Malcolm X and Africana Communication Theory: A Case Study of Ujamaa as Rhetorical Theory at the Founding Rally of the OAAU

Abstract

Through a rhetorical analysis of Malcolm X’s speech at the founding rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, this essay attempts to illustrate how Ujamaa (Kiswahili for “familyhood” or “extended family”), an Africana communication theory, is rhetorically constructed in African American public address. This essay contends that attention to the rhetorical construction of Ujamaa is critical because it may foster appreciation of African discourses, help comprehend the ways in which African unity is rhetorically built, and shed light on the communicative realities and sensibilities of African people across the diaspora. Furthermore, Ujamaa, particularly as rhetorical theory, is vital for scholars to theorize human communication beyond the West’s philosophical orientation. Finally, this paper presents a comparative analysis between Malcolm X’s rhetorical articulation of Ujamaa and Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere’s original political philosophy of Ujamaa to highlight the difference in both leaders’ vision toward the creation of an African democracy.

KEYWORDS::

• African American public address
• African American rhetoric
• Malcolm X
• Ujamaa

Notes

1 See Jack L. Daniel’s (1995) Changing the Players and the Game, for more information on the history and development of the Black Caucus of the National Communication Association.