Just last Monday (13/2), I informally met Ilyasah Shabazz also known as Malcolm X’s third daughter. She is a published author, an activist like both her parents, a motivational speaker and a professor. As she approached the stage and got closer to the podium she stood with all her confidence. She spoke to our generation, she spoke to the senior, she spoke to the freshman. She told us about her experience as an undergraduate student and her experience speaking to other undergraduate students. At this point, I started to worry when was she going to share her experience as her memoir describes so well Growing up X. That’s what I was interested in. That’s what I valued in this talk. Nevertheless, she continued to describe the importance of education, compassion, truth and justice.
Then she connected it. She talked about her father and his work. She described how important it was for her mother to continue her father’s work, raise 6 girls, and most importantly finish her studies. That is why she is known as Dr. Debby Shabazz. After Malcom X’s death Dr. Debby Shabazz was left alone with young girls and twins on the way. She was helped by many activists at the time in order to get her a house where she could raise her children safely.
While raising her daughter, Dr. Debby Shabazz continued her studies through, that showed Ilyasah and her daughters the importance of being an educated black female. Ilyasah explained to us that education is good but it is only fruitful when it is inclusive. When it comes full circle. An education must be pan-cultural and must allow those learning to learn about different perspectives and question these perspectives. One of her examples was how Africa is placed within history—or the lack of placement of African history in world history. She goes on to describe the month of February as proof of this inequality in history due to the fact that there is a whole month dedicated to a certain group of people because of their lack of representation. In other words, an equal education would ‘shine light on truth and justice.’
Another point she wanted our generation to take away was compassion. She grew up in a Muslim household. One that was blessed with compassion from other activists after the passing of her father. In their home, her mother taught them self respect which came hand in hand with the obligation of helping others. She put it together in the most beautiful way—she said, “we are all each other’s bothers and sisters’ keeper”. Society has been built into such a structure that there is an emphasis on the need to be an individually unique. At the end of the day we are all interdependent of each other and we must look out for one another to ‘shine light on truth and justice’.
