American Defender of One Nigeria: James Meredith, the Nigerian Civil War and the Politics of American Intervention in the Global South.

Following the Biafran allegations of genocide against the Nigerian government during the Civil War, pro-Biafran groups emerged in the United States to pressure the American government into political intervention in the form of recognizing the Biafran republic. In response, African-American Civil Rights hero James Meredith counter-balanced the pro-Biafran groups, and advocated for one Nigeria in the United States. By analyzing public speech, correspondences, fact-finding mission reports, congressional hearing testimonies, and oral interviews, this paper examines Meredith's pro-One Nigeria (Pan-African) activism during the Nigerian Civil War, and promotes a nuanced understanding of the international dimension of the Nigerian Civil War. This study proposes an episode of transnational history of the global black liberation movement of the long sixties, and demonstrates that Meredith's pro-one Nigeria activism during the Nigerian Civil War was influenced by his background as a Civil Rights leader and his pan-African ideology. Plain Language Summary: This article examines the role and activities of James Meredith as an "American defender" of One Nigeria, advocating for One Nigeria in the United States during the Nigerian Civil War. His pro-Nigerian activism was a direct response to the mobilization by the pro-Biafran groups in the United States demanding the American government intervention in the Nigerian Civil War in the form of political recognition of the former Eastern Nigeria, which renamed itself the Biafran Republic. An African-American Civil Rights icon, Meredith framed as a neocolonial destabilization agenda in postcolonial Africa the pro-Biafran groups' pressure for the American government's recognition of Biafra as a sovereign republic. He connected the African American Civil Rights Movement with the struggle against neocolonial control in postcolonial Africa, situating both within the global black movements of the long sixties. Meredith's battle with pro-Biafran groups in the United States and his advocacy for one Nigeria aligned with the pan-African goals of foremost continental pan-Africanists, including Kwame Nkrumah. A foremost continental Pan-Africanist, Nkrumah not only campaigned against the balkanization of African countries but also advocated for the United States of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]