Rooh's True Tales: My first impression with Malcolm X's grandson

Rooh's True Tales: My first impression with Malcolm X's grandson

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 By Rooh-Allah Hasani

Rooh with Malcolm's X's grandson. - Photo by Reza Sheikh

When I exited the car after the two-hour trek from Stockton, my legs immediately cramped up and so I just casually leaned against my dad’s ’88 Chevy Astro (he loves that car). As I awkwardly stood against the car, something fell down in front of me; I thought the world was coming to an end.
So I look up and I noticed a little tree house, some lady had managed to build a fort and was living in it for the Occupy Oakland protest. She looked down at me and yells, “Hey you there! Throw that back up here.” Cramped as I was, I leaned down with one leg in the air. I picked the thing up which turned out to be some sort of toy and threw it up there. I think I hit her in the head, but I just walked away right as soon as I heard a *thud*.
  I entered the little plaza and sat down next to my friend, Reza. There were a couple of speeches by people and then I saw him. He was wearing black and I thought to myself, “I’m wearing black, he must have good fashion taste!” He walked up to the little stage and spoke for an hour. It sounded like he never rehearsed it first, as if it was free flowing out of his mind, kind of sloppy but he got his point through, about how the government is some sort of conspiracy theory. It was pretty awkward for the cops and the mayor who were sitting there and watching.
After his speech, we marched around Oakland, which was a couple of hours and we walked like 5 miles. Malcolm Shabazz was in the very back and so I tried going up to him and talking to him but a bunch of Muslim ‘brothers’ surrounded him. I really wanted a picture with him, so one day I could show my kids and tell them of my celebrity status. Just kidding, but in all seriousness it would be pretty cool to have one with Malcolm X’s grandson.
  After the march, I finally took my friend Reza and went to Malcolm Shabazz. Reza told me to go talk to him first and I was like, “It’s not as easy as you think it is.” So I contemplated a plan where I would take the easy way out and would go stand next to him and my friend would take a quick snapshot and I would walk away, Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible style, discreetly. My friend said, "Just go up to him and ask him about his grandfather and then casually ask for a photo," but I didn’t listen. I walked up to him while he was talking to a group of people and just stood next to him.
  He looked at me and my body reflexed and I gave him a wink. I don’t know how he took that. I felt embarrassed but that did not stop me from my mission. My friend took his phone out and I gave an awkward smile, and right then, the flash went off. The plan had failed, he was onto me. I just looked away as if I never noticed my friend. Malcolm turned to me and said, “As-Salaam Aleikum, Brother,” (which means hello in Arabic), I look at him and reply, “Was-Salaam.” This is when I activate plan B, which I never wanted originally, but it was necessary to make the situation not awkward.
  I said my hellos and then asked him how his life was going (as if I was his long lost friend) and something about his grandfather. It was a nice little conversation and soon after it was time to go. I ask him, “Hey wait, can I get a quick photo” and he replied, “It’s going on Facebook, huh?” I give an awkward smirk and say, “Maybe…” He replied, “Make sure you tag me.” I give him a nod and say, “Oh yeah, for sure!” So I got up and stood next to him. He put up one finger, just like what his grandfather used to do and my friend looked at me and says, “Put a finger up!” I slowly put a finger up.
My friend took a quick snapshot and I said, “Thank you!” I give him a handshake and he started to walk away. I grabbed my friend’s phone and looked at the picture. The picture was horrible, so out of a sudden rush of adrenaline, I ran back up to Malcolm Shabazz and grabbed his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry but the photo makes me look like a pregnant mother of two, so can I get another one with you?” He shrugged and said, “Yes, that’s fine.” My friend took another shot and this time I had my eyes closed. It was hopeless. So I just said, “Thanks again.” He walked away and I end up putting up the pregnant looking photo on Facebook and on this article.
  So yeah, getting back to the point of this story. First impressions are important and most times being yourself can make other people comfortable talking to you. I was being myself with him and he seemed fine with it but I guess I’ll never know unless I ask him about it. I actually got his number, too, but I won’t be calling him or texting him anytime soon! Overall, be yourself around people, it is easier in the long run. If it is for some interview, you better be the best that you can be. That’s the only exception!

