Remember, "They will kill all the best of the captive nations..."
Community Liberation advocate Malcom Shabazz has been assassinated. The monopolist media reported that Malcom was killed over a $1200usd bill at a whore-house in Mexico, but Malcom is a devout Muslim, and the bar he was at was forcing Malcom to pay for other people's alcohol and prostitutes... a classic set-up to extort money from foreigners visiting Mexico. Malcom had been brought there by an acquaintance of a contact, and it was not the type of establishment Malcom would visit, but he was helpless in a foreign land whose language he did not speak...
Recently he was kidnapped at New York by Federal security agents and held without explanation, then released, as chronicled here: "Malcom-Latif Shabazz disappeared in New York" [northbayuprising.blogspot.com/2013/03/political-prisoner-malcom-latif-shabazz.html].
Malcom is respected by almost all communities. His legacy is as a uniter of the People, he is Muslim, he is New African, and his death is during a time of increased repression of the community liberation programs and organizers. He united the lumpenproletariat of many nations within an international network to help rebuild our communities. The renaissance of our so-called ghetto is being wiped of leadership, and the several security agencies who are directing operations are targeting the nations captive within the USA!
This archive shows the truth, using extracts from Malcom Shabazz's own Facebook page, including the comments to Malcom's postings, which show
witness to Malcom's character, and evidence for clandestine security agents tampering with his page.
The Northbay Uprising salutes the legacy of Malcom Shabazz, and welcomes it's continuance.
Video documentaries
Documentary about his murder from "Buzzsaw" productions (2013-05) [
link]
Report about the clandestine agencies responsible for the murder of Malcom Shabazz [
link]
The "One on One" interview with Jappan Motion Pictures (2012-07) [
link]
"American Spring: Malcolm Shabazz and Tim Baldauf-Lenschen Speak Truth to Power" (2013-04) [
link]
Email: mecka1084@gmail.com
Facebook: Hajj Malcolm el Shabazz
Twitter: Malcolm71084
Instagram: mecka1084
Malcolm Shabazz - In His Words [
malcolmshabazz.blogspot.com]
"Group protests, petitions keep demand truth about death of Malcolm X grandson"
2013-09-20 by Saeed Shabazz [
www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_100792.shtml]:
A members of an organization who defends the rights of naturalized and Afro-Mexicans march with an images of Malcolm Shabazz at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, Sunday, June 9, 2013. Malcolm Shabazz, 28, the grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico, on Thursday, May 9. Labor activist Miguel Suarez said he was with Shabazz when his friend was beaten up during a dispute over a bill at the Mexico City bar. Suarez says he later found Shabazz injured outside the bar and took him to a hospital where he died. Photo: A/P Wide World Photos
(FinalCall.com) - Activists in the U.S. and Mexico are still pushing for the truth about the death of the grandson of Malcolm X who was killed south of the U.S. border. Rev. Ed Pinkney, a member of the U.S.-based Malcolm Shabazz Committee for Truth and Justice Movement, plans to keep the pressure on. “My goal is to get the truth in front of the American people, and to let them know how serious this issue is,” Rev. Pinkney told The Final Call. “We want to get people across the nation involved in calling for an investigation into the death of Malcolm Latif Shabazz,” said the founder of the Michigan-based Black Autonomy Network Community Organization. Rev. Pinkney participated in protests at the Mexican embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Mexican consulate in Chicago. The most recent protest was on Sept. 6. The U.S. committee is working to hold weekly Friday demonstrations until Mexican authorities hold a complete investigation into young Malcolm’s brutal murder, Dr. Randy Short, who is also part of the U.S. committee, told The Final Call. Activists have also started a petition drive demanding that the U.S. State Dept. investigate the murder.
Activists want answers to questions about the May 9 murder of Mr. Shabazz, 28, the grandson of Nation of Islam Minister Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz. Qubilah, their second oldest daughter, was the young victim’s mother. According to media reports, the activist was found outside a Mexico City bar with head, face and torso injuries that led to his death. His companion, Miguel Suarez, told reporters he and Mr. Shabazz were confronted with a bar tab of $1,200, there was a fight over the bill and he ran. Mr. Suarez, a grassroots construction labor activist, had reportedly been deported from Oakland, Calif. weeks before Mr. Shabazz’s visit and subsequent murder in Mexico. The Mexico City district attorney’s office said two bartenders were arrested a few days after the deadly beating. Activists say no new information has been forthcoming about the case. “There are too many unanswered questions, including the bar bill story,” said Sabrina Green, of the Free the MOVE 9 and The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal. What is most important right now is re-educating people in the U.S. about young Malcolm’s murder, Ms. Green told The Final Call. “There appears to be a concerted effort to continue an informational climate where lack of transparency exists, or conflicting information is circulated, and a dismissive attitude that Americans can be killed in Mexico which is not a serious issue,” said Dr. Short, of the International Human Rights Association for American Minorities and co-founder of the committee organizing U.S. protests. Some say the U.S. and Mexican governments are in violation of the Foreign Relations Act, which entitles an American citizen like Mr. Shabazz to a proper national and international investigation into the circumstances of his death.
