Despite what is recorded in history textbooks, passed down verbally or kept in people’s memories, parts of history can fall through the cracks as people and events vanish from public knowledge over the years.

Brown University senior Malcolm Burnley recently uncovered a forgotten piece of history while researching for a class project. Burnley discovered a long-lost audiotape of a 1961 speech given by Malcolm X while in Providence, R.I.

Burnley started his journey in the University Archives to work on an assignment for his narrative writing course, according to a Feb. 7 Brown press release. Students in the class were instructed to write a historical narrative piece based on real-life events.

While researching in the archives, Burnley found a front-page photo of Malcolm X, an African-American civil rights icon, which drove him to look for the photo’s source, according to the release.

Malcolm X’s long-lost speech was from a college speaking tour. During the tour, Malcolm X defended his views on the Nation of Islam, Burnley said in a video published by Brown. His speech covered topics of black power, orthodox Islam and his disdain for the American political system, according to the release.

Malcolm X decided to visit Brown on his speaking tour after an essay was published in the Brown Daily Herald that was severely critical of the Nation of Islam, calling it an illegitimate religious organization, Burnley said.

Burnley researched the speech for four months. During the process, he interviewed audience members and the essay’s author, Katherine Pierce. After speaking with Pierce, Burnley discovered the audio recording of the speech, according to the video.

‘I was immediately struck by the warm and professorial tone he took with the audience,’ Burnley said.

Lehigh University professor Saladin Ambar is writing a book on a speech Malcolm X gave in 1964 at Oxford University. Ambar said he believes finding this speech may lead to the discovery of even more lost recordings.

‘There’s probably going to be lots of other uncovered troves of speeches and interviews found about Malcom X,’ Ambar said. ‘He was one of the most undocumented individuals in modern American history.’

Burnley shared his story outlining how he found the recording with various national news outlets such as The Associated Press, The Huffington Post and NPR. Burnley said he is humbled and amazed by the experience.

‘This whole thing has been serendipitous and just spiraled,’ he said in the release. ‘I’m lucky to have come across a story at Brown that reveals a larger historical moment. It has become a defining experience as a student at Brown and as a writer.’

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Published on February 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

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