Malcolm X relative speaks at Ryerson Marwa Hamad Ryersonian Staff

Malcolm Shabazz talks to Ryerson students during Black History Month.

Marwa Hamad

Malcom X’s grandson spoke at Ryerson Thursday evening about what he called two of the most controversial topics — politics and religion.

Malcolm Shabazz, 28, is the first male descendent of Muslim civil and human rights activist Malcolm X. He has travelled the world to spread a message he shares with his grandfather “the importance of education & unity.”

His talk was a part of the Students Against Racism event called Freedom Dialogues.

Shabazz said that education does not just mean textbooks and traditional schooling, but rather anything that raises awareness, including spoken word, poetry and art.

“Most often, we aren’t aware of our own oppression,” Shabazz said of marginalized communities. “Today, brothers and sisters walk around as slaves, but they think they’re free.”

Shabazz was critical of the Occupy Wall Street movement that swept the world. He said that protesters were “sitting down” when they should have done more to bring change. He stressed the importance of using all the tools and technologies that are at protesters’ disposal to make a difference.

When he was the age of most students in his audience, Shabazz spent six years in prison, where he said he came across the most intelligent men he had ever met. “I knew why they were there. They were threats. Not threats in a dangerous way, but threats to the status quo.”

Shabazz said Ryerson students shouldn’t strive to recreate leaders from the past — like his grandfather or Martin Luther King — but instead create new voices of resistance.

“Everything we liked about our previous leaders is a mirror-reflection of something we possess within ourselves.”

Malcolm X’s grandson: The Hajj journey changed me a lot

Two personalities at a focal point – the journey to perform Hajj formed the common denominator between them and contributed in their entering a phase of intellectual soul-searching and self-criticism that led to changing misconceptions that were embedded in their minds for a long time.

Here, the two personalities – of Malcolm X, the grandfather and Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson – converge.
The grandfather returned from the Hajj journey to his place of birth with new ideas that eliminated misconceptions of Islam he had learned during his early years. His grandson, too, corrected some misconceptions he had about Islam, which were instilled by extremist groups.

It is actually a new phase, as described by Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of the legendary Malcolm X and the son of his 2nd eldest daughter. It started when he saw the Holy Ka’ba, with his own eyes, standing tall, with worshippers circumambulating it.

  The Hajj journey was a turning point in his life.  “That journey was so beautiful that I’ll never forget it,” he said. “It encouraged me to carry out the acts of worship with a present soul and heart to participate with my Muslim brethren in the Hajj rituals.”

  Being there provided profound insights and experiences he did not get from afar.
  “I found the circumambulation of the Holy Ka’ba different from what I used to see on TV, for I realized there was a kind of hardship in carrying it out, but it only increased my love for this rite,” he said.
Shabazz described his feelings when he saw the Holy Ka’ba for the first time. “I felt something move inside my chest and I felt I was born once again and the stories I read about the Ka’ba were scattered before my eyes,” he recounted.
“I had a mixed feeling and I was in a state of great astonishment. I couldn’t restrain my tears before that awesome scene.”

  This scene reminded him of things in the past, some of which were frightening. He recalled his grandfather, who circumambulated the same Ka’ba in 1974.
Shabazz has memories from his trip of visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina, a number of historical places and an outing to the desert, where he drank camel milk and of meeting prominent people who extended great kindness and wisdom.

  When he met Sheikh Saleh Al-Hussayen, general president for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, he was eager to listen to his advice, which was conveyed to him in English. He could not hold back his tears when Sheikh Al-Hussayen told him he had read most of the books written about his grandfather.

“I’ll never forget the advice Sheikh Saleh gave me when he urged me to follow my grandfather’s footsteps,” he said.
“Also, Dr. Abdullah Bin Biyyah, vice president of the International Federation of Muslim Ulama, advised me to follow the example of my grandfather and read about religion in particular and other subjects.”

