[[Betty Shabazz]]\n{{infobox officeholder\n|embed=yes\n| office = [[Ambassador-at-large]] of [[Belize]]\n| primeminister = [[Said Musa]]
[[Dean Barrow]]
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It was a Sunday morning and we were at the Wallaces, this is Aunt Ruby's [Ruby Dee's] brother's house, and my father called and said to my mother, "Why don't you come down?," and that was out of sorts, and I knew it, but at the same time excited. And so two of my little sisters—I had three little sisters at that time—but the baby was six months, and my two sisters after me, we all got ready to go down....
My mother was pregnant with my baby sisters, the twins. We thought it was a boy at the time, so we referred to her stomach as Malik, and six months later they were born. But I remember the day, and it changed everything. [7]
Shabazz told People in 1983 that she sometimes had flashbacks. "I would bump into people from the Nation of Islam, and I thought they were going to do the same thing to me." [8]
Shabazz had an apolitical upbringing in a racially integrated neighborhood in Mount Vernon, New York. Her family never took part in demonstrations or attended rallies. [9] She received religious education at the Islamic Center at Riverside Drive and 72nd Street in Manhattan. [2] With her sisters, she joined Jack and Jill, a social club for the children of well-off African Americans. As a teenager, she attended the United Nations International School. [10] Although officials at the school prepared for "an onslaught of militancy" when 13-year-old Shabazz enrolled, "instead I walked in wearing my lime-green dress, my opaque stockings, my patent leather shoes, and carrying my little patent leather pocketbook," she recalled in a 1982 interview. [11] After graduating, she studied international law at Briarcliff College, but the school shut down before she graduated. [12] : 3
In 1979, Moneta Sleet Jr. of Ebony brought Shabazz together with Yolanda King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, for a photo shoot. [13] Before the meeting, both women were worried that the bad feelings between their fathers might spoil the encounter. [14] Instead, they found that they liked one another and had many things in common besides being in their early 20s: they both lived in New York City, they were aspiring actresses, their birthdays were one day apart, and they shared an optimism and interest in activism that one might expect from the eldest children of civil rights martyrs. [13] [14]
Within a few months, King and Shabazz went on a joint lecture tour and co-wrote a play for teenage audiences, Stepping into Tomorrow. The play explored difficult themes about growing up through the story of six friends seeing one another again at a ten-year high school reunion. [1] [14] Responding to critics who found the play too soft, Shabazz said that it was not meant to be a "cerebral piece of writing", but to be "socially uplifting" and "give direction". [14]
Stepping into Tomorrow quickly grew into a collaboration called Nucleus, an eight-member theatre troupe based in New York and Los Angeles that performed in about 50 cities a year. [1] [12] : 1 [8] Ebony included Shabazz and King among its "Fifty Young Leaders of the Future" in 1983. [15] In the mid-1980s, Shabazz and King co-wrote another play, Of One Mind, about their fathers and what course history might have taken had they not been killed. [8] [16] Their collaboration lasted about twelve years. [2] [17]
In December 1990, shortly after celebrating the tenth anniversary of Stepping into Tomorrow, [18] King and Shabazz found themselves at the center of a controversy concerning a long-scheduled performance of the play in Arizona. [19] In November, voters in that state had defeated two competing ballot measures that would have established a paid holiday for state employees on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (The day was an unpaid holiday.) Civil rights groups called for a boycott of the state as a result of the vote. [20] [21] Days after the two women announced they would proceed with their performance, King cancelled her appearance, saying an understudy would take her place. [22] Shabazz performed as scheduled. [23]
In February 1992, Shabazz spoke at the funeral of her godfather, Alex Haley. [24] Before his death, he had asked her to write a foreword to The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which her father had written with him. [25] The new edition of the book, featuring Shabazz's foreword, was published in 1999. Black Issues Book Review called the foreword "superbly realized". [26]
Shabazz signed a contract in 1994 to write her memoirs. [27] [28] The book's publication was postponed several times. [29] A 1997 review of the book, From Mine Eyes, called it the "powerful and uplifting story of a young girl who came of age during the height of the civil rights movement and is now able to share, in vivid detail, the most tragic events of her life". [30]
At her mother's funeral service in June 1997, Shabazz eulogized her on behalf of the family. [31] Standing in the small pulpit of New York's Riverside Church with her five sisters, [32] she recalled the loving relationship her parents had shared and imagined her father stretching his arm to her mother, inviting her to join him. [33] Then Shabazz asked everybody in attendance to "look to the person to the left and to the right of you and genuinely say, 'I wish you the best.'" [33]
