Page 31 - DIVA_3_2009

Interview with Dowoti Desir

Executive Director of the

Malcolm X and Dr Betty Shabazz
Memorial and Educational Center, New York

Q: You are the Executive
women took up their work, tlie coininuiiity were enraged There are segments of the com-
Director of the Shabazz tlieir visions and kept their voi- by tlffs move because they wa+y- munity here of Afi'ican descent
Centre. Could you tell us ces goiiig. ted to save the building. There who do not necessai'ily recogni-
how it started and what it
was a peculiar mix of people ze themselves as such. Because
dOeS? Dr Shabazz was also an educa- who I believe would not, in tliese identities are tuacertauq,
tor. What land of methodology other circui'nstances, have cros- they create confusion and
The centre was actually foun- sed
did slie use? She would adopt patlis. So you had the coifflict in the overall comtnu-
ded by Dr Betty Shabazz, strongpositionsandwasdai'ing Clianel-suited ladies working nity ofAfrican descent. How do
Malcohn X's widow, in the iix some ways. She founded a with the new Black Panther you reconcile ai'id build coali-
inid-1990s. She was looking scl'iool for teenage mothers at a paities to save tlffs building! tions whose identities are com-
for an institution that worild be
tiine was veiy Ou -eCOnOllllCi
a world-class space extending
axid embai'rassiiig (as to sotrie that! It was a tremendous sour- traditional, etc. Now, tlus is not
On her husband's legacy. extent it still is today) for young ce of inspiration for Dr tlie place to say to our
Unfortunately, she was unable women who were pregnant, Shabazz, who said "l had better Doininicari brothers arid sisters,
to realize tliat objective becarise
still ii'i school aiid tuunai'i'ied. It take tliis pain and make it popu- "you are of African descent.
sl'ie was killed in a fire in 1997. Jar". She transfomied
often happened that these this place You must maintaiii it and assu-
However, with the perseveraxx-
youi'ig women would drop out because tliat was part of what me responsibility for it". We
ce and the yision of her daugh-
of lgh scliool aiid thus fail to lier husband had wanted, and cai'inot do that. What we can do
ters and a couple of institutional complete their education. Dr certainly what the metribers of is to create a foruin where this
partners, we were able to pick Shabbaz created an environ- the comminity warited. issue can be discussed safely
up wliere she left off. ment which was safe, where and to include perspechves
Eventually, we receiyed our
tliere was learimig and suppoit. So tliere was a figlit with from tlie Dominicans who feel
not-for-profit status in 2005. It is called the YMED educa- Columbia Uniyersity! The that "yes, we are ofAfi'ican des-
We were able to raise some tion centre. Tliis is an iiripoitant comproinise was not to tear cent", and "yes, there is discri-
funds for the centre that allo-
part of her legacy. down the whole building down, inination on our island, and we
wed us to spend the fu'st year big
but to consei've 40% of it and that disci'iinination with
tlg tlu:ougli what we were
I have to tell you that the buil- maiiitain the fagade so that the us to the United States. We are
going to do. We liad sotne ding where the enter is housed bio-technology centre-next of mixed descent. We are just
general ideas, but nothing spe- door-appears
did not just appear out of thin to be aii integral people of the world." We are
cific on what kiiid of conferen-
gir, Tlie Audubon Ballrootri pait of this site. looking into these issues.
ces we inight hold and what was built iii 1912 and is a
aspects of the Malcohn X lega-
iinique piece of architecture. It So the Sliabazz Center is Towards the end of his life,
cy we wanted to pursue-ai'id ruiis a full city block. The outsi- actually iii tlie origiiial 40% of Brother Malcohn X went to
tlien how to tell Dr Shabazz's
de is covered iii iiicredible tile the old buildiiig. Tliis is where Cuba and spent a lot of tizne in
story. It is always easier to tell
work. It is a significant monu- Malcohri X fell wlien he was the Caribbean. Therefore, this

someone's life stoiy if it has
ment with its own interesting assassinated. For this reason, issuewouldhavecotneup.Asa
beenwidelypublishedandwell lustoiy,becausetherewerealot we are not oiily an institution Living metnorial, we are hytng
documented. In the case of of famous actors, actresses, and a non-profit ceni'e, but also to think about what would he
Malcohn X, we also have the
musicians and peifoimers who a place of collective conscious- say from his point of view?
adyantage of history-several
liave appearedhere sii'ice 1912. ness-a memoi'ial.
decades of looking back and
We create a space where tl'ffls
analysing things have kept lffs
Of course, it is perliaps best The Board of Directors atyd I do kind of discussion can be held.
visionsandhisnamealive.But, known as the place where not want a memorial that is This has largely benefited the
in the case of Betty Shabazz, it Malcohn X was assassiiiated. focused on the past. We want Dominican cominunity,
has been quite a cliallenge for
l told you earlier that Dr this to be a living memot'ial, so although it was originally inten-
the Center to catch up with lier
8pabazz was looking for a we asked ourselves what were ded for a wider public. I have
alld iO determUne Whaj She haS the issues that
plB(,(H ypBl(5 5p(; (z@llld pl55(;11j Malcolm x had Afro-Americans who have
done. Who was tis woman?
11@r husband's legacy, but she would have been dealing with asked me: "Why do you bave
What did slie do? There are tlus kind of discussion for the
did not really waiit to do it here. if he was still with us. What
quite a few women-like She liad had enough of tls would Dr Shabazz, who was Domiicans here?" Tliere is
Winnie Mandela, Movie place (as you could iinagine), goiiig to be the director of the now a huge problem between
Eveits, Coretta Scott King and Center, have progra+nmed?
but then slie saw liow much the the Dominicans and the
nurnerousotherpowerfulfema- coinmunitywasangeredbythe Wasmigton Heights in New Haitians.
le leaders-whose husbands idea of Columbia Utfflversity York City is a largely
have done much work that has Dominicaii I'm Haitian-Ainerican,
teming tlie building down in coimxiunity, while bot'n
been recognized. And after order to build a bio-teclmology one of Malcohri X's main and raised in Haiti, so I have a
tlieir passing, their voices were concein was pan-Africaiffsm.
centre. All kinds of people in special interest in this matter.
quieted. Tlierefore, tlieir So how do you reconcile that? How worild Malcolm have
3 2009 Diva 29
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