In 1964, African-American civil rights leader Malcolm X visited Gaza. This hidden story is brought to life in a new colouring book with stunning illustrations by Soweto-based artist Nathi Ngubane. The book traces Malcolm’s travels across Africa and the Middle East, as well as his historic two-day visit in Gaza, during which he visited the Khan Younis refugee camp, toured the mosques and markets, and listened to poetry and the stories of Palestinians who had been displaced by the Nakba, the deportation of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948.

Malcolm X was transformed by these trips, which helped develop his understanding of the necessity of international unity. A year later, he said: “…the same desire for freedom that moved the Black man on the African continent began to burn in the heart and the mind and the soul of the Black man here, in South America, Central America, and North America, showing us we were not separated. Though there was an ocean between us, we were still moved by the same heartbeat.”

In an article for Middle East Eye, Rayhan Uddin writes that during his extensive travels, Malcolm X met several postcolonial pan-African and pan-Arab leaders, including President Abdel Nasser, Ghanaian Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, and Guinea’s President Ahmed Sékou Touré. “I, for one, would like to impress, especially upon those who call themselves leaders, the importance of realizing the direct connection between the struggle of the Afro-American in this country and the struggle of our people all over the world,” Malcolm said upon his return to America in New York in December 1964.

In Gaza, then under Egyptian control, he met the renowned Palestinian poet Harun Hashem Rashid, who recounted how he narrowly escaped the 1956 Khan Younis massacre. Uddin writes: “Rashid went on to recite a poem about Palestinian refugees returning to their lands, which Malcolm copied into his diary, according to a 2019 paper on Malcolm and Palestine by Hamzah Baig.”

To conclude his trip, X visited Gaza’s parliamentary building and held a press conference with several local figures.

On 21 February 1965—less than six months later—Malcolm X was killed.

Illustrator Nathi Ngubane is a South African writer and illustrator based in Durban. He grew up in Chesterville, a small township in KwaZulu-Natal. After earning a diploma in graphic design from the Durban University of Technology, he secured his first freelance role as a political cartoonist for Daily Vox. In 2015, he was offered a position in political cartooning at Citizen News. He resigned in 2018 to focus on developing his brand, Think Ahead Comix.

His first children’s book, Duma Says: Wash Your Hands, Wear a Mask!, was published in 2020, followed by Duma Says: Let’s Live!, a collector’s edition featuring two additional stories in the series. In August 2021, he released the latest installment, Duma Says: Your ABCs to Good Health. His work has been featured in Al Jazeera, BBC, Daily Maverick, New Frame, and others.

Ngubane also published another colouring book, From the River to the Sea.
“I created this activity book with the aim of educating children in South Africa and worldwide about the history of Palestine, the culture of the Palestinian people, and their flora and fauna,” he said.

Malcolm X in Gaza is published by Baitul Hikmah in Durban.

Follow Nathi Ngubane on Instagram