Malcom X visit commemorated at Smethwick Heritage Centre

Malcolm X's visit to the Black Country is being marked at a heritage centre.

The centre in Smethwick has put up information boards to tell the story of the human rights activist's visit as part of Black History Month.

He was shot dead on his return to the US, just days after his visit.

Other boards celebrate residents including Tony O'Connor, believed to have been Britain's first black headteacher.

Black and Asian communities are an important part of the history of "Global Smethwick", a spokesman said.

"We are a diverse, inclusive place now, welcoming to strangers," volunteer Keith Bracey added.

"There are over 100 different nationalities, over 100 languages spoken in the area, from Eastern Europeans to Punjabis, to West Indians, to Africans.

"We have got such a diverse population in Smethwick, which I love."

Malcolm X visited Smethwick on 12 February 1965 at a time when Smethwick was considered to be a hotbed of racial tension.

The previous year, Conservative MP Peter Griffiths had won the Smethwick seat from Labour amid a racist campaign.

Some residents called for the council to buy up empty houses and make them available to white families only.

Malcolm X told newspapers he was visiting because he was "disturbed by reports that coloured people in Smethwick are being treated badly".

He and Avtar Singh Jouhl, from the Indian Workers' Association and who had invited Malcolm X to the town, were refused a drink in the Blue Gates pub, Mr Bracey said.

"It must have been awfully humiliating for Malcolm X who was a community activist and wanted to change the situation whereby all men were treated equal and that was what he eventually achieved in Smethwick."

Following his visit, Malcolm X returned to the US. He was shot on 21 February while speaking at a rally in New York.

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