On Sept. 10, a State Dept. spokesperson called The Final Call to say her agency was aware “of the death of a U.S. citizen in Mexico.” The State Department has been in contact with the victim’s family and provided normal assistance offered when a family member is “murdered” abroad, the spokesperson said. “At the request of the family we have no more information,” she added. Kwame Fosu, policy director at the Washington, D.C.-based Rebecca Project for Human Rights, told The Final Call he entered the Mexican Embassy during the initial August demonstration to present a letter listing the demands of protesters. “I spoke with a Carlos Mendoza, political affairs officer, saying that we wanted to know if anyone was still under arrest, and we wanted a meeting with Ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora,” he said. “Mr. Mendoza told me his delegation regrets the death of Mr. Shabazz, and wanted to assure us that no government had anything to do with his death, saying it was individuals.”
The Mexican official promised to provide an update when arrests were made but Mr. Fosu said Sept. 11 Mr. Mendoza has failed to get back to him. The Mexican official has not answered Final Call requests for comment. On Sept. 11, The Final Call received a Facebook message from Dr. Wilner Metelus, co-founder of the Naturalized and Afro-Mexican Citizens Defense Committee in Mexico City, saying a report into Mr. Shabazz’s death would be released on Sept. 17 by a district attorney’s office in Mexico City. The report will also contain information about an attack on Naturalized and Afro-Mexican Citizens Defense Committee members in the eighth day of a peaceful hunger-strike outside the Federal District of Mexico City’s Governor’s Palace. The group was demanding the truth about the attack on Mr. Shabazz. The U.S. and the Mexican groups are working together to uncover the truth in this case.
“We have to let the Mexican government know that under no circumstances are we going to let his murder be swept under the rug, this is an international incident,” Zayyid Muhammad, a Newark-based spokesman for the New Black Panther Party told The Final Call. Other members of the U.S.-based committee seeking justice include Razakhan Shaheed of the Philadelphia Innocence Project, Pam Africa of the International Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal and Basyiymah Muhammad of the World Body of the United Negro Improvement Association. “We are also planning the disruption of Mexican economic interests through boycotts,” Mr. Shaheed said.
Original Funeral Message, 2013-05-14
The funeral/Janazah for Hajj Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X "El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz" will be held on May 17th this Friday at 10 am at the Islamic Center of Northern California, in downtown Oakland.
Hajj Malcolm Shabazz Funeral Fund
[
giveforward.com/fundraiser/fkc2/hajjmalcolmshabazzfuneralfund]:
This fund was created in conjunction with Qubilah Shabazz (Malcolm's mother) & with the guidance of Hashim Alauddeen & Ja'far Muhibullah.
"And We will most certainly try you with fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient, Who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: Surely we are Allah's and to Him we shall surely return." Holy Quran (2:155-6)
The tragic news of the sudden killing of our dear brother Hajj Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of El Hajj Malik Shabazz ("Malcom X"), has shaken the hearts of us all. Malcolm was a seeker of truth like his grandfather. He was a beloved son, father, brother and friend. He struggled to promote unity and goodwill for all people and was a lover of Ahl ul-Bayt.
During the week of May 13th, Hajj Malcolm's body will be transferred back to the United States so he can be remembered and given due respect. His funeral arrangements are being made and he will be laid to rest in Oakland, California, God willing. The money collected in this fund will be used for Hajj Malcolm's funeral services. Any additional money collected will be given to the Shabazz family. If you prefer, you can also donate directly through Paypal to shakur72@hotmail.com. Please keep Hajj Malcolm and his family in your prayers during this difficult time.
The family of Malcolm Shabazz has released an official statement regarding his tragic death:
We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved El Hajj Malcolm El Shabazz. To all who knew him, he offered kindness, encouragement and hope for a better tomorrow. Although his bright light and boundless potential are gone from this life, we are grateful that he now rests in peace in the arms of his grandparents and the safety of God. We will miss him.
