Malcolm X, Pan-Africanism, and the Organization of African Unity: Appealing to Shepherds on Behalf of Their Lost Sheep at the 1964 OAU Summit.

This article examines Malcolm X’s 1964 appeal to the African Heads of State at the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit, emphasizing its necessity to elevate the African American struggle within Pan-African discourse. It highlights a post-World War II shift in Black political focus from international anti-colonialism to domestic civil rights, contrasting this with Malcolm X’s consistent view of a shared destiny between Africans and African Americans. While African leaders at the summit prioritized continental issues such as apartheid in South Africa and the Palestinian cause, they largely regarded African American concerns as domestic matters, often expressing cautious optimism about U.S. civil rights progress rather than condemnation. Although Malcolm’s goal to bring African American human rights violations before the United Nations was not realized, his efforts helped reforge political and ideological connections between continental Africans and the African diaspora, influencing subsequent Pan-African activism and underscoring ongoing tensions between nation-state priorities and diaspora-inclusive Pan-Africanism.