Killing the messenger : a story of radical faith, racism's backlash, and the assassination of a journalist / Thomas Peele.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peele, Thomas.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bailey, Chauncey, 1949-2007.

Bailey, Chauncey.

Murder--California--Oakland--Case studies.

Murder.

Black Muslims--Press coverage--California--Oakland--Case studies.

Black Muslims.

Corruption--Press coverage--California--Oakland--Case studies.

Corruption.

Press coverage.

California.

California--Oakland.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xx, 441 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Crown, [2012]

Summary:

When a 19-year-old member of a Black Muslim cult assassinated Oakland newspaper editor Chauncey Bailey in 2007, the question was, Why? "I just wanted to be a good soldier, a strong soldier," the killer told police. This book explores one of the most blatant attacks on the First Amendment in American history and the small Black Muslim cult that carried it out. Investigative reporter Thomas Peele examines the Nation of Islam movement from its founding in the early 20th century, to how the great-grandson of Texas slaves reinvented himself as a Muslim leader in Oakland and built the violent cult that the young gunman eventually joined. Peele delves into how charlatans exploited poor African Americans with tales from a religion they falsely claimed was Islam and created a radical religion of bloodshed and fear that culminated in a journalist's murder.--From publisher description.

Contents:

Part 1 "You don't know my name?"

1 There Goes Lucifer 14

2 You're a Baker? 24

3 An Anguished Life 33

Part 2 "Just why do you want to be like the people who have robbed, spoiled, and slain you and your fathers?"

4 Love Ye One Another 45

5 The Forces of Hell 57

6 I Am the Supreme Ruler of the Universe 73

7 Tricknology 85

8 There Will Be Plenty of Bloodshed 97

9 You Don't Hate People Enough 107

Part 3 "I come from Oakland, shitbox of the West."

10 Detroit of the West 125

11 No Good Cause Shall Lack a Champion 137

12 Generate a Cause for Arrest 142

13 A Boy in Seaside 158

14 Totally Ludicrous 172

15 An Instrument of Community Understanding 183

16 The Evil Old Man Is Dead 191

Part 4 "Kill no one that Allah has not ordered to be killed."

17 We Have Enemies 201

18 A Swarm of Muslims 210

19 I Got Hella Flaws 223

20 The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight 231

21 Crazy-Ass Hitters 238

22 We Should Not Become the Evil That We Deplore 245

23 Convenient but Not True 253

24 Highly Questionable Circumstances 261

25 Are These Dangerous People? 268

26 What the Hell Is This? 280

27 .I Told Y'all It Was Gonna Be Big 287

28 I Shot Him 299

29 Pow...Pow...Poof! 311

30 Captain Marvel, Come Help Us 320

31 Why... 329

32 . My Life Is No Accident 338.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-428) and index.

ISBN:

9780307717559

0307717550

OCLC:

774522584