America, the Beast. Full of Eyes Before, and Behind. See Bible . . . Rev. 4:6,
- Title:
- America, the Beast. Full of Eyes Before, and Behind. See Bible . . . Rev. 4:6,
- Alternate Title:
- America, the Beast
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Majied, Eugene
- Date:
- 1968
- Date 2:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2386.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2386_01Adj.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1960 - Present
- Subject:
- Pictorial
Politics & Government
Religion
Satirical
Slavery/Race - Measurement:
- 35 x 53 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This large satirical map was published on January 19, 1968, as the centerfold of “Muhammad Speaks,” the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam, the African-American religious and political organization. The paper began publication in 1962, under Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. It was published from 1960 to 1975, and "shot to the lead in circulation over all other black newspapers . . . , achieving the highest figure in the newspaper press' history, around 600,000 according to the publishers." Woleseley 1990, 90. By one report, circulation grew "from 800,000 to 850,000 per edition, all the way to 950,000 one week in 1974." Muhammad 2000.
Muhammad was well aware that he and the NOI had been subject to government surveillance since the 1930s. Clegg 1997, 120, 173-74, 259. Under J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI in 1967 began a new and more aggressive counterintelligence initiative intended to “neutralize militant black nationalists,” the infamous “COINTELPRO.” This program included not only government informants but wiretapping, electronic and physical surveillance, and the use of disinformation and provocateurs. Although the Black Panthers were the principal focus of this effort, “the Nation was targeted for a dose of counterintelligence,” including “nasty and direct” actions like the mailing of letters documenting Muhammad’s extramarital affairs to his wife and daughters. Ibid. 258. Not surprisingly, Muhammad denounced the “ever-evil snoopers” who “tap our telephones, eavesdrop and follow us around.” Ibid. 259.
This map is an attack on government surveillance. The title is “Map of America, The Beast . . . Full of Eyes Before and Behind.” The map cites Revelations 4:6, “and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.” The area of the U.S. is packed, coast to coast, with pictorial images: more than three dozen horned white men (apparently naked), all wearing earphones. Similar figures are shown worldwide: in Asia, Australia, Latin and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Ten warships are shown steaming from America to all these place, each ship with numerous eyes covering their flanks, superstructures, even their stacks.
The American “Beast’s” head is in the northeast. A peninsula has been added to the north end of the Gulf of Maine, and with an exaggerated Cape Cod forms the beast’s jaws. And Lower California - now apparently part of the U.S. - is its (forked) tail.
Eugene Majied, whose signature is almost indistinguishable off the horn of Africa, was an artist who was a member of the Nation of Islam. He frequently contributed illustrations and cartoons to Muhammad Speaks and the NOI’s other efforts. See Curtis 2006, 52-56, 79-89, 115, 120. For another anti-U.S. satirical map by Majied for Muhammad Speaks, see ID #2446, "The Serpent Deceived the Whole World" (1967).
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Source:
- Muhammad Speaks, Chicago, Illinois, January 19, 1968, v.7, n.18.
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.