Accompanied by two White camera operators, Lomax conducted interviews with the Nation's leaders and filmed some of its events.
[2] The Hate That Hate Produced began with a narration by Wallace: While city officials, state agencies, white liberals, and sober-minded Negroes stand idly by, a group of Negro dissenters is taking to street-corner step ladders, church pulpits, sports arenas, and ballroom platforms across the United States, to preach a gospel of hate that would set off a federal investigation if it were preached by Southern whites.
[5] The documentary included footage of the University of Islam, a school run by the Nation, where, according to Wallace, "Muslim children are taught to hate the white man".
[2] It also showed portions of a large Nation of Islam rally, while Wallace told viewers that the organization had 250,000 members, a tremendously inflated number.
Lawson was asked about his relationship with African leaders of the time, notably President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt.
According to commentators Christopher Kyriakides and Rodolfo Torres, this aspect of the program "draws public attention to the significant threat that Black Nationalism, as an enemy within, is presumed to pose to American interests in the Middle East".
[11] At the program's end, Wallace asked for support for Black leaders who were "counseling patience and the relatively slow operation of legal measures".
[15] The number of people attending Nation of Islam meetings increased significantly,[7] and the group's membership doubled to 60,000 within weeks after the broadcast.
Although he had rarely been mentioned in the mainstream press before the program went out,[19] Malcolm X soon became a frequent participant in television debates on race-related issues and one of the most sought-after speakers on college campuses across the United States.
[2] One of the first things Wallace said about Muhammad and Malcolm X was that they had served time in prison, a statement that seemed designed to call their leadership credentials into question and suggest the organization itself was criminal.