In spite of hundreds (if not thousands) of books, films, articles and studies on Ọmọ́wálé Malcolm X, there still seems much about his legacy that remains hidden. He has been consistently cast as enlightened spiritual Muslim (1), “Third Worldist” internationalist (2) or even “race-neutral.” integrationist (3).

However, perhaps the best way to discern him is to identify his last (and planned) political pronouncements, after he had already implored us to “keep our religion in the closet.” (4) The programme of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) he was about espouse at the time of his brutal execution included the following:

• “Offer to downtrodden Afro-American people courses of action that will conquer oppression, relieve suffering, and convert meaningless struggle into meaningful action.”
• “Launch a cultural revolution which will provide the means for restoring our identity…”
• “The Organization of Afro-American Unity welcomes all persons of African origin to come together and dedicate their ideas, skills, and lives to free our people from oppression.”
• “Branches of the Organization of Afro-American Unity may be established by people of African descent wherever they may be and whatever their ideology — as long as they be descendants of Africa and dedicated to our one goal: freedom from oppression.”
• “The exclusive ethnic quality of our unity is necessary for self-preservation.” (5)

Even though there is still too little focus of Ọmọ́wálé Malcolm X’s work with the OAAU, even this fails to tell the whole story. Even while in the Nation Of Islam he communicated with established Pan-Afrikanists and Nationalists as well as student activists, becoming the fulcrum of a revolutionary nationalist movement in the U.S.A., while he consolidated links on the Afrikan continent. This confluence drew in figures like Queen Mother Audley Moore, Robert F Williams, Max Stanford (who J Edgar Hoover once called “the most dangerous man in America”) and Wanda Marshall. (6)

The latter two being founders of a radical new organisation called the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM). They agreed that the OAAU was to be the broad front organization and RAM as part of an extensive underground Black Liberation Front of the U.S.A, which also took in elements of Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). (7)

RAM dissolved in 1968 when the mantle was taken up by the Republic of New Afrika led by brothers Imari and Gaidi Obadele. The coaliton by this stage included the Black Liberation Army, The Black Guards, The US Organisation and the Black Arts Movement amongst others. It is noteworthy that with all this revolutionary activism going on that this era often gets reduced to just the Black Panther Party. (8)

Thus there is a whole narrative around Ọmọ́wálé Malcolm X that ought to be the dominant narrative of his activism and its legacy. The prevailing notions seem to be designed to cater for liberal sensibilities rather than his true heirs.

(1) Zameer Baber (10/05/96) From Malcolm X To El Hajj Malik El Shabazz – The Transformation of Malcolm X. https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~moritz/Archive/malcolmx/zameerbabermalcolmx.txt

(2) Sukant Chandan (2008) Sons of Malcolm. http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/Announcements/pdf/SOM_Pal_special.pdf. p. 2

(3) Manning Marable (2011) Malcolm X: A Life Of Reinvention. Viking. p. 339

(4) Malcolm X (12/04/64) The Ballot or the Bullet. https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/mx.html

(5) Malcolm X, et al. (1965) Program of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. https://www.malcolm-x.org/docs/gen_oaau.htm

(6) W. Bernell Brooks lll Writing Max Stanford and the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) into History. https://www.theveseyrepublic.com/writing-max-stanford-and-the-revolutionary-action-movement-back-into-history; Erik S. McDuffie (26/02/19) Eloise Moore, Queen Mother Moore, and Grassroots Black Nationalism. https://www.aaihs.org/eloise-moore-queen-mother-moore-and-grassroots-black-nationalism/

(7) Brooks III, Op. cit.; Maxwell C Stanford (1986) Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM):A Case Study Of An Urban Revolutionary Movement In Western Capitalist Society. https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/1960-1970/ram-case-study.pdf;

(8) Brooks III, Op. cit

(9) ICIT Digital Library (04/02/64) Malcolm X: A Visit From the FBI. https://www.icit-digital.org/articles/malcolm-x-a-visit-from-the-fbi-february-4-1964

What is the true political legacy of Ọmọ́wálé Malcolm X?

1) Why does Ọmọ́wálé Malcolm X’s “change” narrative still persist?

2) Has 1960s activism been reduced to just the Black Panthers?

3) Why do we know so little about groups like RAM and RNA?

4) Do we need to revise our overstanding of the Black Power era?

Our Special Guest:

Bro. Siphiwe Baleka: is the Special Envoy to Burkina Faso and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (PGRNA) . He is a veteran activist and journalist and has worked with numerous liberation organisations with and under the tutelage of luminaries like Baba Hannibal Afrik, Shaka Barak and Dr. Y.N. Kly. Some of the positions he has held include the fomrer Head of Communications of the Pan African Federalist Movement (PAFM) and former Head of Research and Strategy Commission, West Africa Region of the Pan African Federalist Movement (PAFM). Bro. Siphiwe is also a graduate of Marcus Garvey’s U.N.I.A Course on African Philosophy (https://www.balanta.org/; https://www.nadcsc.org/)

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