Wallace Dodd Fard
Wallace Dodd Fard, born on February 25, 1891, in New Zealand, is best known as the founder of the Nation of Islam, a movement that sought to address the social, economic, and spiritual challenges faced by African Americans. Despite his claims of being born in Mecca and having attended prestigious universities, Fard's early life was marked by deception regarding his background and education. He entered the United States illegally in 1913 and faced a series of legal troubles, including arrests for drug possession and assault.
In the 1930s, Fard moved to Detroit, where he began to build a following by promoting Black nationalism and criticizing systemic racism and the Christian Church. His rhetoric, often involving anti-White sentiments, resonated with many in the Black community, leading to significant growth in the Nation of Islam's membership. In 1934, he appointed Elijah Muhammad as his successor and seemingly disappeared shortly thereafter.
Fard's legacy remains complex; while he established a foundation for the Nation of Islam, contemporary followers often attribute the movement's development more directly to Muhammad. His life and work continue to be subjects of study, reflecting the ongoing discourse around race, identity, and religion in America.
Wallace Dodd Fard
- Born: February 25, 1891
- Birthplace: New Zealand
- Died: After 1934
- Place of death: Unknown
Founder of the Nation of Islam
Cause of notoriety: Although Fard found trouble with the law throughout his life, he is best known as the founder of the Nation of Islam, a movement that stressed the betterment of African Americans and was criticized by some as a cult.
Active: 1913–1934
Locale: Los Angeles, California, and Detroit, Michigan
Early Life
Although Wallace Dodd Fard told his early supporters that he was born in Mecca, this lie became part of a lifetime of deception. Fard was actually born on February 25, 1891, in New Zealand. His father was Zared Fard, a New Zealander of East Indian descent. His mother, Beatrice, was White with roots in Britain. Fard likely took his mother’s maiden name of Dodd. Scholars know little of his childhood, and while Fard claimed that he attended both Oxford University and the University of Southern California, neither university has records of his attendance.
Fard entered the United States illegally in 1913. He came through Canada and made his way first to the state of Washington and then to Oregon. Fard again lied about his place of birth on immigration documents, as well as about the place of birth of his parents. After his illegal entry into the United States, Fard likely spent several years in menial jobs until he moved to Southern California in 1919. There, Fard met and cohabited with a White woman named Hazel Barton. This relationship produced a son named Wallace Dodd Fard, Jr., with Fard’s name on the birth certificate. Barton soon broke off the relationship after learning of his deceptions. Later, she legally changed their son’s name to Wallace Max Ford.
Criminal Career
By 1916, Fard had begun using illegal drugs and regularly gambled. These habits later led to a criminal record and prison time during the 1920s and into the 1930s. On November 17, 1918, Los Angeles police arrested Fard and charged him with the beating of a restaurant diner. He was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and received a suspended sentence. On January 20, 1926, Fard was arrested and charged with four counts of illegally possessing and selling alcohol. A month later, two undercover Los Angeles police officers arrested Fard on drug possession and drug dealing charges.
Nation of Islam
Despite his lengthy criminal career, Fard created the Nation of Islam, a movement that stressed Black nationalism and strove to improve the social, economic, and spiritual conditions of African Americans. Fard initially named his organization the Allah Temple of Islam. Moving from California in 1933, Fard arrived in Detroit, Michigan. Variously described as a White man or an East Indian, he initially sold rugs and other products on street corners. Fard was arrested by Detroit police on an unknown charge on May 26, 1933, and he gave them one of his many aliases.
Fard began speaking from street corners in Detroit, denouncing White people and slowly building an audience of curious Black people. Fard claimed he had been born in Mecca and sent to the United States to arouse the long-suffering Black masses. Fard was fearless in denouncing Whites, and his supporters grew to include several thousand loyalists by 1934. Fard’s antiwhite feelings date to sometime around 1916 or even earlier, soon after his arrival in the United States. He often referred to White people as devils and tricksters. Fard admired the Japanese and drew comparisons between Japan and the United States, blaming the latter for colonialism. Black people in the United States, Fard believed, were often depressed and discriminated against by White Americans and needed leadership to overcome White racism. He was also critical of the Christian Church, describing the institution as a farce.
Fard’s meetings attracted the attention of the Detroit police again. He was arrested for disturbing the peace, but he waived a jury trial; a municipal judge found him not guilty, saying that Fard had a right to free speech. Although the record does not reveal any additional arrests, local authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintained their watch over Fard and his activities in Detroit.
Despite being repeatedly harassed by police, Fard witnessed membership in the Nation of Islam grow rapidly, especially within the working-class community. Perhaps because of the continuing problems with authorities, almost as suddenly as Fard appeared, he turned over the leadership mantle in June 1934 to Elijah Muhammad, whom Fard had named as Minister of Islam. Reports of Fard’s death following this period might not have been true. He allegedly reappeared in California and apparently spent six years there before boarding a ship to a unknown destination in 1940.
Impact
Wallace Dodd Fard laid the foundation for the Nation of Islam. Although he was not in Detroit to witness the growth of the Black Muslims under Elijah Muhammad, Fard nevertheless left an important legacy to the group. Muhammad adopted Fard’s virulent antiwhite position and maintained it for nearly twenty-five years. Muhammad also used photos and writings by Fard in his speeches as the Nation of Islam took shape.
Thus, despite his criminal background, Fard established a civil rights organization which became a viable alternative to the mainstream movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In the twenty-first century, however, few Black Muslims mention Fard; instead, they credit Elijah Muhammad with founding the Nation of Islam.
Bibliography
Evanzz, Karl. The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad. New York: Pantheon Books, 1999. This detailed work makes good use of FBI documents and previously unused sources to unravel the life of Elijah Muhammad. In doing so, it gives insight into the life of Fard and the development of the Nation of Islam.
Lee, Martha F. Nation of Islam: An American Millenarian Movement. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1996. Details the history of the Nation of Islam and the role of Fard.
Lincoln, C. Eric. The Black Muslims in America. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1961. Lincoln’s volume remains one of the most definitive accounts of the rise of the Nation of Islam.
Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. Ogbar provides a synthesis of previous works on Elijah Muhammad with good insight into his sometimes elusive personality.