Did Malcolm X Have Passion for Tanzania?
Written by Azaria Mbughuni
Monday, 08 September 2014 05:27
Tanzania was the headquarters for revolutionaries from Africa and around the world in the early 1960s. Revolutionaries like Sam Nujoma, Oliver Tambo, Samora Machel, Robert Mugabe, and unknown young men and women frequented Tanzania between 1960 and 1965. Dar es Salaam was the place to be if you were a revolutionary. It is not surprising revolutionaries like Malcolm X and Che Guevera from the Americas were also attracted to Tanzania.
Malcolm X sitting with Abdulrahman M. Babu during his visit to Tanzania (picture by Getty Images)
The African American leader Malcolm X and Che Guevera came to Tanganyika and Zanzibar within five months of each other in the end of 1964 and beginning of 1965. Malcolm came to Tanzania first in October of 1964. The country was then known as Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The new name Tanzania was adopted in November, about a month after Malcolm left the country.
To understand Malcolm’s attraction to Tanzania and learn about what he did once in Tanzania, it is important to go back to the Second OAU Summit in Cairo, Egypt held from July 17 to 21, 1964. The conference came after Malcolm had made a pilgrimage to Mecca; this was the first of the two transformative experiences for the 39 year old African American leader. He had just broken off with the Nation of Islam and embraced Orthodox Islam. Malcolm made his second tour of Africa after the pilgrimage. The tour of West Africa from April to May 1964 helped cement his Pan African convictions. Malcolm felt at home wherever he went in Ghana and Nigeria; he returned to the US in May of 1964 determined to start a new organization and forge strong links with Africans. He founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) in June; it was modeled after the Organization of African Unity. More importantly Malcolm had made up his mind to attend the OAU Summit in Cairo to lobby for the support of African heads of state for his campaign for the human rights of African Americans.
The Second OAU Summit met in Cairo, Egypt from July 17 to 21, 1964. This was the Summit of African heads of state. Malcolm left the US in July 9th determined to participate in the conference and lobby for support for his cause in America. Malcolm was granted observer status and was allowed to present a memorandum to the delegates. The memorandum argued eloquently that African Americans were Africa’s long lost brothers and sisters; he argued that African Americans had endured hardships for more than three hundred years because of racial discrimination. He wrote in the memorandum: “Our problem is your problem.. We beseech independent African states to help us bring our problem before the United Nations…” The struggle to get African heads of state to support his initiative faced an uphill battle. Some African leaders were indifferent to the plight of African Americans. Malcolm had to lobby hard to get the support of Africans. He faced an uphill battle trying to convince African leaders to support his resolution. It all changed when Malcolm linked up with the delegation from Tanganyika and Zanzibar at the conference.
The Tanganyika and Zanzibar delegation to the Cairo Summit included Julius Nyerere, Abdulrahman Babu, and Salim A. Salim. This conference became legendary in the annals of African history because Nyerere and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana clashed over the state of the liberation struggle in southern Africa and the strategy for achieving Pan African unity. Another significant event that has often been overlooked was the passage of a resolution addressing the plight of African Americans drafted by Malcolm and supported by Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
There are scant details of exactly how Malcolm linked up with the Tanganyika and Zanzibar delegation in Cairo. It appears that Malcolm linked up with Abdurahman Babu in Cairo and the two hit it off. Babu was a Pan Africanist and a revolutionary from Zanzibar. He was then a Minister in the mainland. Babu wrote later that Malcolm went to his hotel room late at night during the Summit discouraged and ready to leave. His resolution was not going anywhere and riots had just erupted back home in Harlem. Babu was among the people who convinced Malcolm to remain in Cairo to help shed light on the struggles of African Americans and get a resolution passed. The resolution was not passed until the last night of the Summit at 2:30 am; Babu was the one who passed the good news to Malcolm. The OAU resolution AHG/Res. 15 (1) was entitled Racial Discrimination in the United States of America. It expressed concerns for racial discrimination in the US and called on the government to do all it could to end discrimination based on race, color and ethnic origin. It was this support that convinced Malcolm to visit Tanganyika and Zanzibar after the Summit. The passage of the resolution was a victory for Malcolm; it was a victory for African Americans and Africa.
Malcolm decided to take a tour of East Africa after spending about two months in Egypt. He first stopped in Ethiopia on September 30, 1964 were he spoke to students, leaders, and diplomats. Malcolm meet and spoke to numerous people, including Tanzanian leaders, diplomats, and students. He spent time talking to the Tanganyika consul in Ethiopia. He held meetings with Otini Kambona, the brother of Oscar Kambona. Babu and Malcolm met again on October 3 and 4 in Ethiopia. The two had started forging a close friendship from the time they met at the Cairo conference. Malcolm made up his mind to visit Tanganyika and Zanzibar. He visited the passport services on October 6th and found out that Americans did not need a passport for Tanganyika, but they did need to get ‘special permission’ for Zanzibar.
