Malcolm X at Oxford Union: Racial Politics in a Global Era

In December 1964, a little more than two months before his assassination in Harlem, Malcolm X delivered before the Oxford Union one of his last significant addresses, arguing in favor of a motion borrowed from Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” In analysis, interviews, and personal reflections preceding the transcript of the speech, Lehigh University political scientist Ambar (How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency) contextualizes its import and continuing relevance, making a case for the speech’s under-appreciated contribution to the worldview of a revolutionary figure. The at-times fiery but equally measured, and humorous address places the American race question squarely in the Cold War context of a revolutionary postcolonial Africa and a larger African diaspora. Ambar’s careful reading of the rhetorical strategies underway between Malcolm and his opponent in the debate, Conservative MP Humphry Berkeley, demonstrates how this global frame had strategic and moral implications for Malcolm’s political philosophy and thoughts about race. Labeling the speech “one of the truly great addresses of the civil rights movement,” Ambar makes it an essential companion to 1963’s “Message to the Grassroots” or 1964’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” in any assessment of Malcolm X as a political thinker and activist. Agent: Geri Thoma, Markson Thoma Agency. (Feb.)