Shabazz was astonished when Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil presented him with a rare, old copy of the Holy Qur’an and called on him to work hard to unify the ranks of Muslims in America.

  Looking further back, Shabazz said he was sure his grandfather was murdered by a group from the Nation of Islam, which he described as a deviant group, and denied that this is merely a theory being circulated by people who have not studied the matter.

Shabazz is following in his grandfather’s footsteps by helping people through his efforts as a human-rights activist and as an active member of a number of human-rights societies. He also gives lectures at American universities his grandfather used to visit.

These lectures are attended by large audiences, especially youths who have not been able to continue their studies and those whose conduct and practices are misguided, he said.
  Shabazz said he maintains good relationships with the sons of the late civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968, three years after Malcolm X was assassinated.

He said those relationships were built on cooperation and that the men encourage him and express optimism that he will be like his grandfather.
  He always tells them that he is at the beginning of the road.

NewsOne ReIssue: Malcolm X’s Grandson Breaks Silence!

Jun 12, 2012

261

By Aliya S. King 

INTRODUCTION

His grandmother, Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, was killed in a fire he started 11 years ago. He was 12 years old. He had been shuttled in and out of correctional institutions until his release from Attica Prison in February 2007. Now MALCOLM SHABAZZ, 24, is on a mission: to clear his name, stay out of jail and rise from the ashes of his past.
During the course of a long-standing exclusive correspondence with Aliya S. King for NewsOne and GIANT magazine, Malcolm spoke candidly and introspectively about a checkered childhood, an unstable family life, and the burden of being the sole male heir to an icon whose life and legacy have transformed millions of lives.
The following are woven excerpts from hours of conversation with Shabazz:
People often describe me as troubled. I’m not going to say that I’m not. But I’m not crazy. I have troubles. A lot of us do. But you need to understand where I’m coming from and why I am the way I am. Considering what I’ve been through, it’s a miracle that I’ve been able to hold it together. I’m just trying to find my way. [I’ve read newspaper stories about me that] say, “Experts testify [that boy] is psychotic.” The way they describe me is wrong — bi-polar, depression, pyro, whatever. I know I’m not at all. Some of the things I’ve been through, the average person would have cracked.
All my life, I’ve had [moments where] I’ve lived in the lap of luxury in the Trump Towers and not wanted for a single thing. And the very next day I’m [living in] a slum in a gang-infested Philly neighborhood, eating fried dough three times a day. One minute, I’m in a situation with structure and discipline. The next minute I’m running the streets with no supervision at all. One of my aunts has a friend who is very devoted to his children. I was hanging out with them one day and all he talked about was [their] schedule and sports and taking his kids here and there. I wish I had that. I wish I had someone whose purpose in life was to take care of me. That’s how white people do it. They plan for [their] kids. We don’t. That’s cause we don’t plan our kids. I wasn’t planned.
Malcolm Lateef Shabazz was born in Paris, France in 1984. His mother is Qubilah Shabazz, the second of Malcolm X’s six daughters. She was only four years old when her father was killed right in front of her at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. According to her son, Qubilah grew up loving nature and being by herself. When she was still a young girl, she chose to become a Quaker. She later attended Princeton University, but left before graduating. As she told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in a 1995 interview: “I was under a lot of social pressure, largely due to who I was. I did not fit the view of who I was supposed to be. I didn’t arrive on campus with combat boots and a beret, and I didn’t speak Swahili.” After leaving Princeton, Qubilah traveled to Paris, where she began studying at the Sorbonne. It was here that she met Malcolm’s father, an Algerian. To this day, her son says he has never met his biological father.
I am [my grandfather’s] first male heir, his first grandson. [I’ve read and been told that] he always wanted a son. No boys in the Shabazz family until me. I used to think [Malcolm X] was my father. My mother told me that. I would ask and she would show me pictures of her father and tell me it was my father. I can’t talk to her about him. Nothing in-depth. She acts like she doesn’t know about him. She was there. She was four years old and sitting right there [when he was killed]. I don’t think she’s ever recovered from that.

