Black Militant Khalid Muhammad Dead
Khalid Abdul Muhammad, a black militant known for his harsh rhetoric about Jews and whites, died Saturday morning, according to a spokesman for the New Black Panther Party.
"Minister and Doctor Khalid Abdul Muhammad had made his transition to the ancestors," said Malik Zulu Shabazz.
Muhammad was hospitalized at the Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for a serious short-term illness, Shabazz said, but declined to reveal the cause of death. Published reports indicated the 53-year-old Muhammad had a brain aneurysm.
"Our hearts are aching. We are sad but at the same time we are happy because we know that his place is secure," Shabazz said.
On Friday, Shabazz and about 10 other party members chanted "Black Power! Black Power!" as they marched out the hospital wearing black uniforms, combat boots and berets.
Hospital spokeswoman Elaine Morgan on Friday had confirmed Muhammad was a patient but would not discuss his condition.
Shabazz called Muhammad "the greatest black militant right now in America."
He was named one of Louis Farrakhan's top lieutenants in the Nation of Islam in 1981. He served at Nation of Islam mosques in New York and Atlanta throughout the decade, and in 1991 became Farrakhan's personal assistant.
It was Farrakhan who gave him the name Khalid - meaning warrior - but he was born Harold Moore Jr. in 1948.
In his own public speaking engagements, Muhammad quickly became known for his virulent attacks on Jews, homosexuals and whites. He was ousted by Farrakhan after a 1993 speech during which he referred to Jews as "bloodsuckers" and urged mob murder of white South Africans. In April 1994, before a cheering audience of about 2,000, Muhammad denounced Jews as "honkies."
"I am going to be like a pit bull. That is the way I am going to be against the Jews. I am going to bite the tail of the honkies," Muhammad said.
He remained unrepentant about his rhetoric.
"I was born to give the white man hell, and I will give him hell from the cradle to the grave," he told an Atlanta crowd in 1995.
Members of the New Black Panther Party, who call themselves anti-capitalist, believe in socialism and nationalism among blacks. The organization has chapters in Dallas, Atlanta, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Philadelphia.
Muhammad led the "Million Youth March" in New York City in 1998. The rally, attended by about 6,000 people, ended in a clash between police and marchers. Dozens were injured.
He organized a second and third "Million Youth March," but the most recent one drew a crowds of about 100, police said. Muhammad blamed the "devil white media" and city officials for the low turnout.