With grateful hearts, we send sincerest appreciation to our supporters around the world for your tremendous outpouring of love and respect during our time of grief.
Sorrowfully,
The Shabazz Family
Ras Ceylon, hip-hop artist of Oakland and personal friend of Malcom Shabazz, after the Janazah (Islamic funeral) of "my lil bro Martyr El Hajj Malcolm Latif El Shabazz", May 17th 2013
John Potash, author of "The FBI War on Tupac" book and DVD [
www.fbiwarontupac.com], commenting on Malcolm Shabazz:
This is sad and strange. He was supposed to speak with Fred Hampton Jr and me at the Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore. Fred Hampton Jr said that someone infiltrated his POCC, and sabotaged Malcolm Shabazz's schedule so he missed several of those speaking engagements with Hampton, including ours. Then it was reported that the FBI detained Malcolm Shabazz overseas--the last news before this.
2013-05-09 Word from the Street -
People all over are saying it's a rumor. I can confirm it's true. I know Ilyasah. I just checked with them. I didn't ask too many questions. What I heard is that he was thrown from a building after being robbed. Something very odd is going on. I think the US government followed him. He traveled out of the country a lot and odd things kept happening. This has me very upset. Hajj Malcolm El Shabazz was Being harassed by FBI for making a second trip to Iran to discuss Zionism in Hollywood . He was not sold to the Obama deception and was approaching White Supremacy on an international level Like MLK did during the Vietnam War. Rest in Peace my Brother.
2013-05-09 "Malcolm Shabazz, Grandson Of Malcolm X, Dead At 28"
by Kirsten West Savali from "News One" [
newsone.com/2444676/malcolm-shabazz-dead]:
UPDATED 05/10/2013 — 12:41 PM EST
Family members of Malcolm Shabazz were making plans Friday to travel to Mexico, a day after he was killed in Mexico City under sketchy circumstances, Shabazz family spiritual adviser, Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem, told The Journal News [
usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/10/malcolm-shabazz-killed-mexico/2149391].
“I was told by the family that they’re in the process of trying to get down to Mexico, so they can identify his remains and claim them,” said Imam Abdur-Rashid.
Imam Abdur-Rashid offered further insight into Shabazz, who has been off the radar of some people who are only aware of the more salacious details of his life:
“He’s really just a youngster, a very young man who was just struggling to get his life moving on a forward-looking track,” Abdur-Rashid said. “He was always concerned about forging his own path. I’m just sad that things turned out the way they did.”
“We’re just encouraging people to offer prayers for the family because that’s the most important thing in this initial moment,” he continued.
UPDATED 05/10/2013 — 12:29 AM EST
Juan Ruiz, a member of the California-based labor organization Rumec, told Talking Points Memo that Shabazz was in Mexico City with Miguel Suarez at the time of his murder.
Earlier reports claimed that he was in Tijuana. “He’s a supporter of our organization,” said Ruiz. “He went to Mexico to meet with Miguel.”
The organization confirmed that he was traveling with them via a Facebook post [
https//www.facebook.com/rumec.sanjose/posts/34061279278420]: "To who responds, I am Miguel Suarez, leader of a labor movement in the United States and I am accompanied by Malcolm X’s grandson. His name is Malcolm Shabazz and he wanted to see if it is possible to to speak and publish our history in their [publication]…what we saw in Mexico City." (Spanish to English translation by NewsOne)
Though earlier reports claimed that Shabazz was shot, Ruiz said that the young revolutionary was beaten to death: [begin excerpt] He was murdered. He was in Mexico City and I believe they attempted to rob him and he didn’t allow it, so they beat him to death and he died on his way to the hospital,” said Ruiz. “This is all I can confirm, everything else is under investigation for the meantime.” [end excerpt]
Officials with the State Department would not confirm Shabazz’s death, but did confirm the death of a US citizen: [begin excerpt] “We are aware of the death of a U.S. citizen in Mexico City. We have been in contact with the family members and at their request, there will be no further comment at this time,” a State Department official said in response to an inquiry about Shabazz.
[end excerpt]
UPDATED 11:33 PM EST:
Speculation on Shabazz’s murder being an assassination is intensifying.