In May 2000, Mike Wallace brought together Shabazz and Louis Farrakhan for a joint interview on 60 Minutes . [34] Farrakhan, then known as Louis X, had been a protégé of her father's in the Nation of Islam. After Malcolm X left the Nation, Louis X turned on his mentor and became one of his sharpest critics, writing in Muhammad Speaks (the Nation's organ) that "such a man as Malcolm is worthy of death." [35] The Shabazz family are among those who have accused Louis Farrakhan of involvement in Malcolm X's assassination. [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] During the interview, Farrakhan said he "truly loved" Malcolm X. He said: "I may have been complicit in words that I spoke leading up to" the assassination; "I acknowledge that and regret that any word that I have said caused the loss of life of a human being." [41] Farrakhan also said that the U.S. government was involved in the assassination; "This is bigger than the Nation of Islam." [41] Shabazz replied: "You can't keep pointing fingers. My father was not killed from a grassy knoll." [41] After the interview, she issued a statement thanking Farrakhan for "acknowledging his culpability" and wishing him peace. [41]
In 2002, Prime Minister Said Musa of Belize asked Shabazz to serve as Ambassador-at-large to represent Belize internationally in perpetuity. [42] [43]
When actor and activist Ossie Davis died in February 2005, Shabazz spoke at his funeral. She recalled the first sentence of the eulogy Davis had delivered at her father's funeral forty years earlier, "Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its finest hopes", and added, "Ditto". [44] She also thanked her "Auntie Ruby" and "Uncle Ossie" for their love and support, especially at times when her family had been shunned by others. [45]
Shabazz spoke at the funeral of Coretta Scott King in February 2006. She told of the special bond her mother had shared with King and Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers, and the closeness she felt with the King family, especially Yolanda. Shabazz also told how she and Coretta Scott King had kept up regular phone calls after her mother's death, and how King sent a card and a gift to her and her sisters on each of their birthdays, even after she had suffered a stroke. [46] [47]
In June 2016, Shabazz spoke at the funeral of boxer and activist Muhammad Ali. Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, had been inspired by her father to join the Nation of Islam and the two men became very close—Clay paid for Malcolm X to bring his family to Miami Beach for his 1964 championship fight against Sonny Liston, which Malcolm X watched from a ringside seat—but Clay severed all ties with him when Malcolm X left the Nation. [48] Ali later left the Nation himself and, like Malcolm X, became a Sunni Muslim; many years later, he wrote: "Turning my back on Malcolm was one of the mistakes that I regret most in my life." [49] Ali reconciled with Shabazz during production of the 2001 film Ali , on which she served as a consultant. [50] At his funeral, Shabazz said that having Ali in her life "somehow sustained my dad's breath for me just a little while longer—51 years longer—until now." [51]
Shabazz guards her privacy. In interviews, she generally declines to answer questions about her age, where she lives, and her marital or family status. Shabazz became an honorary member with five others of Delta Sigma Theta sorority on November 20, 2021, at the 55th National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. [2] [12] : 2 [52] [53]
People have to understand the autobiography was written at a time when indeed African Americans were likening themselves to warriors to underscore our revolutionary fervor. And Attallah was close to Attila the Hun, the warrior. But I'm named Attallah, which in Arabic means 'Gift of God.' I've never been Attila.
Attallah Shabazz | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | November 16, 1958
Education | Briarcliff College |
Parent(s) | Malcolm X Betty Shabazz |
Ambassador-at-large of Belize | |
Assumed office 2002 | |
Prime Minister | Said Musa Dean Barrow Johnny Briceño |
Preceded by | Position established |
Attallah Shabazz (born November 16,1958) is an American actress,author,diplomat,and motivational speaker,and the eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz.
Shabazz was born in Brooklyn,New York,on November 16,1958. Shabazz says her name is Arabic for "the gift of God" (Arabic :عَطَاءالله, romanized: `Aṭā'allāh ) and she is not named after Attila the Hun as her father's autobiography states. [1] [2] [3]
In February 1965,her sister Qubilah woke the family in the middle of the night with her screams;the house was on fire. [4] Shabazz recalled that night in a 1989 interview:"I almost didn't realize how dangerous it was—my father was that calm,that together a parent. My eyes were burning,I was coughing,but before you knew it,he had us all out of there,and we were safe at a friend's house. My mother's like that too. Together." [1]
A week later,Shabazz was at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom,with her mother and sisters,when her father was assassinated. [5] She was six at the time and reportedly the only one of his children who has clear memories of him. [6] In 2005,she told journalist Gabe Pressman that she remembered the events of that day "vividly": [7]
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Malcolm X was an African American revolutionary, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1965. A spokesman for the Nation of Islam (NOI) until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the African American community. A controversial figure accused of preaching violence, Malcolm X is also a widely celebrated figure within African American and Muslim communities for his pursuit of racial justice.