Malcolm boarded a flight on October 9th in Nairobi for Zanzibar and then Tanganyika. The flight flew from Nairobi to Malindi, from there to Zanzibar, and finally Dar es Salaam. Malcolm was not allowed entry into Zanzibar because he did not have the required special permit. He continued with the flight from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam.
Malcolm spent the first night in Dar es Salaam at the Club Hotel. The hotel did not have private bathrooms. He wanted to find another hotel. He walked over to Twiga and Agip Motel on October 10, 1964 to see if he could get a room. The hotel rooms were fully booked and he could not get a room. Eventually, Malcolm decided to call a number to the office of Oscar Kambona in the Ministry of External Affairs. Otini Kambona gave Malcolm the number. Oscar Kambona was then a Minister of External Affairs. Oscar Kambona’s secretary picked up the phone and spoke to Malcolm. She was an African American woman married to a Ghanaian. Her named was Joyce. Joyce and her husband drove to pick up Malcolm and took him to the Delux hotel.
The African American community in Tanganyika in 1964 was very small. There was a large community of African American expatriates living in Ghana when Malcolm visited the country in the beginning of 1964. Malcolm had to find his way around Dar es Salaam and learn about the city and its people. Dar es Salaam was burgeoning city with a small, but rising number of expatriates. Tanganyika and Zanzibar had just united less than six months before. The nation had undergone a tumultuous period following the January 12th revolution in Zanzibar and an army mutiny of January 20, 1964. There were also security concerns at the borders with Congo and Mozambique; there was looming violence in the Congo that threatened to destabilize the region and there were concerns in the border between Tanganyika and Mozambique because FRELIMO had just launched their first military campaign against the Portuguese. Malcolm came to Tanganyika at a time when the nation was going through a difficult period. Yet the presence of revolutionaries from most of southern Africa was a welcoming site for Malcolm. More importantly, the people of Tanganyika and Zanzibar provided great hospitality to Malcolm.
Malcolm decided to walk over to the New Africa House on the first day in Dar es Salaam. This was one of the newest hotels in the city; it was the meeting place for the Tanganyika members of the upper class and a place where leaders of liberation movements frequented. At New Africa hotel he met Nathanial Nakasa. Nakasa or Nat as Malcolm called him, was a South African reporter who had just left apartheid South Africa and was on his way to take up a scholarship in the US. Malcolm and Nakasa spent several evenings in the course of the next week talking about various topics. Nakasa later wrote that he found Malcolm to be a very warm and a “great fun to be with” in Dar es Salaam. Like many people who had learned about Malcolm from the Western media sources, he had built an image of Malcolm as unreasonable and destructive. Nakasa was greatly impressed by Malcolm. He decided to take Malcolm with him to a birthday party given by a diplomat from the Algerian Embassy on the evening of October 10th. It was at this birthday party that Malcolm linked up with the African American Pan Africanist and pacifist Bill Sutherland who drove him around the city for the next week.
The birthday party was attended by a variety of guests, including diplomats, government officials, expatriates, and exiles from South Africa. Sutherland wrote later that Malcolm spent most of the time standing in the kitchen; many people went to the kitchen to get food and drinks and ended up talking to Malcolm. He did not dance or drink, but charmed many of the guests at the party who made a stop in the kitchen. Sutherland decided to drive Malcolm around after he learned from Malcolm that he did not have transportation.
Malcolm spent part of Sunday October 11, 1964 on the suburbs of Dar es Salaam meeting with Harvard University and Radcliffe Institute students who were teaching in Tanganyika as part of Project Tanganyika. Malcolm had an opportunity to speak with the mostly white American students who came to teach as part of the project. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Anderson invited Malcolm to their home. Several African Americans came to the dinner and got a chance to speak to Malcolm. Later that evening Malcolm met up with Nakasa for dinner at Africa House.
Malcolm woke up early on the first full business day in Dar es Salaam, Monday October 12, 1964. He was interviewed by an Indian reporter and later by a reporter from the Tanganyika Standard and by the Tanzania Broadcast Company. Some South African leaders stopped by to meet and speak to him. He called Babu and set up a meeting. The two met later that day. Malcolm wrote in his diary that Babu was “very informal and friendly.” He described Babu in his diary as “an extremely alert man, and dedicated to what he believes.” Malcolm was impressed by Babu and came to respect him.
