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Ilyasah Shabazz:
Malcolm X’s Daughter Says ‘We Must Know Our Heritage’
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The third daughter of the late civil rights activist Mal- colm X expressed a message of encouragement and unity at the annual Robert W. Saunders Foundation Gala on Saturday.
Ilyasah Shabazz, who was just 2-years-old when her father was assassinated 50 years ago at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, im- plored the audience gathered into the Ada T. Payne Com- munity Room to understand the importance of knowing the history of Africa and for African-Americans to em- brace their heritage.
“If we don’t know history in its entirety, then our edu- cation is incomplete,” she said. “Let us look to our an- cestors to understand our rich heritage.”
It was Malcolm X who “redefined the American Civil Rights Movement to in- clude a human rights agenda” and who com- manded African Americans to acknowledge their roots, Ms. Shabazz said.
“He taught us we were not Negroes, that we were African Americans from the African continent,” she said.
Ms. Shabazz had a spe- cific message for young peo- ple, telling them to “invest in yourselves by any means necessary with a quality edu- cation.”
“You, too, are building a legacy of your own,” she said. “You, too, will set an example for future generations of jus- tice-seekers.”
The gala – held in part- nership with the Greater Tampa Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. - was one in a series of events sur- rounding Ms. Shabazz’s appearance in Tampa. Ear- lier Saturday, Ms. Shabazz held a press conference and read to 5th and 6th grades from her book, “Malcolm Lit-
ILYASAH SHABAZZ
raised her and her five sisters “proud to be of the African disaspora, proud to be a woman, and proud to be a Muslim.”
Ms. Shabazz , said as a child, she watched her mother participate in human rights activities, including the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
Ms. Shabazz recalled Mrs. Shabazz’s remarkable strength and tenacity in the time before and after Mal- colm X’s death, saying that the week before he was killed, someone threw a Molotov cocktail in the nurs- ery of the family’s home.
After Malcolm X died, Mrs. Shabazz obtained a doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts while raising her daughters alone.
Ms. Shabazz said she has often wondered how her mother was able to overcome the difficulties in her life and dedicate herself to giving back to others.
One thing is certain: Mrs. Shabazz never ac- cepted “no” or “I can’t” as an answer for herself, Ms. Shabazz said.
“Sister Betty was very clear that if she didn’t rise to the occasion, she wasn’t going to wait for someone else to do things for her,” she said.
Ms. Shabazz encour- aged the audience to take charge of guiding young peo- ple in the right direction.
“We must subscribe to the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child,” she said. “We need both men and women in the equation to raise our children.”
tle: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X.”
The Foundation will use the money raised from the gala to help the library with the purchase of equipment and to sponsor other initia- tives.
Among those initiatives includes bringing in speakers like Ms. Shabazz and host- ing quality events and activi- ties, especially for young people, said Dallas Norton Griffin, president of Tampa’s Jack and Jill chap- ter.
“It’s important for us to provide programming in the community for the children,” she said.
In her speech, Ms. Shabazz – who is a Jack and Jill alumna – talked about her parents, who she said not only fought for civil rights for African Americans in the United States, but also played major roles on the global stage in the fight for human rights.
When Malcolm X began his career in his early 20s as a black nationalist and civil rights activist in the 1950s, “the climate of our nation was hostile to African Amer- icans,” Ms. Shabazz said.
But Malcolm X did not let those conditions deter him from his mission, she said.
“Malcolm X stood up to lead us forward to an egali- tarian future,” she said. “My father’s power jolted the complacency of our nation.”
After her father’s death, Ms. Shabazz said her mother, Betty Shabazz,
PAGE 8 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2015