May 21, 1964 | Malcolm X Press Conference

May 21, 1964 - Malcolm X, the black nationalist leader, said today he had received pledges of support from some new African nations for charges of discrimination against the U.S. in the United Nations.
The case against the U.S. for its treatment of the Negro people, he said, would be prepared and submitted to the U.N. sometime this year. He did not say which nations intended to lodge the formal charges.
Malcolm, speaking at a press conference in Harlem following his return from a trip to Africa and Mecca, said the pledges had been received from the heads of all the countries he visited. Among the nations on his itinerary were Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.
The case to be presented to the world organization, he said, would compel the U.S. Government to face the same charges as South Africa and Rhodesia.
The U.S., he asserted, has colonized the Negro people just as the people of Africa and Asia were colonized by Europeans. He described the American method as “neo-colonialism.”
“My racial philosophy has only changed to the extent that in Mecca and Saudi Arabia I met thousands of people of different races and colors who treated me as a human being,” he said.
Malcolm, who formerly headed the New York followers of the Nation of Islam, recently split with the group and now leads the Moslem Mosque Inc., a black nationalist organization.
Earlier today, he was greeted at Kennedy International Airport by a crowd of newsmen. A detail of airport police accompanied Malcolm to a side area where his wife and children awaited him.
Also on hand was a heavy detail of Malcolm’s own security men, wearing dark blue suits, white shirts, and distinctive red or gray bow ties.Show more

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