Remembering Malcolm X’s Speech In Buffalo On His Birthday

For many years, Buffalo and Western New York have been a hotbed for political action.

As New York State's second-largest city and a major shipping hub for many years, it was pretty common to see all sorts of famous political figures making a stop in the 716 to raise awareness on a particular topic or to try to solidify their base as they moved their agenda forward.

This was especially true in the 1960s, when America was undergoing what we now know was a major transformation in its culture. You didn't need to look much farther than the various meeting halls all around Western New York, which hosted great Americans like Shirley Chisholm, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, and more.

If one person who made a trip to Buffalo in 1963 were alive today, he would be celebrating a major birthday.

Remembering Malcolm X's Speech In Buffalo On His Birthday

Malcolm Little, the fourth son of Earl Little and Louise Langdon-Little, was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, and after a troubled childhood, grew up to be the civil rights leader we know as Malcolm X.

Malcolm X was no stranger to Buffalo and Western New York, a fact that we were reminded of this past February when a huge event was hosted in Buffalo to honor his life on the anniversary of his death. The Challenger Community News has detailed coverage of the events that happened earlier this year.

However, on his 100th birthday, it seems appropriate to look back on his famous speech at the University at Buffalo on April 24, 1963. According to University at Buffalo archives, over 700 people poured into UB to watch Malcolm debate Rev. Clarence L. Hilliard from Lackawanna's St. Paul Baptist Church.

Happy Birthday, El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.