Malcolm X’s name resonates through history.
Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean and many more reference him in their music, and movies (lots of them) have been made about him, with A-listers such as Denzel Washington playing the lead.
The man who rejected his childhood surname because of its slavery connotations is still one of the biggest names from 60s America – and still divides opinion.
So why was this superstar of civil rights in the UK? And why Smethwick, a small industrial town seemingly a million miles away from the segregation and racism of the USA?
As part of Black History Month, Newsbeat has been finding out.
Edited and Produced by Woody Morris
Narrated by Levi Jouavel
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