On Tuesday, May 7, Shabazz posted to his Facebook page that “enemies” thought they could defeat him, but the “war” wasn’t over:
Speaking recently on the FBI’s controversial maneuver to extradite freedom fighter, Assata Shakur, from Cuba, by increasing the bounty on her head from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, the words of legendary activist, scholar, author and former political prisoner Angela Davis, seem even more prophetic [
newsone.com/2436064/angela-davis-fbi-assata-shakur]: “It seems to me that this act incorporates or reflects the very logic of terrorism,” Davis says. “I can’t help but think that it’s designed to frighten people who are involved in struggles today. Forty years ago seems like it was a long time ago. In the beginning of the 21st century, we’re still fighting around the very same issues — police violence, healthcare, education, people in prison.”
These are all issues that Shabazz fought tirelessly to reform. In addition to this fact, he’s said in interviews over the years that he and his family have been “targets” his entire life.
In his statement in March, following his highly suspicious arrest, Shabazz, in part, wrote: [begin excerpt] Prior to my date of departure to Iran, Lifetime television released a television bio-picture called “Betty & Coretta” which was a sensationalistic misrepresentation of my grandparents, my mother and me. This film aside from being poorly acted, and shallow in depth also threatened to inflame old controversies, and open unhealed wounds and to remind the public of sad outcomes without ever identifying B.O.S.S.I., the C.I.A., F.B.I. and other forces that set the climate for my grandfather’s assassination, and made my family a long-suffering casualty of COINTELPRO, and other anti-Black repression programs. Naturally, anything done to stir up old hatred of The Shabazz Family will impact me as the name-sake, and first male heir of Malcolm X, and whether I am high or low in fortunes does not exempt me from this reality.
The formula for a public assassination is: the character assassination before the physical assassination; so one has to be made killable before the eyes of the public in order for their eventual murder to then deemed justifiable. And when the time arrives for these hits to be carried out you’re not going to see a C.I.A. agent with a suit & tie, and a badge that says “C.I.A.” walk up to someone, and pull the trigger. What they will do is to out-source to local police departments in the region of their target, and to employ those that look like the target of interest to infiltrate the workings in order to set up the environment for the eventual assassination (character, physical/incarceration, exile) to take place. [end excerpt]
UPDATED 5/9/2013, at 8:20 p.m.: NewsOne just got off the phone with an associate of Terrie M. Williams, the family friend who announced Malcolm Shabazz’s death via Twitter. Williams, who runs The Terrie Williams Talent Agency in New York City, says that she has worked closely with the Shabazz family. Though she was not available when NewsOne called, an associate at her agency did say that she has confirmed his death.
The Journal News out of White Plains, N.Y. did reach Williams directly and she confirmed Shabazz’s death with the newspaper [
lohud.com/article/20130509/NEWS02/305090113/Malcolm-Shabazz-grandson-Malcolm-X-killed-Mexico]. “I mentored him and he did a lot of work with us in terms of speaking to young people,” Williams told the Journal News. “He was a very, very powerful brother.”
2013-05-12 "Friend Says Malcolm Shabazz Was Lured to a Bar By a Woman Before He was Killed"
from "Your Black World" [
http://www.yourblackworld.net/2013/05/black-news/friend-says-malcolm-shabazz-was-lured-to-a-bar-by-a-woman-before-he-was-killed/]:
The death of Malcolm Shabazz was sad, tragic and sudden. During a visit to Mexico, the 28-year old died after a dispute at a bar that turned violent. He died this week from trauma injuries, none of which involved a weapon. His family didn’t give many details, but the public is seeking more information.
Malcolm had his troubles as a young man, but his supporters say that he was turning all that around. He was mostly known by the public for setting a fire that killed his grandmother, Betty Shabazz.
Malcolm, at the time he died, was working on a book and traveling the world to speak against youth violence. He was invited to Mexico by a deported construction worker to speak on labor rights.
“To all who knew him, he offered kindness, encouragement and hope for a better tomorrow,” Malcolm’s family said in a the statement. “We will miss him.”
Labor activist Miguel Suarez was traveling with Malcolm at the time of his death. He says that the young man was beaten up at a bar near Plaza Garibaldi, a popular tourist spot. He says that at the time of Malcolm’s death, they were at a bar across the street that tourists were warned not to visit.
Suarez said he and Shabazz were convinced to go into the bar by a woman who talked to them in English.
“We were dancing with the girls and drinking,” said Suarez. Then the owner of the bar wanted them to pay a $1,200 bar tab, alleging that they should pay for music, drinks and the girls’ companionship.
“We pretty much got hassled,” he said. “A short dude came with a gun.”