CHILDHOOD

Qubilah left Paris when Malcolm was still very young and moved back to the U.S. He remembers them moving around a lot, living in such places as Los Angeles and Brooklyn. His mother reportedly took odd jobs at places like Denny’s to earn enough to get by.
How do you [fill out an application at] Denny’s and put down Princeton and the Sorbonne as your education? I felt like she was better than that. And I didn’t like seeing [her work those kinds of jobs.] When I was 3 or 4, we lived in California. I used to run away from home. My mother drank and she would be asleep and I would be unsupervised. [According to various news reports, Qubilah Shabazz has had issues with alcohol and mental illness in the past.] I was very adventurous [so] I would walk up [and down] the street. It would end with the police bringing me home. One day I walked to my day care center [which was] miles away. One day I got on the bus and just hung out away from home and no one said a word. Whole day goes by before anyone stopped me. [My mom] loves me. I’m sure of that. Everyone is not meant to be a parent. She didn’t hug me. She’s just not that kind of person. It used to make me upset and angry [when I was younger].
After California, Malcolm moved to Philadelphia where he lived with his great-grandmother, Madeline Sandlin, the stepmother of his grandmother Betty Shabazz.
She’s a very strong woman. Native American—very strong and stern and strict. She [lived] in North Philly. [Her neighborhood] was so rough. It was so bad, I couldn’t go outside [and] play. It was like being behind bars. I started school at [a private school outside of Philadelphia]. I went to kindergarten and first grade. These kids were rich. [The bus] wouldn’t go to my house. [It] would go to the corner. [The kids] would say, “You live here?” This [white] girl called me a nigger [one time on the school bus]. I didn’t even know what it meant. I [just] knew it was something bad. I wanted to be white. They seemed happy, like they had everything they needed. White was equal to happy and rich. And black [was] just the opposite.
My aunt Attallah was visiting [in Philly] one day. I was looking at a magazine and [there was a picture] of a white boy in a suit. [I took the magazine to my aunt] and I said “I wish I was white like this white boy right here.” She said, “Why would you say that?”
My great-grandmother couldn’t take care of me forever. I ended up in [upstate] New York living with my teacher for second grade [at the school I was enrolled in]. I liked her–I was calling her “Mom.” She had a 16-year-old daughter. I had a pet hamster [and] a bike. I [was] on the Little League team, I [went to] church every Sunday. I had a crush on a white girl named Heidi. I had stability, something I never had before and I liked it a lot. I was the only black kid in the entire school but [I had] a lot of kids to play with. [My aunt] came to pick me up for the summer and I think she didn’t like [the situation]. I was happy and taken care of, but I don’t think she liked it. She [took me] for the summer [and] as it got closer to September I [kept] asking [if I was going back to Kingston]. She kept saying yeah, but I never went back.