Written by Azaria Mbughuni
Monday, 08 September 2014 05:27
Tanzania was the headquarters for revolutionaries from Africa and around the world in the early 1960s. Revolutionaries like Sam Nujoma, Oliver Tambo, Samora Machel, Robert Mugabe, and unknown young men and women frequented Tanzania between 1960 and 1965. Dar es Salaam was the place to be if you were a revolutionary. It is not surprising revolutionaries like Malcolm X and Che Guevera from the Americas were also attracted to Tanzania.
The African American leader Malcolm X and Che Guevera came to Tanganyika and Zanzibar within five months of each other in the end of 1964 and beginning of 1965. Malcolm came to Tanzania first in October of 1964. The country was then known as Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The new name Tanzania was adopted in November, about a month after Malcolm left the country.
To understand Malcolm’s attraction to Tanzania and learn about what he did once in Tanzania, it is important to go back to the Second OAU Summit in Cairo, Egypt held from July 17 to 21, 1964. The conference came after Malcolm had made a pilgrimage to Mecca; this was the first of the two transformative experiences for the 39 year old African American leader. He had just broken off with the Nation of Islam and embraced Orthodox Islam. Malcolm made his second tour of Africa after the pilgrimage. The tour of West Africa from April to May 1964 helped cement his Pan African convictions. Malcolm felt at home wherever he went in Ghana and Nigeria; he returned to the US in May of 1964 determined to start a new organization and forge strong links with Africans. He founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) in June; it was modeled after the Organization of African Unity. More importantly Malcolm had made up his mind to attend the OAU Summit in Cairo to lobby for the support of African heads of state for his campaign for the human rights of African Americans.
The Second OAU Summit met in Cairo, Egypt from July 17 to 21, 1964. This was the Summit of African heads of state. Malcolm left the US in July 9th determined to participate in the conference and lobby for support for his cause in America. Malcolm was granted observer status and was allowed to present a memorandum to the delegates. The memorandum argued eloquently that African Americans were Africa’s long lost brothers and sisters; he argued that African Americans had endured hardships for more than three hundred years because of racial discrimination. He wrote in the memorandum: “Our problem is your problem.. We beseech independent African states to help us bring our problem before the United Nations…” The struggle to get African heads of state to support his initiative faced an uphill battle. Some African leaders were indifferent to the plight of African Americans. Malcolm had to lobby hard to get the support of Africans. He faced an uphill battle trying to convince African leaders to support his resolution. It all changed when Malcolm linked up with the delegation from Tanganyika and Zanzibar at the conference.
The Tanganyika and Zanzibar delegation to the Cairo Summit included Julius Nyerere, Abdulrahman Babu, and Salim A. Salim. This conference became legendary in the annals of African history because Nyerere and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana clashed over the state of the liberation struggle in southern Africa and the strategy for achieving Pan African unity. Another significant event that has often been overlooked was the passage of a resolution addressing the plight of African Americans drafted by Malcolm and supported by Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
There are scant details of exactly how Malcolm linked up with the Tanganyika and Zanzibar delegation in Cairo. It appears that Malcolm linked up with Abdurahman Babu in Cairo and the two hit it off. Babu was a Pan Africanist and a revolutionary from Zanzibar. He was then a Minister in the mainland. Babu wrote later that Malcolm went to his hotel room late at night during the Summit discouraged and ready to leave. His resolution was not going anywhere and riots had just erupted back home in Harlem. Babu was among the people who convinced Malcolm to remain in Cairo to help shed light on the struggles of African Americans and get a resolution passed. The resolution was not passed until the last night of the Summit at 2:30 am; Babu was the one who passed the good news to Malcolm. The OAU resolution AHG/Res. 15 (1) was entitled Racial Discrimination in the United States of America. It expressed concerns for racial discrimination in the US and called on the government to do all it could to end discrimination based on race, color and ethnic origin. It was this support that convinced Malcolm to visit Tanganyika and Zanzibar after the Summit. The passage of the resolution was a victory for Malcolm; it was a victory for African Americans and Africa.
Malcolm decided to take a tour of East Africa after spending about two months in Egypt. He first stopped in Ethiopia on September 30, 1964 were he spoke to students, leaders, and diplomats. Malcolm meet and spoke to numerous people, including Tanzanian leaders, diplomats, and students. He spent time talking to the Tanganyika consul in Ethiopia. He held meetings with Otini Kambona, the brother of Oscar Kambona. Babu and Malcolm met again on October 3 and 4 in Ethiopia. The two had started forging a close friendship from the time they met at the Cairo conference. Malcolm made up his mind to visit Tanganyika and Zanzibar. He visited the passport services on October 6th and found out that Americans did not need a passport for Tanganyika, but they did need to get ‘special permission’ for Zanzibar.
