How to get thereĪddress: 2352 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10027Ĭlosest Subway Station: 125 Street (lines A C B D)Īddress: 1763 Amsterdam Ave New York, NY 10031Ĭlosest Subway Station: 145 St. A mostly untouched and significant place of the African-American heritage is lost. It is in bad shape and will be replaced by an apartment building. Of course all three of us agreed there should be a memorial tablet outside the church.īut sadly, the whole building will no longer be there. But it seemed my companions had less concern with it than I had. My companions, both African-American, chatted and I felt kind of misplaced, a pilgrim on black history but as a white person. It seemed to be nothing special for him that people wished to see the place of Malcolm X’s funeral. A church member opened and turned on the lights for us. Surely I would have been too shy to ring if I were alone.
I was very lucky to have met Paul Smith, then a guide at the Audubon Ballroom, who took me to the church and rang the bell for us to visit the sanctuary. Sadly there is no plaque to remember Malcolm X’s funeral and you could easily walk past the church’s doors. When I visited Childs Memorial Temple Church in 2013 not much had changed compared to 1965. Maybe the eulogy contains the most beautiful and straight-to-the-heart words ever to express what Malcolm X means to many African-Americans. In his eulogy he captured the feeling of loss as well as the ongoing meaning of Malcolm’s life to the black community. and Whitney Young.Īfter this guests and clergy spoke but it was Ossie Davis who said the words that last until today. Among the civil rights activists who sent notes were Martin Luther King, Jr. They read notes of condolences to the audience. Ossie Davis and his wife Ruby Dee led through the funeral. Many civil rights leaders stayed away, however, John Lewis, James Farmer and Bayard Rustin were present. The funeral service started at around 10 am and 1,000 people attended. Malcolm X’s body was dressed in white linen according to Muslim custom. The final hoursĭuring Friday night the coffin arrived at Faith Temple Church. Before the funeral service though Muslim clergy ordered to remove or hide all signs of Christianity. Also, a church still is a place of worship and thus more appropriate than any secular hall. It might be for the sake of space and because black churches are in African-American and not white hands. I have wondered why Malcolm’s associates looked for a church, a Christian place. Later the church was renamed “Childs Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ” in honour of Bishop Childs. Immediately after the announcement the church as well as Childs and his family received bomb threats. Childs opened the doors of his Faith Temple Church of God in Christ.
I think another reason might be that they didn’t want too close association with a controversial figure as Malcolm X.įinally Bishop Alvin A. They were afraid of violence by the Nation of Islam. They called churches but their members declined the request. Malcolm’s relatives and followers searched frantically for a place to hold the funeral service. The funeral was set for Saturday, 27th February 1965.
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