Chapter 18 - Summary, The Autobiography Of Malcolm X | The Autobiography of Malcolm X -Summary, Themes & Characters - Novels PDF Download

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz

• Now it's time for the fun stuff. Malcolm meets Prince Faisal of Arabia and is declared an official State Guest. That means he's a seriously important person and the rest of his trip is like a never-ending parade of officials, scholars, princes, dinners, sightseeing, and speeches.
• When Malcolm starts to speak to African officials, he begins to realize something else. For many people in Africa, the struggles of African American people are also their struggles. He has this idea before leaving the country, and the seeds of Pan-Africanism get planted in his head. He starts thinking more about global unity for people of color, not just civil rights.
• Then in 1964, Malcolm X starts his tour of other countries. In Lebanon, he speaks about discrimination against African Americans. In Lagos, he speaks about the need for African Americans to return to Africa and unify the community through the philosophy of Pan-Africanism.
• In Ghana, Malcolm X is greeted by an entire committee of African American expatriates who guide him around the country. It appears that he is already very popular there, and the newspapers follow his every move. They even pay for his hotel expenses! He gets way better treatment there than in his own country.
• Even Malcolm is amazed by his treatment. But he realizes that it's not just because he's Malcolm X, but it's because he's a symbol of the American militant black man. To them, they are fighting the same cause. He meets people who say that they support the struggle of African Americans morally, physically, and materially.
• After a few more stops in Liberia, Senegal, Morocco, and Algiers, Malcolm X finally heads home. As soon as he hits the tarmac, the problems start. Little did he know that while he was away stuff had been crazy in America, and everyone was blaming the 1964 race riots on him. Yeah, that's right—even though he wasn't in the country when they happened.
• Reporters keep asking Malcolm X why he supports violence, even though he doesn't. He tells them that the United States should be tried for denial of human rights. Then they ask about the "Letter from Mecca." He tells them about the things that he learned there, including that not all white people are evil. Just the majority of them.
• Malcolm X keeps talking about how all the people of color in the world should unite and fight against discrimination and subjugation, but the reporters don't want to hear that. It seems like other people are more interested than the reporters, though, because Malcolm's phone doesn't stop ringing for the whole day.