Malcolm_Shabazz

Hello Readers,

I guess most of you have heard of the untimely death of Malcolm X’s grandson-Malcolm Shabazz.

When I first saw this image of him as an adult, I was immediately struck by how much he resembled his famous grandfather.

Then, I recounted the similarities and trajectories of their lives.

Civil rights icon Malcolm X -born Malcolm Little- faced challenges in his early years.

Being the son of a Black Garveyite activist, Malcolm had the seeds of a Black Nationalist consciousness.

But, because of the virulent racism that permeated American culture at that time, Malcolm’s father was afforded very little opportunities to effectively spread his message to the African American masses.

As a result of his fiery determination to imbue Blacks at that time with a sense of dignity, his father was viciously murdered.

Thus, Malcolm descended down a path of lawlessness.

Fortunately for Malcolm, the penal system that he eventually faced was more of a rehabilitative measure than one designed to crush the human spirit.

As a result, the new and reformed Malcolm emerged to put the world on notice, that the racist practices of America and her imperialist allies would be challenged.

As a tragic consequence, Malcolm- that brave and gallant champion- paid dearly with his life!!!!!!

The seeds that Malcolm planted…..

Betty, Malcolm’s indomitable widow, cemented his legacy by raising his beautiful daughters with self-sacrifice and courage.

Unfortunately for Betty and for Malcolm, because of the strong grip of racism, the damage to this humble but proud family was done.

Imagine readers what it must have been like for Malcolm’s very young daughters to see their father gunned down?

Although they were young, I am sure these early violent memories which could never be repressed because of the power of the American mass media, continued to impact their lives in very significant ways.

Qubilah……

Maybe because she witnessed her father’s violent murder, Qubilah was truly a little girl lost.

If her father had lived, who knows the heights she might have ascended.

Here is a girl who had the smarts to be accepted and attend Princeton and the Sorbonne in Paris.

Qubilah honored her late father in the most awesome way…

She gave birth to a son and named him after her iconic father-Malcolm Shabazz.

According to young Malcolm, his early life paralleled his late grandfather’s.

Due to his mother’s instability, Malcolm Jr. unfortunately did not have the tools to live a productive adulthood.

When I read his interview with News One I was shocked.

I thought, how could this happen?

How in the world could Malcolm X’s grandson become a juvenile delinquent?

Honestly, I blamed his grandmother Betty.

It seems she did a heroic job of raising Malcolm’s daughters.

Although her second oldest daughter had a tenuous hold on reality, Betty (who had accomplished so much since Malcolm’s death) seemed to fail somehow when I read that he lived a barbarous existence with his mother!!!

According to the interview, he lived a vagabond existence while being shuttled around from one bad environment to another.

Shocking!!!!

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces when I read his story.

After his grandmother’s death, the media had painted him as a demonic truant.

In the true tradition of his grandfather, Malcolm Jr. descended down a path of lawlessness.

But, unlike Malcolm Sr., the penal system that Malcolm Jr. entered was very different from the one his granddad faced.

Instead of rehabilitation, the judicial system tried to accomplish its mission of breaking Jr.’s revolutionary spirit!!!!!

While I know that some of you may blame his mother -whose job it was to raise her son-keep in mind that she was raising a son without a father!!!!

Betty raised six daughters.

While children need both parents to be healthy and whole adults, it is still easier in our society for women raising daughters than women raising men…

Also, Betty had family and strong community support in raising her daughters.

After Malcolm’s assassination, the African American community still held the village mentality and felt that as an entity, we should take care of our own.

Today, we have adopted the American ethos of the individual-the community be damned!!!!

Instead of viewing Malcolm Jr.’s death as a tragedy, I see it as God’s divine intervention.

Now a troubled life can finally be at peace and he is reunited with his grandmother and can now be united with his grandfather.

Malcolm X now has the son that he always wanted.

Now Malcolm can have the chance to shape a true warrior in his image!!!

Thank you readers for allowing me this chance to rant.

Until next time….

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