In January 1965, Malcolm X visited Dartmouth at the invitation of the Undergraduate Council to give a speech titled “The Black Revolution in America”. His speech, given to a packed Spaulding Auditorium, was not preserved, but the day after his speech, Malcolm gave an extended interview to WDCR.
The historians at Rauner Library graciously digitized the interview tape, and you can now listen to the interview here:
Malcolm X was assassinated roughly 3 weeks from his visit to Dartmouth, making this interview one of his last before his passing. You can read more about Malcolm X’s visit to campus here.
In the 80s, after years of student requests, Cutter Hall was renamed “El Hajj Malik El Shabazz Temple”, using the name Malcolm adopted after his pilgrimage in Mecca. Most students today know the building as “Shabazz”.
Note that the Malcolm X interview is long and covers many topics. We timestamped the various issues of the interview if you would like to learn about a specific topic:
Interview Timestamps:
PART I — US Foreign Policy
0:00 Split with Nation of Islam
4:35 Trip to Africa
7:19 American foreign policy, African independence
16:47 Cold War and the politics of aid
PART II — Domestic Issues, Racial Justice
20:07 Organization of Afro-American Unity
23:37 Racist senate committees
30:30 The Constitution
34:20 Methods of change, crime
45:20 Riots, inequality, community exploitation