Malcolm X | | Journey back in time - Benjamin Zephaniah visits Smethwick |
In 1965, the radical civil rights leader Malcolm X paid an unannounced visit to Smethwick, in the West Midlands.
Forty years on, poet Benjamin Zephaniah travels to the Black Country to retrace the steps of one of his heroes and find out why the American activist decided to drop in on the small industrial town.
He talks to some of the people who met Malcolm X back in the 1960s, and discovers that the unexpected visit still has an impact on Smethwick to this day. "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, my brothers and sisters - Plymouth Rock landed on us!" | | Malcolm X |
Malcolm X visited Birmingham on 12th February 1965. He believed that parts of Smethwick were rife with racial conflict, fuelled by local and national politicians seeking election in the area. During his visit he drank in a local pub, walked down Marshall Street and gave several interviews.  | | Malcolm X - civil rights campaigner |
Only nine days later, Malcolm X was murdered in Harlem, New York City at the Audubon Ballroom. Despite his murder, Malcolm X remains one of the world's most revered and controversial civil rights activists. His teachings and speeches are still influential, even though it is 40 years since his death. | MALCOLM X |
Born Malcolm Little in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska.
The family's home was burned to the ground by the white supremacist organisation The Black Legion in 1929. Malcolm was a good student but dropped out of school and worked in a variety of odd jobs. Sentenced to ten years for burglary in 1946 but paroled after seven years. Appointed as a minister and national spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. Founded his own religious organisation, the Muslim Mosque Inc. Repeated attempts on his life. Assassinated New York in 1965 aged 39-years-old. |
He was born Malcolm Little, but changed his name to 'Malcolm X' after a period in prison and after studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. He considered the name 'Little' to be a slave name and chose 'X' to signify his lost tribal name. Later Malcolm X was to change his name to the Holy name of 'El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz' following a trip to Mecca. Malcolm X wrote extensively about human rights, and he was a gifted and charismatic orator. Amongst his most famous quotes is this statement about human rights: "Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognised by all the nations of this earth."
Malcolm X's vision has been an influence on today's black leaders and youth, including some of those who met him in Birmingham in 1965.
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Inside Out - West Midlands: Monday September 19, 2005