Louis Farrakhan is an American religious leader who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black nationalist organization. Farrakhan is notable for his leadership of the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, D.C., and for his rhetoric that has been widely denounced as antisemitic and racist.
Qubilah Bahiyah Shabazz is the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. In 1965, she witnessed the assassination of her father by three gunmen. She was arrested in 1995 in connection with an alleged plot to kill Louis Farrakhan, by then the leader of the Nation of Islam who she believed was responsible for the assassination of her father. She has maintained her innocence. She accepted a plea agreement under which she was required to undergo psychological counseling and treatment for her substance use disorders to avoid a prison sentence.
Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she was a leader for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. King was also a singer who often incorporated music into her civil rights work. King met her husband while attending graduate school in Boston. They both became increasingly active in the American civil rights movement.
Betty Shabazz, also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was married to Malcolm X.
Malcolm Latif Shabazz was the grandson of civil rights activists Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, through their daughter, Qubilah Shabazz. Shabazz made headlines for multiple arrests during his life, including setting a fire that killed his grandmother, Betty. He was murdered in Mexico on May 9, 2013, at the age of 28.
Bernice Albertine King is an American inactive lawyer, minister, and the youngest child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was five years old when her father died in 1968. In her adolescence, King chose to work towards becoming a minister after having a breakdown from watching a documentary about her father. King was 17 when she was invited to speak at the United Nations. Twenty years after her father was assassinated, she preached her trial sermon, inspired by her parents' activism.
The Hayer affidavits are two affidavits made by Talmadge Hayer—also known by the name Thomas Hagan—the convicted assassin of Malcolm X. The statements give Hayer's account of his involvement in the planning and execution of the murder.
Yolanda Denise King was an activist for African-American rights and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, who pursued artistic and entertainment endeavors and public speaking. Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public activism.
Ilyasah Shabazz is an American author, community organizer, social activist, and motivational speaker. She is the third daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, and wrote a memoir titled Growing Up X.
Moneta J. Sleet Jr. was an American press photographer best known for his work as a staff photographer for Ebony magazine. In 1969 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his photograph of Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, at her husband's funeral. Sleet was the first African-American man to win the Pulitzer, and the first African American to win the award for journalism. He died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 70.
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention is a biography of Malcolm X written by American historian Manning Marable. It won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for History.
Growing Up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X is a 2002 book by Ilyasah Shabazz, the third daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. Shabazz wrote the book with Kim McLarin.
Malcolm X, also known as Malcolm X: His Own Story As It Really Happened, is a 1972 American documentary film directed by Arnold Perl. It is based on the 1965 book The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, also called the Shabazz Center, is a memorial to Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz located at 3940 Broadway and West 165th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The building which once housed the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965. It opened on May 19, 2005, the 80th anniversary of Malcolm X's birth.
Russell John Rickford is an American scholar and activist who is an associate professor in the History Department at Cornell University. He has written the only in-depth biography on Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X.
Betty & Coretta is a 2013 American drama film directed by Yves Simoneau and written by Shem Bitterman and Ron Hutchinson. The film stars Mary J. Blige, Angela Bassett, Gloria Reuben, Malik Yoba, Tyler Hynes and Benz Antoine. The film premiered on Lifetime on February 2, 2013.
Muhammad Ali was initially raised as a Baptist before his high-profile conversion to Islam. In the early 1960s, he began attending Nation of Islam Meetings. There, he met Malcolm X, who encouraged his involvement and became a highly influential mentor to Ali. Ali, who was named Cassius Clay after his father, first changed his name briefly to Cassius X and then finally to Muhammad Ali in 1964.
James Russell McGregor, also known as James 3X, James Shabazz, and Son of Thunder, was a leader of the Black Muslims and an associate of Malcolm X. Shabazz was a minister and spiritual leader of thousands of Muslims in Newark and Jersey City and had been a member of the Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims, for more than 30 years.
Malcolm X, an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement, was shot multiple times and died from his wounds in Manhattan, New York City on February 21, 1965, at age 39. While preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, Malcolm X was shot multiple times and killed. Three members of the Nation of Islam—Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Khalil Islam, and Thomas Hagan—were charged, tried, and convicted of the murder and given indeterminate life sentences, but in November 2021, Aziz and Islam were exonerated.