Summary

It is 1942. Malcolm begins spending time at the jazz bars and clubs in Harlem, and he is attracted to the criminal element he finds there. He begins drinking and smoking marijuana regularly. This affects his job performance, and he is chastised by his boss. One day on the train, a white soldier intentionally trips Malcolm while he is walking by with the concession cart. The soldier wants to fight, but Malcolm diffuses the situation with humor. At a jazz bar called the Cotton Club, Malcolm hears Billie Holiday sing “Strange Fruit,” a song about lynchings. Malcolm is fired from his job on the train for coming in high, and then he receives a letter from his brother Philbert, inviting him home for a visit.

In Chapter 17, Malcolm visits Lansing. His mother, still in an institution, seems like a shell of her former self...