ADOLESCENCE

As Malcolm tells it, he led a nomadic childhood, living at different times with his mother, his grandmother and his aunts.
I was always happiest around my aunt Ilyasah. She always smelled good. I loved staying at her house because she’d always have a tidy home. I loved being with her. She was always funny. One day we were on [an] elevator and I was about to throw up. She cupped her hands up to my mouth like she was going to catch it. When we got off the elevator, I threw up everywhere, all over the floor, all over her hands, but she kept her hands there. That gesture showed how much she felt about me. [It] made an impression on me. I said back then [that] if I ever had a daughter, I would name her after Ilyasah.
[As for] my grandmother, I never saw her relax. She was speaking at colleges [and] going overseas. On vacation, she would take me to a hotel to swim and she would sit there with books and paper. I never saw anyone work that hard. That’s why I couldn’t live there full time. All [of] my aunts [also] worked a lot [so] I had to shuttle around. That was taught with school. My grades ended up being really poor even though the work was not hard. I wasn’t challenged and the teachers couldn’t make the connection because I was all over the place.
I started driving when I was 9. I would watch my aunt [Check with writer to determine which aunt] and memorize [each step]. One day, early in the morning I took [her] keys. I had difficulty starting [the car] at first, [but] I drove to school [and] parked [and] went to school like it was nothing. My aunt found out and came to school. They didn’t even believe her, but it was true. My mother put me in a mental institution after that. She was really angry. I didn’t belong there. I wasn’t crazy. I had done something wrong and needed discipline. But not [being sent] to a hospital.
[At the hospital] they start asking me all these questions. [Stuff like] Do you hear voices? I was into Marvel comic books at the time. There were two characters I liked, Mister Sinister [from the X-Men] and the Human Torch. [So] I was like, “Yeah, here’s my friend that told me to do it.” I just picked them out randomly and drew pictures of them. But I had no idea it would follow me that way it did. I was just making it all up. One time, my aunt came to visit me. She said “You know you don’t hear voices. You need to stop.” And I did. In my experiences, [the doctors] want to find something wrong with you. That’s how they get paid. When I [was in] jail, they said I was depressed and anti-social. I was in jail. I’m in solitary confinement. They gotta say something [is wrong with you].
 

PRESS TV INTERVIEW - Malcolm Shabazz On Murders of Black in the U.S.

Malcolm X’s grandson, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, says that Blacks are murdered with impunity in the United States because the system is unjust, Press TV reports. 

WATCH THE INTERVIEW 

In an exclusive interview with Press TV on Monday, Shabazz commented on the murder of Black teenager Trayvon Martin, saying, “There are hundreds of Black Americans who are being murdered in the United States every year with impunity. And police officers serve no time. They always get off.”

Shabazz said this occurs because there is institutionalized racism in the United States.

“The United States has more people incarcerated than anywhere else in the world. It has more people incarcerated than China, and China has the most people in the world,” he noted.

Shabazz stated that although a minority of the people of the United States are black, in prisons the majority of the people are black and Hispanic. “And in these institutions people are forced to work for pennies on a dollar.”

And according to the US Constitution, slavery has been abolished, except for people who are serving time in penal institutions, Shabazz noted.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said as long as there are upper, middle, and lower classes in the United States, slavery will exist.

Shabazz also asserted the US president is a puppet, and a small group of people control everything in the United States.

He went on to say, "My grandfather once equated revolution to a forest fire. And he stated that the goal of the revolution was that like a forest fire… that ravishes the forest completely. He said that is the goal of the revolution.”

“We should take down the system completely, and set up a new system of our own, which is more just,” he added.

If the system is not taken down completely, people of color will always remain on the bottom socioeconomic strata of the United States, he observed.

Commenting on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Shabazz said Muslims were not the culprits.

“Muslims didn't do 9/11. They had nothing to do with 9/11,” he stated.

He added, “If you make research you'll see everything that was utilized in 9/11 pointed back to the United States --- the flight training, the visas, the planes they used, everything came from the United States.

“Muslims cannot take such action against civilians. And anybody who would take such actions against civilians is not a Muslim.

“And the people who were involved in 9/11 were agents of the United States, the CIA or whatever other three letter organizations they have in this country.”

In an apparent reference to the concept of leaderless resistance, he said, “If I can't identify an essential leadership or a governing body, I have a problem with that.”

He also expressed doubt about the authenticity of the Occupy movement in the United States and uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.

“My grandfather once stated that you should never join a movement unless you are completely aware what that movement is about because a lot of the time we have outside forces that orchestrate those movements and get us to do things which we would not ordinarily do,” he stated. 

NEW VIDEO: American Spring: Malcolm Shabazz and Tim Baldauf-Lenschen Speak Truth to Power.flv

American Spring: 

Malcolm Shabazz and Tim Baldauf-Lenschen Speak Truth to Power.flv

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Return to Public Radio Airwaves

On Wednesday, March 6, 2012 - I, Malcolm Shabazz will return to the national airwaves of public radio, sharing my story of personal evolution in my own words. Listen by clicking here.