---
2013-05-13 comment from makheru bradley:
How the media choose to title an article shapes consciousness. For example:
“Friend says he and Malcolm Shabazz ‘lured’ to Mexico bar, attacked” – The Grio (The YBW title is a virtual copy of this)
“Malcolm Shabazz, 29, grandson of Malcolm X, is killed in Mexico City bar brawl” – NY Daily News
“Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X, slain in Mexico” – NBC
“The 28-year-old was hospitalized with severe injuries Wednesday after a vicious fight in a dive bar near Plaza Garibaldi. He died Thursday. Shabazz was with labor activist Miguel Suarez, who told The Associated Press the two were lured into a bar by dancing girls and later hit with a $1,200 tab. A fight broke out and Suarez found his friend on the ground outside, badly beaten and in shock. Shabazz died from blunt force trauma hours later.” -NYDN
The Daily News leaves out critical details, such as the separation of Suarez and Shabazz at gunpoint. A deliberate omission no doubt, to shape consciousness, which is what we expect from the Murdock media. At least the Grio covered that detail. YBW leaves us hanging.
["Suarez told The Associated Press that Shabazz had traveled to Mexico to support him and his movement. He said he was with Shabazz when Shabazz was beaten up at a bar near Plaza Garibaldi, a downtown square that is home to Mexico City's mariachis. "We were dancing with the girls and drinking," Suarez said. Then the owner of the bar wanted them to pay a $1,200 bar tab for music, drinks and the women's companionship. Suarez said a man with a gun took him to a separate room and he heard a violent commotion in the hall. He said he escaped and came back minutes later in a cab to look for Shabazz, whom he found on the ground outside the bar.]- NBC
The separation at gunpoint leaves open the possibility that Bro. Shabazz was targeted. If a bar owner just wanted to shake them down one would think that both men would have been held at gunpoint. Why would the bar owner bring this type of attention to his bar–killing an American citizen?
Today NBC is reporting two waiters have been arrested.
[At some point, the men met up with two women, aged 20 and 25, and entered The Palace, an establishment prosecutors described as a “place of entertainment” where they drank and socialized, Mexican officials said.
At about 3 a.m., the two waiters demand payment and a dispute erupted over the amount of the bill. After failing to reach a settlement, Shabazz was beaten and robbed, prosecutors said. He died in a hospital early Thursday. Prosecutors said Shabazz died of injuries that included organ damage, head trauma and rib fractures.]
Organ damage, head trauma and rib fractures reads more like a James Earl Chaney-type of murder rather than a mere robbery.
We need to hear the whole story from Miguel Suarez
Malcom's Final Facebook Posts
[
facebook.com/Hajj.Malcolm.El.Shabazz]:
From the top left Mohammad Hamza,Mamia Jamal, Patrick Lumumba, Huey Newton, Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, Fred Hampton
Bottom row from left Nelson Mandela (I think) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (legend!) Mohammed Ali (Another great man!), Malcolm X, Ernesto (Che) Guevara and ending one of my all time fav Richard Pryor! (Great comedian)
Malcom Shabazz's last campaign:
2013-05-02 "Deportation of a labor movement leader"
by Juan Ruiz from "San Francisco Bay View" newspaper [
sfbayview.com/2013/deportation-of-a-labor-movement-leader/]:
Juan Ruiz of Rumec can be reached at rumec_buss@hotmail.com or (408) 380-9650.
Juan Ruiz and Miguel Suarez stand on either side of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X.
On April 18, Rumec was economically and morally destabilized with the deportation of Comrade Miguel Suarez to his native Mexico. With a successful construction business growing, assuming the leadership of the new labor movement and establishing a non-profit organization, Miguel Suarez was expelled from this country just moments before being exonerated of minor charges at traffic court in Santa Clara County.
For over 10 years, Miguel has been at the forefront of the Mexican struggle, establishing strong bonds with the Black community and creating an environment for oppressed groups to establish business connections as well as maintaining a revolutionary agenda.
Upon his arrival in the U.S. at the age of 18 about 12 years ago, Miguel had ambitions of becoming an independent business owner. From a labor element of the construction industry, Comrade Miguel grew to become a business owner who employed friends, family members and local community individuals. His alternative form of doing business allowed for his growth to acquire resources that were once unclaimed by his community. His acquisition of the historical building Cine Mexico, a community theater, is a symbol of his constant growth as a successful business owner.
