I Am Burnsteen Sharrieff Muhammad…
I Am Burnsteen Sharrieff Muhammad, Reformer and Secretary to Master W. D. F. Muhammad, and these are some of my experiences.
I was born on July 14, 1915 in Robinsonville, Mississippi. In 1919 we moved to Detroit, Michigan. I was four years old. I went to school in Detroit, Michigan.
It was in October, 1932 when my parents brought me to the Temple of Islam located over the Castle Theater at 3408 Hastings Street in Detroit, Michigan. After going to the meeting several times with my parents, I saw Brother Ben Sabakhan typing. He was typing with one finger. I said to one of my girl friends “I can use all of mine” and she said, “That’s right!” I don't know whether she spread the word about me or who, but one Sunday the Hon. Elijah Muhammad asked, “Is the sister here who said she can type? If so stand up.” So I stood up. He asked me were my parents Muslims. I said, “Yes Sir” and told him who they were. I was told to come to the next meeting to be interviewed, thus I became the first typist, titled “The Reformer” at 17 years old.
Every Tuesday we had a picnic with Muslims only. We danced, played games, especially baseball; at the picnic we would win prizes. Master W.D. Fard Muhammad would always have something to give us especially his laborers, everybody wanted to win so the competition was high. One of the contests was dancing with Master W.D. Fard and on his head sat a full glass of water.
Master Fard Muhammad asked me to dance. I was reluctant and fearful that I would cause the glass to fall. I danced as best as I knew, stumbling along. I was so nervous until he let me go and took another girl to dance and she won the prize. Master W.D. Fard’s dance was called the Waltz; he said the Waltz was original music.
Before the fun, he would always have laborers and teachers meetings. These meetings were very essential because we were being trained how to care for the concerns of the students and the Believers, the proper way to grade lessons, reports made concerning the Temple affairs and believers.
I have many skills and held every position available, from Reformer (one who changes, establishes, puts in place that which is needed to bring about growth and advancement), Secretary, Treasurer and personal Secretary to Master W.D. Fard. Also to the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, the first typist (I was the fastest typist in my high school class 95 words per minute with 98% accuracy), all literature, letters, lessons, Problem Book, facts, etc. I converted from long hand into typing. Of the 9 first Laborers chosen by Master W.D. Fard, I was the only female Laborer.
I graded letters (which everyone has to write for a Holy name), helped those who could hardly write by taking their hand and guiding it, giving them writing exercises until they could write on their own. I set up the woman’s class, MGT and GCC was captain over it and advanced to Instructor over it by the Hon. Elijah Muhammad to train and instruct other captains, Temple Secretary, advanced to Instructor by the Hon. Elijah Muhammad to train others in the position. In most positions, I was the first and became instructor over them; most of the time I held two positions at the same time. The Hon. Elijah Muhammad would send various workers in the community to me for instruction or clarification, which many times would include Ministers because I knew the work from the beginning when the Nation first started.
Looking back over the mystic happenings during his stay with us, things I saw along with others (to name a few), how he could tell you what you were thinking, things you had said and even to things that you would say and it would come to pass. One such incident, two of the Laborers were at home talking; making mockery of a young 13 year old school teacher who was unusually tall for her age and heavy boned. When Master W.D. Fard got there immediately he reprimanded them for what they did and he was nowhere near the house when they did it.
As to incidents that happened during my laboring as his secretary were many, things I'd think of at home and when I’d get to work he would do them. He had a beautiful wine colored suit that I really liked to see him wear; in fact it was bought for him when he came out of jail. For some reason or another he stopped wearing it and I saw the Hon. Elijah Muhammad wearing one just like it; I thought he had given it to him. So this particular morning I was thinking about it and wanted to see him with it on. I went to work and behold he had it on and said this to me when he saw me, “How do I look?” I smiled with a big smile and said emphatically, “FINE.”
He wrote me a line on the bottom of a problem he sent to be typed: always re-read what you type, don’t close your eyes and trust in God! Now he taught us that the black people were the god so when I would say my prayers, I’d shut my eyes and envision that great mass of people as god. Allah had to tell him how I was praying, although he told me that which was true. Yet in the letter he wrote me that I was blamed by someone else of being lazy, for which I was unjustly put on punishment to type 1,000 questions and answers to Lesson #1 or else get time and I was innocent working 16 and many times 18 or 20 hours a day he was unable to see.
In the same letter he gave me these uplifting inspiring words that continue to give me strength today and they are, “Be your own self and Allah is with you. Could anything be better than helping to rise the dead Nation? I hope you will know the value of your labor, clean thoughts in and without will bring you a surprise.” He did not say god would be with me but Allah, not himself.
On another occasion, it had been one of those long full days of laboring for me; working at the Temple and typing for long hours at the Temple (our time began at 9:00 AM) then at this time of incident had typed for hours at the house of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. I was so tired as I struggled to get through so I could go home. The first time I typed these facts I had mistakes in it. So I retyped them typing two sets on the same page and folding the page in half and tearing them apart; there were no mistakes but having made several carbon copies I neglected folding and creasing them to tear smoothly.
When I gave them to Master W.D. Fard, he looked at them and asked the other Laborers (all men) did they want one of these copies that looked like a baby had been chewing on? Naturally, each said no and he said to me to type another one for each one that said no; well in fact it was all of them. Then he asked me, “Do you want one of these?” As I was about to say, he said, “Yes, you can always type you one.” Which was indeed the thought that I was forming in my mind. Then he said to me, “Let me show you how to tear paper.”
He took a sheet of my typing paper, creased it, turned it to the other side, creased it again; each time between his thumb and finger using the nail of his thumb. Then he pressed my face down close to the paper and slowly tore it apart asking me over and over, “Can you see it?” Each time I would reply, “Yes, Sir.” This he did until he tore the sheet in half leaving no rough edges. Then he took a piece, folded it evenly in half and said, “Or you can do it like this” and slowly drew it between his teeth, the saliva moistening it as it passed between his clinched teeth and tore it although a little damp but smoothly and evenly without any rough edges.
I was so humiliated and hurt until when I went back to my typewriter my eyes were all but filled with tears. I sat down and talk about pounding a typewriter, my fingers fairly flew as I re-typed them; after finishing them I checked them for mistakes; there were none and folded them over and over like he had shown me and neatly tore them apart and gave them to him. He told me to sit there right next to him. I sat there humiliated, thinking to myself, “No one is for me.” He turned to me smiling and gently saying to me, “I’m for you and if I’m for you, who can be against you. I'll walk the water for you.” This eased my feeling somewhat but I was tired, humiliated. I wanted to go home. He asked me did I want some ice cream. I said, “No Sir,” and in my mind I kept saying I want to go home. So he turned to the others and said, “We’ll take the Reformer home.” This he did.
On another occasion, I had done some labor and had been taken home. As the Hon. Elijah Muhammad read what I had typed, he got angry because of mistakes he found and wanted to go get me to dismiss me, this he told to Master Fard. Master Fard said (so Sis Grace Muhammad, Kallott’s wife said they were at her home) all she will say is I will do it over and never complain. Then he asked, “What can you do with a person like that?” That saved me from being dismissed or given time.
