60 years since Malcolm X came to Smethwick before his assassination

On February 12 1965, Malcolm X was invited to Smethwick to visit Marshall Street, where locals had proposed a scheme for homes on the street to be bought by the council and only be let to white people.

He was invited by Avtar Singh Jouhl, an anti-racism campaigner and leader from the Indian Workers' Association, with the proposed segregation of Marshall Street considered shocking and angered many people in the town.

Mr Page shared clippings he has from the Express & Star from Malcolm X's vist (Image: Stephen Page) The year before his visit, Conservative MP Peter Griffiths had won the election on the back of a campaign which stoked racial tension in the area.

During his trip to Marshal Street, media outlets at the time reported that Malcolm X compared the treatment of Black people and other ethnic minorities in Smethwick to that of Jewish people during the holocaust.

In an interview with local press, he told reporters: “I was in Birmingham, Alabama, the other day.

"This will give me a chance to see if Birmingham, England, is any different.”

Stephen Page from Darlaston made a short film about Malcolm X’s visit to Smethwick as part of an arts project in Sandwell in 2005.  

A side by side of Mr Page with Dr Ahmed Osman and Malcolm X with Dr Ahmed Osman, a close friend of the activist (Image: Stephen Page) He was able to obtain unreleased footage from 1965 taken from the activist’s visit and made an award-nominated documentary that he said brought the “monumental” visit to “the forefront of people’s minds”.

Mr Page said: “There’s more knowledge about [his visit] now, but back when I made it, it put [his visit] in the public consciousness more.”

He added: “I never anticipated it would get this much traction.

“It took a lot of work, but it was very interesting, especially to uncover the historical content.

“When it was first shown, it was very positively received.”

The 58-year-old said he developed a “deep interest” in the civil rights movement through frequent trips to America throughout his life.

He said he has been able to make contact with members of Malcolm X’s family and people who were close to him through his passion for the antiracism movement and his documentary.

Mr Page added that the Libary of Congress in Washington DC has even made requests for his documentary to be featured there. 

Nine days after his trip to the Black Country, Malcolm X returned to New York City where he was assassinated whilst preparing to deliver a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.

His visit to Smethwick has been permanently remembered by a Blue Plaque which was put up on the side of a how on Marshall Street in 2012.

A Blue Plaque has been put up on the side of a house on Marshall Street (Image: Google Earth) Speaking on the 60th anniversary of his visit to Smethwick, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Community at Sandwell Council, Councillor Suzanne Hartwell, said: “Malcolm X’s visit to Sandwell was at a time when the area had a growing Asian and Caribbean immigrant population and helped to cement his belief that all oppressed people of colour should work together.

“Now 60 years later, we are committed to celebrating diversity, building strong communities and improving the quality of life for local people in Sandwell.”