THE HATE THAT HATE PRODUCED (1959) MALCOLM X FIRST TV APPEARANCE

“The Hate That Hate Produced” was a television documentary about the Nation of Islam presented by journalists Louis Lomax and Mike Wallace on “Newsbeat” (a program of New York’s WNTA-TV) on July 10, 1959. Dramatically edited to maximize its shock value, the documentary introduced the Nation (and Malcolm X) to mainstream America. The lurid presentation of Nation culture included excerpts from strident speeches by Elijah Muhammad and various ministers. The documentary served as a valuable recruiting tool for the Nation, swelling the ranks with new converts. But the “The Hate That Hate Produced” title helped link the Nation with “hate” in the public mind, a notion reinforced in countless media portrayals. The program played on white fear, and contrasted the “black racists” of the Nation with more moderate, “sober-minded Negroes.” The phrase “hate that hate produced” would endure for years, continuing to shape public perceptions of the organization.