Category: Malcolm X

Crime, Malcolm X, Tragedy

Malcolm Shabazz, Grandson of Malcolm X, Dies

The ReadyWriter

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Malcolm Shabazz, the troubled grandson of civil rights icon Malcolm X, has been killed in Mexico, the U.S. Embassy there confirms.

The Amsterdam News reports that Shabazz, 28, was thrown off a rooftop after being shot during an attempted robbery on Thursday, May 9.

“I’m confirming, per U.S. Embassy, on behalf of family, the tragic death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X. Statement from family 2 come,” tweeted Shabazz family friend Terrie M. Williams on twitter earlier today.

Shabazz was the son of Qubilah Shabazz, the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. He was 12 years old in 1997 when he torched Betty Shabazz’s New York apartment, killing her.

Shabazz pled guilty to arson and was sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile detention center. Shabazz’s sentence was extended due to discipline problems and he was released four years later.

Shabazz later claimed he didn’t set the fire that killed his grandmother.

At the time of his death Shabazz was studying Criminal Justice at John Jay College in New York. It isn’t known why Shabazz was in Mexico. He leaves behind 2 daughters.

Black History, Blog talk radio, CEO's Blog, Conversations Of A Sistah, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, President Obama

Black Men In History Tonight on “Conversations Of A Sistah”

The ReadyWriter

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There was Marcus Garvey and Frederick Douglas. Garvey a Jamaican political leader, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements. Douglas, an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman who was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant, famously quoted as saying, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”

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And then there was Malcolm X, an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. Detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African-Americans in history.

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At the same time there was Martin Luther King, Jr. an American clergyman, activist, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolence and civil disobedience. King has become a national icon in the history of American progressivism. On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.

Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama-2These are great African-American men of history who’ve paved the way for the first African-American president of the United States. Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African-American to hold the office. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review.

Join me this Wednesday February 20, 2013 at 8:00 P.M. on “Conversations Of A Sistah” on “Conversations Live” as I expound on these great men in history.

To add your two cents to the show, sound off here or send us your questions and comments at conversationsofasistah@readywriterproductioncompany.com

Follow the link right here, to join me on the air!

Angela Bassett, Betty and Coretta, Black History, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Mary J. Blige, Movie News, New Movie Release

Betty & Coretta Premieres Feb. 2 on Lifetime

The ReadyWriter

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With Black History month approaching, Lifetime television have rolled out their movie premiers for the month. Angela Bassett will star as Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow Coretta Scott King, who expanded his message of nonviolence and equality to a global audience until her death in 2006, in a Lifetime movie which will premiere on February 2nd.

To kick off black history month, Bassett stars as Mrs. King opposite singer Mary J. Blige as Dr. Betty Shabazz in the Lifetime original movie Betty and Coretta.

The film tells the converging stories of two very different young women united by a commitment to social justice and their struggle to raise their children alone while forging legacies from those of their slain spouses. It’s an angle that the mom of two (with actor husband Courtney B. Vance) particularly appreciates.

Both women were equally significant in their own right.

Ruby Dee narrates the film, as the film opens up with her semi-fictional character commenting on President Obama’s 2011 dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Betty and Coretta premieres Feb. 2 at 8/7 CT on Lifetime.