Quibinar #33 - Malcolm X's Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU)

Malcolm X and the Creation of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU)

The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) was a Pan-Africanist organization founded by Malcolm X  in 1964. The OAAU was modeled on the Organization of African Unity, which had impressed Malcolm X during his visit to Africa in April and May 1964. The purpose of the OAAU was to fight for the human rights of African Americans and promote cooperation among Africans and people of African descent in the Americas.  

Malcolm X Creates the OAAU

• Malcolm X announced the establishment of the OAAU at a public meeting in New York’s Audubon Ballroom on June 28, 1964.
• He had written the group's charter with John Henrik Clarke, Albert Cleage, Jesse Gray, and Gloria Richardson, among others.
• Four (4) days later, in a memo dated July 2, 1964, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover described the nascent OAAU organization that was coming into existence and began to display signs of future potential as a threat to the national security of the United States.