Editing Malcolm X (section)

=== Hinton Johnson incident ===
The American public first became aware of Malcolm&nbsp;X in 1957, after Hinton Johnson,{{efn-ua|Some sources, including ''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X'', give the name ''Johnson Hinton'', but Benjamin Karim (one of Malcolm&nbsp;X's top aides) and former ''[[Newsweek]]'' editor and Malcolm&nbsp;X biographer Peter Goldman both give the name ''Hinton Johnson''.<ref>{{harvnb|Karim|1992|pp=47–48}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Abdullah |first=Zain |date=Autumn 2012 |title=Narrating Muslim Masculinities: The Fruit of Islam and the Quest for Black Redemption |journal=Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=169 |doi=10.2979/spectrum.1.1.141 |s2cid=162371130}}</ref>}} a Nation of Islam member, was beaten by two [[New York City Police Department|New York City police officers]].<ref name="Marable127">{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=127}}.</ref><ref name="Perry164">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=164}}.</ref> On April{{nbsp}}26, Johnson and two other passersby{{mdashb}}also Nation of Islam members{{mdashb}}saw the officers beating an African American man with nightsticks.<ref name="Marable127" /> When they attempted to intervene, shouting, "You're not in Alabama{{nbsp}}... this is New York!"<ref name="Perry164" /> one of the officers turned on Johnson, beating him so severely that he suffered brain contusions and subdural hemorrhaging. All four African American men were arrested.<ref name="Marable127" />

Alerted by a witness, Malcolm&nbsp;X and a small group of Muslims went to the police station and demanded to see Johnson.<ref name="Marable127" /> Police initially denied that any Muslims were being held, but when the crowd grew to about five hundred, they allowed Malcolm&nbsp;X to speak with Johnson.<ref name="Perry165">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=165}}.</ref> Afterward, Malcolm&nbsp;X insisted on arranging for an ambulance to take Johnson to Harlem Hospital.<ref name="Marable128">{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=128}}.</ref>

Johnson's injuries were treated and by the time he was returned to the police station, some four thousand people had gathered outside.<ref name="Perry165" /> Inside the station, Malcolm&nbsp;X and an attorney were making bail arrangements for two of the Muslims. Johnson was not bailed, and police said he could not go back to the hospital until his [[arraignment]] the following day.<ref name="Marable128" /> Considering the situation to be at an impasse, Malcolm&nbsp;X stepped outside the station house and gave a hand signal to the crowd. Nation members silently left, after which time the rest of the crowd also dispersed.<ref name="Marable128" />

One police officer told the ''[[New York Amsterdam News]]'': "No one man should have that much power."<ref name="Marable128" /><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=166}}.</ref> Within a month the New York City Police Department arranged to keep Malcolm&nbsp;X under surveillance; it also made inquiries with authorities in other cities in which he had lived, and prisons in which he had served time.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=132}}.</ref> A [[grand jury]] declined to indict the officers who beat Johnson. In October, Malcolm&nbsp;X sent an angry telegram to the police commissioner. Soon the police department assigned undercover officers to infiltrate the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=134–135}}.</ref>