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Chapter 1: the X Files

The Lincoln Memorial, August 28 1963: On this day, a man was speaking of freedom, speaking of justice, speaking of the need for true emancipation of the Negro. He was more than just a man, he was a hero to his people. His speech was to cement him in history.

"It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justi-"

But as the man uttered those words, two shots rang out, hitting him in the neck and the head. There was utter silence. The whole crowd was shocked. After a few seconds, roars of anger and cries of grief emanated from the crowd. Police captured the assassin with suprising speed. The police surrounded the woods to the north, capturing the murderer. He was Allen Prezewski, a hitman. He was 5 foot 7, with brown hair and blue eyes. Prezewski knew when he saw the police cruisers it was a set-up. But why? As he was being led to one of the cars, a crowd of angry blacks beat him to death, along with 2 officers (and a third was beaten so severely he was put in a coma for 8 months) until riot police arrived at the scene and the protesters cooled down. This sparked a chain of events which would lead to one of the most important events in American History: the New Afrika Liberation War.

Mosque Maryam, 4 months earlier:

Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X and the other top brass of the Nation of Islam gathered in Muhammad's office. Malcolm X spoke first. "King is becoming a problem. It is imperative that we avoid having an Uncle Tom as a major player in the movement. The liberation of Blacks, and therefore the interests of our Nation of Islam is under threat from him. We need him gotten rid of." Muhammad replied "But he is so popular. If we kill him, as you seem to be inferring, we will receive just as much Negro wrath as the white man". "Not if it is a white man", Malcolm X grinned, with a dastardly twinkle in his eye. "I'm listening Malcolm. What exactly do you have in mind..."

In the aftermath of Luther's assassination, a wave of increased militancy swept across Black communities all over the United States. Some Black street thugs started randomly assaulting Southern Whites. In response, the KKK escalated tensions after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and the kidnapping and lynching of 15 Blacks on October 13. Despite having access to several witnesses, the police did nothing. Due to the slow progress of the investigation into Martin Luther King's assassination, combined with the law's lack of sympathy to the victims of the KKK, rumours spread of the involvement of the KKK and the government in an anti-Black conspiracy. Because of these increased tensions, several of the more militant Black groups in the US gained popularity, especially the Nation of Islam, with Malcolm X's oratory skills and public presence. But Malcolm X started quarrelling with the Nation. On November 22, 1963, American president John F. Kennedy was shot on a political trip to Dallas Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald. Whilst Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam's leader, sent his condolences, Malcolm X said that it was a case of "chickens coming home to roost". Among White Americans, there was a national outcry. The FBI started taking an interest in the Nation and Elijah Muhammad banned him from speaking for the Nation for 90 days. insulted, X split from the Nation on March 26 1964. Malcolm had also started to lose faith in the Nation's religious teachings, feeling that they didn't make much sense. He especially felt that the belief that White people had been made as a warrior race was false, and believed that Blacks could successfully use violence against Whites in the struggle for independence. After leaving the Nation, Malcolm founded the Organisation for Afro-American Unity. OAAU taught that Blacks needed to be self-sufficient, working as a community. OAAU organised community fairs, projects etc., representing Blacks in local government, and various other actions. The growing strength of Black communities caused consternation with the KKK, who grew more violent. Three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964, as well as two teenagers. Riots caused by these murders and the lack of punishment were put down forcefully, with two protesters dying in a riot in Jackson. In the presidential election of 1964, Lyndon Johnson lost to Barry Goldwater, after attention was brought to his coercive style and his intimidation of political opponents. One particular incident was revealed, then Johnson used criminal stand-over men to intimidate opposition in the special election to Texas' 10th Congressional District. This discrediting, disenchantment with the civil rights programmes Johnson was introducing (it was felt they were ungrateful) and outrage at the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution caused a landslide victory, with Goldwater getting 70% of the vote. Almost immediately, Goldwater increased US ground forces involvement in the Vietnam War. Goldwater was a proponent of roll-back, intent on vanquishing Indochinese communism.

During 1965 the trend of the expansion of Black community schemes and an increasingly violent KKK continued. Due to Goldwater's welfare cuts (both to fund more military and because of his own social policy), protests were held in many American cities, and while protesters were from all races, the protests in Black areas tended to be larger due to a higher dependence on welfare. The OAAU used this to its advantage, providing free breakfasts for Black urban youth, and providing 'walking school buses' and other measures to decrease expenditure for Black families and individuals. This caused a huge surge in popularity for the OAAU, especially in the Deep South, where they were based.

In 1966 Huey Newton, Stokeley Carmichael, Melvin Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California. The Organisation espoused the self-defence of Black communities, Black nationalism and Marxist Leninism. Meanwhile in the South-East, the OAAU began to spread chapters around the entire South-East, but also in urban centres elsewhere, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.

In May 2 1967, the Black Panthers protested at the California State Assembly, armed with guns, which was legal due to a loophole in California gun laws, which allowed someone to carry a loaded rifle or shotgun as long as it was openly displayed and not pointed at anyone. This publicity stunt gained the Black Panthers many supporters, and on November 16 1967, Malcolm X and Huey Newton merged the OAAU and the Black Panthers. The organisation became known as the Advancement Association for Afro-Americans (AAAA or 4A). Huey Newton became Defense Minister and Bobby Seale became the chairman, with Malcolm as President. Other positions in the organisation were taken both by Panthers and OAAU members. With the merging of the two organisations, the South-Eastern OAAU areas began to develop local militias to fight against the KKK, and the 4A became more Marxist in both function and outlook. The 4A's paramilitary wing, an evolution of the Black Panthers, was named the Black Liberation Army, but was still colloquially known as the Panthers.

*NOTE: Malcolm X has not taken the Hajj in this timeline, at least not yet*
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