Malcolm X in Africa

Happy Birthday Malcolm!

May 19, 1925

Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska

Assassinated New York, NY- February 21, 1965 (age 39)

Malcolm X in Africa

Malcolm X visited Africa on three separate occasions, once in 1959 and twice in 1964. During his visits, he met officials, gave interviews to newspapers, and spoke on television and radio in Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Sudan, Senegal, Liberia, Algeria, and Morocco. 

Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria invited Malcolm X to serve in their governments. In 1959, Malcolm X traveled to Egypt (then known as the United Arab Republic), Sudan, Nigeria, and Ghana to arrange a tour for Elijah Muhammad.

 The first of the two trips Malcolm X made to Africa in 1964 lasted from April 13 until May 21, before and after his Hajj.

 On May 8, following his speech at the University of Ibadan, Malcolm X was made an honorary member of the Nigerian Muslim Students' Association. During this reception the students bestowed upon him the name "Omowale", which means "the son who has come home" in the Yoruba language.

 Malcolm X wrote in his autobiography that he "had never received a more treasured honor. 

On July 9, 1964, Malcolm X returned to Africa. On July 17, he was welcomed to the second meeting of the Organization of African Unity in Cairo as a representative of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. By the time he returned to the United States on November 24, 1964, 

Malcolm had met with every prominent African leader and established an international connection between Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora.