"THE ONLY AFRO AMERICAN PERMITTED TO ENTER" MALCOLM X. Autograph Letter Signed, to author Alex Haley, writing from Cairo where he has just attended the African Summit Conference. 3 pages, 4to Cairo, July 30th [1964].
Estimate $12,000-18,000

exceptionally good content. "This conference has been a tremendous education to me, on the interworkings [sic] and 'intrigues' of international politics--and has made me see even more the necessity of the Afro American struggle being internationalized . . . Also, I was invited aboard the yacht Isis . . . a floating hotel that is anchored in the Nile River. This yacht housed the leaders of the African Liberation Front . . . it was an honor to be among them . . ." Malcolm goes on to discuss the riots in the U. S., "I'm as yet uncertain when I will be back in the States. Since the riots started there it has taken much self-control to keep me from flying back.." He explains the personal need to see more, to visit more African countries and "do some 'meditative writing' . . . something similar to what Baldwin did in Harpers which eventually became 'The Fire Next Time.'" He asks if Haley would do some "quick edits" and help place some of the writing in American magazines for him.
Malcolm had made remarks regarding Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, that some had interpreted as an endorsement. Regarding this, he asks Haley, "Please don't put anything in the Book [The Autobiography of Malcolm X] that anyone could interpret to make me look like I'm supporting Goldwater."
1964 was a significant year for Malcolm X. A growing disagreement over policy with Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, had culminated with Malcolm X being "silenced" for 90 days in 1963. While on his pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm X began to change his views radically from those of Elijah Muhammad, declaring, "There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white."

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