Brother Malcolm, Comrade Babu: Black Internationalism and the Politics of Friendship

This essay examines the interrelationship between travel and friendship, exploring the dynamics of Malcolm X’s relationship with Tanzanian radical Adbulrahman Mohamed Babu over a series of moments in 1964. By revisiting speeches, travel diaries, transcribed interviews, and personal letters, I present an alternative biographical narrative of Malcolm’s “final conversion” from Nation of Islam leader to black internationalist, chronicling the meanings and significances he ascribed to African decolonization.