Malcolm X was about to take the U.S. government to an international court

Chelli Stanley December 12, 2020
Malcolm X was about to take the U.S. government to court for human rights abuses but was killed. Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS

After many incarnations in his lifetime, Malcolm X became an international law advocate and was working to bring the United States government to court over its human rights abuses. His vision was global, and he sought alliances with many leaders throughout the world. 

He met with the presidents of Egypt, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, as well as cultural leaders in Kenya, and then said, “I didn’t go into any African country, or any country in the Middle East for that matter, and run into any closed door, closed mind, or closed heart. I found a warm reception and an amazingly deep interest and sympathy for the Black man in this country in regards to our struggle for human rights.”

He returned to the United States in November 1964 and spoke publicly several times about making international alliances, and repeatedly said he was going to take the government of the United States to an international court for its human rights abuses, and then in February, just three months later, he was killed. 

In his last speech, Malcolm said: “One of our first programs is to take our problem out of the civil rights context and place it at the international level, of human rights, so that the entire world can have a voice in our struggle. If we keep it at civil rights, then the only place we can turn for allies is within the domestic confines of America. But when you make it a human rights struggle, it becomes international, and then you can open the door for all types of advice and support from our brothers in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and elsewhere. So it’s very, very important–that’s our international aim, that’s our external aim.”

Malcolm X was about to take the U.S. government to court for human rights abuses and speak the case in the halls of the international world. He was not able to do it for one simple reason – he was killed. 

His idea was brilliant, his words in those halls could have shifted the course of human history. Can you imagine? The books that would have been written on those speeches! 

Spoken ill of so often in the media was Malcolm, yet he outgrew and out-shined the negativity, came back stronger and smarter, wiser and happier, more caring, showing how much you could do in just 39 years.

During the period Malcolm was about to take the United States government to international court to force it to stop its human rights abuses, he had incarnated again and was deeply aligned with people’s struggles throughout the world, having traveled throughout for months on end, meeting with people, a humanist through and through. 

Malcolm’s life ended before he could take the U.S. government to international court, but it still shines as a brilliant story of incarnations, human transformation, change, passion, integrity, and a lifetime lived in just 39 years – and, his brilliant idea is still there to be taken up by anyone.

Last Edited by:Mildred Europa Taylor Updated: December 12, 2020

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