Three freedom fighters: Malcolm, Fanon, and Lumumba

https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/05/08/op-ed-three-freedom-fighters-malcolm-fanon-and-lumumba/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAqKggAIhD593Qemj9bmB1n9QKQf6RGKhQICiIQ-fd0Hpo_W5gdZ_UCkH-kRjCr89QB&utm_content=rundown

~~ recommended by emil karpo ~~

Centennial celebrations of Malcolm X’s birth will be taking place all over the world, and on at least one occasion that commemoration is combined with Patrice Lumumba (July 2) and Frantz Fanon (July 20). The three men were all born in 1925. Malcolm was born in the U.S, Lumumba in Africa, and Fanon in the West Indies. These revolutionaries share more than a centennial: They were all anti-imperialist, anti-colonial, and anti-racist leaders who were relentless in their struggle for independence and liberation. Malcolm was the oldest of the three and lived the longest by four years.

The possibility of their coming together was difficult, given both geography and timelines. When Malcolm made his historic travel to Africa, Europe and the Middle East in 1964, both men were dead. If they had been alive, there is a good chance they might have met since Malcolm’s trips to Khartoum placed him in relative proximity to the Congo where Lumumba was; and his trip to Algeria put him even closer to meeting with Fanon. Fanon began an association with Lumumba after they both attended the All-African Peoples’ Conference in Accra, Ghana in 1958. A year later, Malcolm made his first trip to Africa and the Middle East, mainly to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, on a kind of reconnaissance trip for Elijah Muhammad’s visit.

While Malcolm often referenced Lumumba and the Congo in his speeches, there is no indication that he ever mentioned Fanon, nor did they cite Malcolm in their books. This may have been because Malcolm’s international reputation was still in formation and not widely publicized until after he left the Nation of Islam. I am hoping to get a recording or video of the two-day affair at the Harlem State Office Building on May 2-3, where the three freedom fighters were discussed. Until then, check out the various centennial celebrations of Malcolm’s birth, which is quite enough to digest before moving on to deeper research.

 (U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress)