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The Johnson Hinton case indirectly propelled the Nation of Islam to national prominence. FBI reports (based on the Pittsburgh Courier) indicate that in April 1957, Johnson Hinton, a member of Harlem's Temple No. 7, where Malcolm was the minister, was savagely beaten by the police. Officers were beating man named Reece V. Poe when Hinton intervened and was also assaulted. A crowd witnessed both beatings, and Malcolm and other local Muslims soon got the word. When Malcolm arrived at the police station, more than a hundred men and women of the NOI were assembled, in formation, outside the precinct house. Malcolm demanded to see Hinton, and, concerned by the large crowd, the police obliged. Hinton was bloody and semiconcscious, so Malcolm demanded that he receive medical attention. The police again obliged, and Malcolm and some members of the Fruit of Islam followed the ambulance the fifteen blocks to the hospital, attracting a crowd on the way. When convinced that Hinton was receiving adequate attention, Malcolm simply waved his hand and the crowd dispersed. James Hicks of the Amsterdam News witnessed the event and his report captured the attention of fellow journalist Mike Wallace, who two years later brought the Nation of Islam to national attention with the television documentary The Hate that Hate Produced.
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