Muhammad Speaks Newspaper Salesmen (1965)

Muhammad Speaks Newspaper Salesmen (1965)

AP African American Studies Guide

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Topic 4.9

A Photograph of Nation of Islam Members with Bundles of Muhammad Speaks Newspapers in Chicago, Illinois (1965)

A black-and-white photograph of about forty Black men in dark suits and ties holding bundled stacks of newspapers under their arms, standing on the steps of a brick building topped with a crescent and the words "Muhammad's Temple No. 2."


Source: A photograph from the 1960s of Nation of Islam members on the steps of Muhammad’s Temple No. 2 in Chicago, Illinois, with bundles of the Nation of Islam newspaper, Muhammad Speaks (Photo by Robert Abbott Sengstacke / Getty Images)

Discussion Questions

  1. What messages are being sent by this photograph, including the composition as well as the appearance of the men shown?
  2. Drawing from the citation, where were the men planning to sell the newspapers? How can you find out why selling newspapers was important to the Nation of Islam?
  3. What are the building’s most prominent features? What does that suggest about the Nation of Islam’s values and concerns?