Maintaining a business was not the ultimate goal for Comrade Miguel. His observation of the necessity of organizing and educating our labor force was the purpose he felt obligated to fulfill. Miguel took leadership of the new labor movement – assigning people various duties, organizing the community and orienting everyone to the oppressive circumstances we face. His representation of our people was driven from a sense of duty and obligation to a fair and just cause. Leading and educating our people was Miguel’s daily task.
Liberating our oppressed labor force from corporate neo-liberalism was a passion that Miguel Suarez shared not only with Mexican groups, but also with the Black community. Being a believer of Black and Brown unity, Comrade Miguel educated us about the common African roots and heritage we share. Native to the land of the Olmecs and inspired by Yanga, Miguel promoted merging Brown and Black community business to liberate ourselves from economic slavery. Through music, art, public speaking and business ownership, Miguel had the passion to reach out and employ both oppressed groups.
With an insatiable appetite to educate and assist our people, Comrade Miguel was in the process of establishing a non-profit organization. By providing architectural forums in Spanish and English, informing workers of current construction codes and educating construction laborers on their rights in the industry, Comrade Miguel was providing a service to our community. This very same service, which our government is not providing for the people, is the basis of the non-profit in the construction industry. His idea was to prepare our people and arm them with knowledge to fight the ignorance and poverty that floods our streets.
The absence of Miguel Suarez in the movement has been felt by all his comrades. He was always creating an environment where people could meet and voice their opinion with the benefit of others in mind. He is the type of individual who reads people and can suggest how you may contribute to a common cause. His ideas ranged from educating our youth, developing independent business owners, establishing our own bank, financing the building of our own homes and establishing our own educational institutions.
Miguel Suarez was a threat to the system imposed on us. His vision went so far as changing the criminal mindset of people to a revolutionary business oriented way of thinking. This plan would ultimately fight the system that focuses on enslaving the mind of our men and women.
As a respected businessman, leader of a movement and father, Miguel Suarez will be missed in the community. The struggle will continue with his plan carried out by myself, Juan Ruiz, and comrades in the company. Now working with him internationally, Rumec will continue to carry on his legacy and educate our community on forming independent businesses. At the same time, we will fight ceaselessly to return Comrade Miguel Suarez to the community and family who need him.
2013-05-11 "Gone To Soon: Violent Death Of Malcolm Shabazz Who Was Carrying Malcolm X's Torch"
by Patrick Delices [
blackstarnews.com/us-politics/justice/gone-to-soon-violent-death-of-malcolm-shabazz-who-was-carrying-malcolm-xs-torch]:
Ten days before his grandfather Malcolm X's 88th birthday, Malcolm Lateef Shabazz was killed in Mexico City on Thursday morning, May 9, at the age of 28, according to several media accounts.
The Amsterdam News reported his death Thursday. The family confirmed the death in a statement Friday.
The circumstances surrounding his death are not fully grasped. He reportedly met a violent end in a Mexico City bar on Thursday after an apparent beating, according to an individual who was with him and says he himself escaped from a man who held him at gunpoint.
The individual is identified as labor activist Miguel Suarez, whom Malcolm Shabazz had traveled to meet in Mexico. Suarez, who's with a group called Rumec, organized Mexican construction workers in the U.S. to improve their employment conditions and was deported in April to Mexico, according to media accounts.
Suarez told The Associated Press that he and Malcolm Shabazz had been in a bar at Plaza Garibaldi, a downtown square in Mexico City. He said they were "lured to the bar on Wednesday night by a young woman who made conversation with the American in English" according to the AP's account. The AP said although the Plaza Garibaldi is popular with tourists "the pair were at a bar across the street from the plaza in an area of rough dive bars tourists are warned against going to."
"We were dancing with the girls and drinking," Suarez, told the AP, and added that the owner of the bar wanted them to pay a $1,200 bar tab, for music, drinks and the girls' companionship.
"We pretty much got hassled," the AP quotes Suarez as saying. Suarez said a "short dude came with a gun" and took him to a separate room.
"Suarez said he heard a violent commotion in the hall and escaped from the room and the bar altogether as he saw half-naked girls running away, picking up their skirts from the dance floor," according to the AP's account. "Minutes later, Suarez came back in a cab to look for Shabazz and found him on the ground outside the bar severely injured."
"He was in shock. His face was messed up," Suarez is quoted saying by the AP. "He was alive." He's also quoted saying: "I grabbed him, and I called the cops."
