Accidental discovery expands story of '2 Malcolms'

[February 01, 2012]  DETROIT (AP) -- A foundation in the birthplace of Malcolm X and a collector of African-American artifacts from the birthplace of the Nation of Islam have acquired an accidentally unearthed trove of documents that belonged to one of the civil rights leader's closest friends and fellow prison inmates.

The Malcolm X Memorial Foundation in Omaha, Neb., and the Detroit-based Black History 101 Mobile Museum have bought about 1,000 items belonging to late musician Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis. It includes a court document detailing the burglary the men committed that landed them in prison in the 1940s.

The items had been in a Connecticut storage unit initially sold to buyer who had no idea what he was bidding on.

Mobile museum curator Khalid el-Hakim says he's featuring some items on his current multi-state tour.

[Associated Press; By JEFF KAROUB]

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