Established by Sufi Abdul Hamid in 1934, the Afro-American Federation of Labor (AAFL) attempted to secure picketing rights for African American workers. The AAFL emerged from the “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” movement, which...

The first black militant nationalist organization to unite against black oppression and discrimination in the United States, the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) became Malcolm X’s main organizational base from its founding on June 28,...

On June 28, 1964, six weeks after Malcolm X's return to New York from Africa, he announced the formation of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). “It was formed in my living room,” remembers John Henrik Clarke. “I was the one who got the...