Malcolm Shabazz was then taken to a hospital where he died hours later of blunt-force injuries, according to Suarez's account to the AP.
"Suarez said Shabazz had traveled to Mexico to support him and his movement advocating for more rights for construction workers. He crossed the border from San Diego to Tijuana with Suarez's mother and then the pair took a bus all the way to Mexico City," according to the AP account.
Malcolm L. Shabazz was born in 1984 in Paris, France to an Algerian Muslim father. His mother, a former student at Princeton University and later at the Sorbonne in Paris, Qubilah Shabazz, is the second child of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz.
Just barely four years of age on February 14, 1965, Qubilah woke up Malcolm X and the rest of the family when their home was set ablaze by Muslim arsonists. A week after the arson, Qubilah witnessed the horrific assassination of her father on February 21, 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom.
Family tragedy has haunted the family for a long time, as award-winning journalist Herb Boyd points out in an excellent commentary on The Daily Beast [
thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/10/the-tragedy-of-the-malcolm-x-family-grandson-malcolm-shabazz-killed-in-mexico.html].
In 1929, at the age of four, Malcolm X’s family home in Lansing, Michigan was destroyed by White supremacist arsonists. On September 28, 1931, at the age of six, Malcolm X himself was deprived of a strong male parental figure when his father Earl Little was ferociously abused physically and then murdered by White supremacists. His disfigured body was found near some trolley tracks.
In 1934, Malcolm’s young life was further impaired by a racist system which institutionalized his only support system, his loving mother Louise Little who was also a dedicated Garveyite.
Malcolm X, became a victim of a backward family court judicial proceeding and an uncaring foster care system that still exist today for many Black families. Due to the deliberate disbandment of his family, a young Malcolm X soon became incarcerated.
Yet, he later managed to turn his life around after he embraced the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad. He became a brilliant orator, strategist, and renowned freedom fighters in this country.
Like his grandfather, Malcolm Shabazz, who endured many hardships and challenges also eventually found his true self-worth and purpose in life. He worked hard to overcome his troubled youth and the 1997 tragedy when he was convicted of the arson fire that killed Dr. Betty Shabazz, his grandmother and Malcolm X's widow.
More recently, he transmitted his powerful message abroad and met with progressive international figures. For example, Malcolm Shabbazz expressed the following on his Facebook posts:
“I have lived & studied in Damascus, Syria for over a year, and now the U.S. is instigating conflict within the very same region. I went on ex-congresswoman/former presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney's delegation along with Dr. Randy Short to Libya, and met with Leader Muammar Gadhafi one week prior to N.A.T.O. intervention and I was most recently getting ready to travel to Tehran, Iran to be a participant of the International Fajr Film Festival and give a lecture addressing the issues of Hollywood and violence: Modern Violence & Terrorism, provoking clashes between religions & populations. I was picked up by authorities after I filed for a visa to Iran, and 2 days prior to my departure.”
Like his grandfather, Malcolm Shabazz made the Hajj to Mecca in 2010. A year after his Hajj, Shabbazz decided to enroll at John Jay College and worked diligently as a student to produce his memoirs which are incomplete due to his untimely killing.
He also reported being questioned by the FBI when he applied for Visa to travel to Iran.
With clairvoyance, both Malcolm X and his grandson predicted their death. For Malcolm X that revelation came when he was poisoned in Cairo, Egypt in July 1964, and when French authorities barred him from entering Paris on February 9, 1965. Malcolm X often stated that the plot to assassinate him was bigger than the Nation of Islam and basically implicated the government of the United States for attempts on his life. His grandson shared similar sentiments. Case in point, in March 2013, Malcolm Shabbazz expressed the following:
“Prior to my date of departure to Iran, Lifetime television released a television bio-picture called Betty & Coretta which was a sensationalistic misrepresentation of my grandparents, my mother and me. This film aside from being poorly acted, and shallow in depth also threatened to inflame old controversies, and open unhealed wounds and to remind the public of sad outcomes without ever identifying B.O.S.S.I., the C.I.A., F.B.I. and other forces that set the climate for my grandfather’s assassination, and made my family a long-suffering casualty of COINTELPRO, and other anti-Black repression programs. Naturally, anything done to stir up old hatred of The Shabazz Family will impact me as the name-sake, and first male heir of Malcolm X, and whether I am high or low in fortunes does not exempt me from this reality. The formula for a public assassination is: the character assassination before the physical assassination; so one has to be made killable before the eyes of the public in order for their eventual murder to then deemed justifiable. And when the time arrives for these hits to be carried out you’re not going to see a C.I.A. agent with a suit & tie, and a badge that says 'C.I.A.' walk up to someone, and pull the trigger. What they will do is to out-source to local police departments in the region of their target, and to employ those that look like the target of interest to infiltrate the workings in order to set up the environment for the eventual assassination (character, physical/incarceration, exile) to take place.”