Malcolm boarded a flight on October 9th in Nairobi for Zanzibar and then Tanganyika. The flight flew from Nairobi to Malindi, from there to Zanzibar, and finally Dar es Salaam. Malcolm was not allowed entry into Zanzibar because he did not have the required special permit. He continued with the flight from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam.
Malcolm spent the first night in Dar es Salaam at the Club Hotel. The hotel did not have private bathrooms. He wanted to find another hotel. He walked over to Twiga and Agip Motel on October 10, 1964 to see if he could get a room. The hotel rooms were fully booked and he could not get a room. Eventually, Malcolm decided to call a number to the office of Oscar Kambona in the Ministry of External Affairs. Otini Kambona gave Malcolm the number. Oscar Kambona was then a Minister of External Affairs. Oscar Kambona’s secretary picked up the phone and spoke to Malcolm. She was an African American woman married to a Ghanaian. Her named was Joyce. Joyce and her husband drove to pick up Malcolm and took him to the Delux hotel.
The African American community in Tanganyika in 1964 was very small. There was a large community of African American expatriates living in Ghana when Malcolm visited the country in the beginning of 1964. Malcolm had to find his way around Dar es Salaam and learn about the city and its people. Dar es Salaam was burgeoning city with a small, but rising number of expatriates. Tanganyika and Zanzibar had just united less than six months before. The nation had undergone a tumultuous period following the January 12th revolution in Zanzibar and an army mutiny of January 20, 1964. There were also security concerns at the borders with Congo and Mozambique; there was looming violence in the Congo that threatened to destabilize the region and there were concerns in the border between Tanganyika and Mozambique because FRELIMO had just launched their first military campaign against the Portuguese. Malcolm came to Tanganyika at a time when the nation was going through a difficult period. Yet the presence of revolutionaries from most of southern Africa was a welcoming site for Malcolm. More importantly, the people of Tanganyika and Zanzibar provided great hospitality to Malcolm.
Malcolm decided to walk over to the New Africa House on the first day in Dar es Salaam. This was one of the newest hotels in the city; it was the meeting place for the Tanganyika members of the upper class and a place where leaders of liberation movements frequented. At New Africa hotel he met Nathanial Nakasa. Nakasa or Nat as Malcolm called him, was a South African reporter who had just left apartheid South Africa and was on his way to take up a scholarship in the US. Malcolm and Nakasa spent several evenings in the course of the next week talking about various topics. Nakasa later wrote that he found Malcolm to be a very warm and a “great fun to be with” in Dar es Salaam. Like many people who had learned about Malcolm from the Western media sources, he had built an image of Malcolm as unreasonable and destructive. Nakasa was greatly impressed by Malcolm. He decided to take Malcolm with him to a birthday party given by a diplomat from the Algerian Embassy on the evening of October 10th. It was at this birthday party that Malcolm linked up with the African American Pan Africanist and pacifist Bill Sutherland who drove him around the city for the next week.
The birthday party was attended by a variety of guests, including diplomats, government officials, expatriates, and exiles from South Africa. Sutherland wrote later that Malcolm spent most of the time standing in the kitchen; many people went to the kitchen to get food and drinks and ended up talking to Malcolm. He did not dance or drink, but charmed many of the guests at the party who made a stop in the kitchen. Sutherland decided to drive Malcolm around after he learned from Malcolm that he did not have transportation.
Malcolm spent part of Sunday October 11, 1964 on the suburbs of Dar es Salaam meeting with Harvard University and Radcliffe Institute students who were teaching in Tanganyika as part of Project Tanganyika. Malcolm had an opportunity to speak with the mostly white American students who came to teach as part of the project. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Anderson invited Malcolm to their home. Several African Americans came to the dinner and got a chance to speak to Malcolm. Later that evening Malcolm met up with Nakasa for dinner at Africa House.
Malcolm woke up early on the first full business day in Dar es Salaam, Monday October 12, 1964. He was interviewed by an Indian reporter and later by a reporter from the Tanganyika Standard and by the Tanzania Broadcast Company. Some South African leaders stopped by to meet and speak to him. He called Babu and set up a meeting. The two met later that day. Malcolm wrote in his diary that Babu was “very informal and friendly.” He described Babu in his diary as “an extremely alert man, and dedicated to what he believes.” Malcolm was impressed by Babu and came to respect him.
