Reporter: Greneker, Gene.

In this WSB newsfilm clip from March 6, 1964, reporter Gene Greneker speaks about the arrest and police beating of five members of the Nation of Islam following an interview with local leader Hulon Shah in Atlanta, Georgia.

The clip begins with reporter Gene Greneker standing outside the city jail. Greneker holds a microphone and a clip board. He outlines the police report about the arrest of of the five Black Muslim men the night before. The five men had allegedly attacked several people who would not buy the "Mohammad Speaks" newspaper they were selling on Hunter Street. While the men were awaiting booking at the jail, one of the men yelled at a police officer and another of the Muslim brothers attacked the officer. The police assert that during the fighting the Muslim brothers began hitting the police officers nearby with tools that had been brought in to the booking area for another case. According to the report, five officers were injured during the fight. Patrolman E. G. Brown, who received a cut on the neck, was the most seriously injured.

Greneker then transitions to an interview earlier in the day with Hulon Shah, a leader of Atlanta's Mohammad Mosque Number 15. Shah, an African American man in a suit, bow tie, and a small, round, brimless cap with the initials F.O.I. on it. The initials on the cap, also known as a kufi, stand for "Fruit of Islam," the wing of the Nation of Islam responsible for security. On either side of Shah stand African American men in suits and bow ties; one of the men on the left wears sunglasses. Shah refutes the police report of the attack. Shah declares that after the men were arrested, the police began pushing and choking some of the Muslim brothers and that the men defended themselves against the attack. Greneker asks Shah about reports that Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) head Stokely Carmichael had visited the city jail after the attack. Shah explains that Carmichael came as "an observer out of interest of Black people being attacked and illegally arrested." Greneker tries to asks Shah if Carmichael is a member of the Muslim Mosque in Atlanta. Shah deflects Grenekers's questions, claiming that "All Black people are Muslims" and that Muslims "don't carry cards." Finally, Greneker returns to the front of the city jail where he indicates that there will be a preliminary hearing in the case the next day at Recorders's court.

On March 5, 1967 five men from the Nation of Islam were arrested after they allegedly argued with two African American men while selling the newspaper of the Nation of Islam. The men also allegedly attacked the police officers who responded to the disturbance and other policemen during the booking process at the police station. Charged with "assault with attempt to murder" the policemen, the bond for the men was raised from one hundred dollars to ten thousand five hundred dollars. Hulon Shah, leader of the Mohammad Mosque number fifteen in Atlanta later renounced the Nation of Islam and started the Nation of Yahweh cult in Miami, Florida before spending ten years in jail for conspiracy.

Title supplied by cataloger.

The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for digital conversion and description of the WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection.

1 clip (about 3 min.): black-and-white, sound ; 16 mm.

Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of reporter Gene Greneker speaking about the arrest and police beating of five men from the Nation of Islam, and interviewing mosque leader Hulon Shah, 1964 March 6, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1374, 19:40/22:40, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga, as presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.

Forms part of: Civil Rights Digital Library.