We spoke with Harlem legend and national treasure, Herb Boyd—a journalist, jazz historian, activist, and organizer who has been writing and publishing for nearly 70 years. He discusses his expansive life's work, his political evolution, and his early encounters with Malcolm X. Boyd first met Malcolm X in Detroit in 1958 and later followed him to Morocco in 1964. His life journey has followed in Malcolm X's political footsteps, spanning from Harlem to East Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East. Boyd shares that Africa marked the beginning of his journey and was critical in developing his international perspective. He delves into the research for his recent book "Malcolm X, The CIA, and Other Blacks" which considers Malcolm X's suspicions of being under surveillance by the CIA. This investigation led him to focus on a mysterious figure named Leo Miles, who pops up 10 times with Malcolm X during his travels, particularly in Cairo, Kenya, and Tanzania. Boyd discusses Leo Miles' suspicious association with the MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) and why he was eventually suspected of being an agent by foreign forces, possibly the Portuguese or the CIA. The conversation broadens to encompass the surveillance of other Black activists by the CIA, including Maya Angelou, Robert Williams, the Black Panthers, and Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael). Boyd connects these movements to the struggles against American imperialism and discusses his own travels to Palestine, including trips with Stokely Carmichael to Beirut and with Reverend Al Sharpton. He also highlights his contribution to the volume "For Gaza's Children". Boyd reflects on Malcolm X's perpetual importance as an internationalist, whose ideas remain relevant to contemporary global issues like the current UN situation, Ukraine, Haiti, and Gaza. Even at the age of 87, he is finishing a biography of Max Roach, a history of Harlem titled "Epic Harlem", and a novel about the Black Studies Movement.

00:00 Introducing Herb Boyd: Harlem Legend and Activist

01:54 Following Malcolm X’s Footsteps

03:00 Morocco, Dar Es Salaam and the International Perspective

04:47 The Significance of Early African Travels

06:19 Malcolm X, Leo Miles and the CIA Connection

09:33 The CIA's Surveillance of Black Activists

11:32 The Caribbean Connection: Walter Rodney and C.L.R. James

12:53 Maya Angelou: Cultural Ambassador in West Africa and Egypt

15:51 Traveling to Egypt and Malcolm X’s Impact on the International Community

19:05 Interviewing Maya Angelou and Her Claim of James Baldwin as her Little Brother

20:41 The African-American Beachhead in Ghana

21:37 Travels to Palestine

22:52 Contributing to Gaza’s Children

24:47 The Torturous Roads of Activism: From Detroit to Guatemala

28:37 Connecting American Imperialism to Global Struggle

37:22 Why Malcolm X’s Internationalism Is Perennially Important

43:17 Herb Boyd’s Ongoing Projects: Max Roach, Epic Harlem and a Novel on Black Studies

Herb Boyd is a journalist, activist, teacher, and has authored or edited 23 books, including his most recent one, The Diary of Malcolm X co-edited with Ilyasah Shabazz. His book Baldwin's Harlem, a biography of James Baldwin, was a finalist for a 2009 NAACP Image Award. In 1995, with Robert Allen, he was a recipient of an American Book Award for Brotherman--The Odyssey of Black Men in America, an anthology.  Other biographies include Pound for Pound—The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson and a young adult book on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is an adjunct professor at City College of New York.

Hosted by Hisham Aidi 👉 

https://instagram.com/uptown_berber

FOLLOW & RATE THE RADIO IFRIQIYA:

» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-ifriqiya-powered-by-afikra/id1858526703

» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1VynJbFfAioUDyM6nmiqa3

» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1079305298

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl6WCw08uLTDai3ePhVUQvvz

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.