Summary

“Janaza” begins with the narrator, Harold, arriving at the washing of the body of a recently deceased man named Captain Michael 2X, erroneously believing his funeral is today. Shortly after his arrival, a man named James that he knew in college appears; he had been in jail for double homicide until recently. James tells everyone around him that Harold now practices law. Apparently, Harold was earlier thrown out of the Nation of Islam for laughing while being disciplined by a higher-up. James says he is here simply because he wants to stand over the captain while he can’t “do nothing back” to him (99). James explains that he turned to crime after the Messenger died in 1975. Apparently, he was then framed for the murders that he was in prison for, and was eventually released, but Harold does not quite...