The day Malcolm X addressed Oxford Union

Malcolm X was invited to the Oxford Union by its then president, Eric Abrahams

"Mr Chairman, tonight is the first night that I’ve ever had an opportunity to be as near to conservatives as I am."

Those are the words with which Malcolm X began his address at the Oxford Union on 3 December 1964.

The union is the country's most prestigious student debating organisation and has served as a breeding ground for world leaders - predominantly from Britain's white upper classes - since it was first established in the early 19th Century.

In sharp contrast, Malcolm was a revolutionary American black nationalist who opposed everything that such establishment-led, majority-white institutions stood for.

But he was on an ideological journey at the time - one that made Oxford, a city known for creating the leaders of tomorrow, the perfect place for him to visit.

This is the story of Malcolm's whirlwind trip to the city of dreaming spires - told in his own words, from the speech he gave there on this day, 60 years ago.

In 1964, Malcolm - whose full name was el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz - was one of the most famous people in America.

He was known for his charismatic and inflammatory form of black nationalism.

During the year leading up to his visit to Oxford, Malcolm travelled across Africa and Arabia, where his previously hard-line beliefs of strict racial separation began to change.

Saladin Ambar, professor of political science at Rutgers University, said he was going through an "intellectual and ideological transformation".

"He was beginning to question and in fact, eschew black nationalism as the guiding principle of his politics," he continued.

"He had met with leaders of the Algerian resistance and had been confronted by at least one person who asked Malcolm, 'what about me? I have white skin, I have blue eyes, and here I am fighting the French - where do I fit within your worldview?'.

"That really gobsmacked Malcolm and presented him with a deep conundrum."

'Malcolm X excited us'

Malcolm was invited to take part in the traditional end of year debate by the Oxford Union's then president - Eric Abrahams, a Rhodes Scholar from Jamaica.

Louis Nthenda, a Malawian Oxford student, met Malcolm in a hotel in Nairobi earlier that year.

He told a BBC Radio 4 documentary, marking the debate's 50th anniversary, that the pair "spent three hours talking about America and and about Africa".

Mr Nthenda said he then asked Malcolm if he would join a debate at the Oxford Union, a request that was soon made official by Eric Abrahams.

"This was the time of African nationalism and independence movements, and the icons of the black movement in America were also our icons - Malcolm X excited us very, very much," he said.

'Major component of determination'

When asked why Malcolm accepted the invitation, Prof Ambar explained: "He enjoyed debate on a very personal level but on a more political level he was seeking an unfettered, unrestricted opportunity to have his world view put out there."

At the time, the American media had Malcolm "well targeted", and there was "limited chance for him to cut through" at home, he continued.

In contrast, the BBC was involved in his visit to Oxford and even agreed to buy his plane ticket - provided it had exclusive rights to film and broadcast the debate.

Malcolm's associate American journalist A Peter Bailey told the same 2014 Radio 4 documentary: "His going to debate at the Oxford Union was a major component of his determination to internationalise the struggle against white supremacy.

"The fact that Oxford invited him was another sign he was moving in the right direction and it was a recognition of what he was doing and what he had become."

'Awe and astonishment'

The debate itself was based on the motion "extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue", he continued.

Judith Okley, one of the first female members of the Oxford Union, previously told the BBC she remembered "the awe and the astonishment" of people in the union.

"Everybody was just stunned and the applause was utterly ear-shattering," she added.

Prof Ambar said: "One of the things that's often left out about the debate was how funny Malcolm X was at Oxford - poking fun at Humphry Berkeley [a Conservative MP also taking part in the debate]."

In his earlier address to the union, Berkeley had criticised Malcolm's extremist standpoint.

Malcolm also made "tongue-in-cheek" allusions to American revolutionary war heroes during his own speech, as well as more "profound" references to Shakespeare.

The debate aired on BBC One that same night - with millions tuning in to see Malcolm's performance.

'Looming threat of assassination'

Ms Okley and another friend met Malcolm in an Oxford cafe the day before the debate.

"He was asking us questions, he was asking us about our views, about university, race, all sorts of things but he said he wished he had gone to university," she recalled.

Whilst in the city, Malcolm was having the "time of his life", Prof Ambar said.

But at the time of his visit, Malcolm was living under the threat of assassination from his former allies in the Nation of Islam, as well as from the FBI.

Prof Ambar said this informed much of how Malcolm interacted with people during his short time in the city.

"He always felt the need to keep his distance because of the threat looming of assassination," he said.

Just three months after his visit to Oxford, Malcolm would be dead - having been shot by unknown assailants whilst giving a speech in New York City.

He was just 40 years old.

"If there's any personal thing lost to Malcolm in these final months of his life, it's the ability to be reflective," Prof Ambar said.

"That's a real shame and loss because I think, from what we gather, he really had a phenomenally wonderful time at Oxford for lots of reasons."

On the 50th anniversary of the debate, Malcolm's daughter Ilyasah Shabazz said: "I always refer to my father's visit to Oxford University as it being one of my favourites.

"It's not my father reacting to an unjust act, rather it is Malcom among his favourite crowd, and he has the opportunity to discuss and teach about the unjust acts, and it being our responsibility to make changes in our society."

Referring to her father's use of Shakespeare in his speech, she remarked: "To be or not to be - you know you are either going to make a change when you see wrong, or you're not."