The Night Malcolm X Spoke at the Oxford Union

[Malcolm X] spoke to the Union last term and made a very good impression. He was much more reasonable that he was alleged to be. -Union president Neil MacCormick, quoted in the Oxford Mail, February 22, 1965

The quote that informed the Oxford motion may have been Barry Goldwater's and chosen by Tony Abrahams, but a debate on extremism was the ideal topic for Malcolm X nevertheless. He had risen to fame, or rather infamy, as the ultimate extremist-a Black Muslim and nationalist, a prophet of hate and an advocate of violence. Despite his public commitment to human rights, Sunni Islam, and the United Nations during his travels in 1964, the image continued to stick. Coming to Oxford reminded him of that. Time and again, Malcolm X met Oxford students who expected him to be angry or dangerous. Indeed, that is why his appearance at the Union attracted such interest, both locally and nationally. In his speech, Malcolm X mentioned a conversation with a female student over coffee or dinner the previous day. ("For those minds of yours that run astray," he added, "there were several of us" at the meeting-a serious point of honor that was delivered as a joke to the student audience, which enjoyed it as such.) The student had told him, "I'm surprised that you're not what I expected. " Malcolm X asked what she meant. She confessed, "Well, I was looking for your horns. " "I have them," Malcolm X replied, "but I keep them hidden, unless someone draws them out."