In February 1965, Malcolm X visited Selma, Alabama, supporting Martin Luther King’s civil rights campaign against segregation. Seventeen days later, he was assassinated.
Between these two events, Malcolm X visited Smethwick to experience the colour bars and racial prejudice in the Midlands.
At the time, Smethwick was a town torn apart after Peter Griffith’s openly racist election campaign had played on the fear of immigration.
His visit to an area with a growing Asian and Caribbean immigrant population confirmed his conception of a worldwide struggle that united all oppressed people of colour to work together. It also highlighted the broad anti-racist activism connections that linked Smethwick, Selma, Harlem, and India. This global vision of anti-racism was an inherent part of the Midlands and has meant that now, 60 years later, Smethwick is primarily at peace with its diverse communities.
His visit was a crucial moment in his European and African tours, part of his ongoing campaign against racist violence, support of global Black Liberation struggles, opposition to the US involvement in the Congo and Vietnam and showing the intersections between the local and international.
When asked by local reports why he visited Smethwick, he replied Malcolm X replied, "I have heard that the blacks ... are being treated in the same way as the Negroes were treated in Alabama - like Hitler treated the Jews" (Birmingham Post, 1965, p15).
Come to our events, and learn about how local communities tackled these issues in the past, how we can develop new tactics for the future.
MX60 Digital Walk
A digital tour to commemorate Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick in 1965 alongside a mapping of the history of antiracist struggle in the Midlands.
This map was made possible due to archival material from CCARD available at the Library of Birmingham. This map was curated and developed by S. Hans at Legacy West Midlands.
References:
BBC News. “Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick remembered in pictures.” BBC News Birmingham & Black Country. Feb 12, 2015. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31417235
BBC News. “Sikh soldier statue in Smethwick honours WW1 dead” BBC News Birmingham & Black Country. Nov 4, 2018. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-46083728
Blankson, Perry. “When Malcolm X Came to the West Midlands.” Tribune Mag. Mar 10, 2022. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/03/malcolm-x-smethwick-peter-griffiths-racism-1965
De Waal, Kit. “Malcolm in the Midlands,” BBC World Service: The Documentary. Podcast audio. Dec 11, 2021. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct2zvp
Jesudason, David. “Breaking the Color Bar — How One Man Helped Desegregate Britain’s Pubs (and Fought for an Anti-Racist Future).” Good Beer Hunting (blog), Mar 16, 2022. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2022/3/16/breaking-the-color-bar-how-one-man-helped-desegregate-britains-pubs-and-fought-for-an-anti-racist-future
Moore, Sam. “Malcolm X and the Midlands.” Verso Books (blog post) Apr 8, 2021. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/blogs/news/5046-malcolm-x-and-the-midlands
Peek, Sitala. “Smethwick Malcolm X plaque 'timely reminder' post riots”, BBC News Birmingham & Black Country. Feb 21, 2015. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-17112209
Rack, Susie. “New Birmingham sculpture celebrates centuries of black British history.” BBC News. May 15, 2023. Accessed Jan 27, 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-65582193
Street, Joe. “Malcolm X, Smethwick, and the Influence of the African American Freedom Struggle on British Race Relations in the 1960s.” Journal of Black Studies 38, no. 6 (2008): 932-950.
