained the old slave-era protest folk traditions, which the muslims actually incorporated into their teachings--the so-called "middle class " black Christians were so far removed from that culture that they didn't even recognize it as such . So, part of the reason for there being 2 different views among African Americans was that these views represented 2 very different constituencies within the African American community.

-masters of media: most African Americans could agree with some of the muslims' views, so the NOI was fortunate to have had an impressive media presence to get their message out. It started in the mid1950s when their leaders were able get weekly columns published in major black newspapers (usually after striking a deal wherein the Muslims would sell the newspapers). Then there was a famous documentary in 1959, which was followed by coverage in the white press in major magazines and newspapers. Then the NOI started its own newspaper, which was itself a huge success. Plus malcolm started getting invited to speak at Ivy League scools, on tv, and on radio. This immense exposure helped the group reel in followers far and wide.

So those are the biggest reasons. But i should also point out that Malcolm wanted to start coordinating with the CRM, but was held back by the NOI. He even quietly attended the March on Washington and had brief meetings with mlk and other leaders. In the last year of his life, although he frequently portended revolution, he actually desired for all African Americans to come together, form their own political party (kind of), and use the "ballot" to create true equality--he even praised the Constitution as political document that should be lived up to by all Americans.

Sources Lincoln, black muslims in America Essein-udom, black nationalism Morris, origins of the crm Marable, Malcolm x Evanzz, messenger