For Reggie Mabry, Pan-African activist and organizer of the annual pilgrimage to Malcolm X’s resting site in Ferncliff Cemetery, “Malcolm Shabazz’s death is surreal and right out of the pages of his grandfather’s autobiography where the questionable murder of Malcolm X still haunts us today as evident in the questionable murder of his grandson.”
Due to his reverence for the Shabazz family, the president of the Organization of Afro-American Unity James Small withheld any speculations relating to the murder of Malcolm L. Shabazz. However, James Small disclosed that the funeral arrangement for Malcolm L. Shabazz is scheduled to take place on May 18, 2013 in California – one day before he performs the ceremony at Ferncliff Cemetery to honor Malcolm X.
The Shabazz family released the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved El Hajj Malcolm El Shabazz. To all who knew him, he offered kindness, encouragement and hope for a better tomorrow. Although his bright light and boundless potential are gone from this life, we are grateful that he now rests in peace in the arms of his grandparents and the safety of God. We will miss him. With grateful hearts, we send sincerest appreciation to our supporters around the world for your tremendous outpouring of love and respect during our time of grief.”
Sadly, given the unfortunate history of the Shabazz’s family, Malcolm’s daughters have some serious struggles to surmount with great difficulty and danger. It is with the robust support of the global African community that the Black Star News sends our condolences to the Shabazz family and our full support to the daughters of Malcolm X.
Malcolm L. Shabazz is survived by his two daughters, his mother and aunts. May he rest in peace in the arms of his grandparents.
2013-05-11 "Malcolm Shabazz's Suspicious Violent Death: Some Questions For Miguel Suarez Too"
by Milton Allimadi [
blackstarnews.com/us-politics/news/malcolm-shabazzs-suspicious-violent-death-some-questions-for-miguel-suarez-too.html]:
There are many unanswered questions about the violent death of Malcolm Shabazz, the 28-year-old grandson of legendary freedom fighter Malcolm X.
U.S. authorities should be involved in any investigation into the death. The Shabazz family should also hire private investigators to work alongside official investigators; supporters of the family must extend any assistance the family may need.
The most authoritative account so far comes from Miguel Suarez, who's been described as a person who organized Mexican workers in the United States and was expelled from the U.S. in April.
Suarez reportedly told the Associated Press that he was with Malcolm Shabazz when he was killed. Malcolm Shabazz had traveled through San Diego to Mexico, and then traveled to Mexico City by road, accompanied by Suarez's mother, according to the account.
He was to help the Mexican by lending his well-known family name to publicize Suarez's deportation.
More information is needed. How exactly was Malcolm Shabazz to help Suarez? How did Malcolm know Suarez and for how long? Who organized the trip? What has Suarez's mother said so far?
It's important for as much information to come out, given the legacy of the Malcolm Shabazz family: being in the public eye for such a long time and not unfamiliar with violent ends including to his famous grandfather.
Suarez told the The Associated Press (AP) that he and Malcolm Shabazz went to a bar at Plaza Garibaldi on Wednesday, where the attack occurred hours later, and Malcolm died on Thursday.
According to the Associated Press, although the Plaza Garibaldi, where the two went, is popular with tourists "the pair were at a bar across the street from the plaza in an area of rough dive bars tourists are warned against going to."
"We were dancing with the girls and drinking," in the bar, Suarez, told the AP, and added that the owner of the bar wanted them to pay a $1,200 bar tab, for music, drinks and the girls' companionship.
"We pretty much got hassled," the AP quotes Suarez as saying. At this point the story gets very murky.
Suarez told The Associated Press that a "short dude came with a gun" and took him to a separate room.
"Suarez said he heard a violent commotion in the hall and escaped from the room and the bar altogether as he saw half-naked girls running away, picking up their skirts from the dance floor," according to the AP's account.
"Minutes later, Suarez came back in a cab to look for Shabazz and found him on the ground outside the bar severely injured."
"He was in shock. His face was messed up," Suarez is quoted saying by the AP. "He was alive." He's also quoted saying: "I grabbed him, and I called the cops."Malcolm Shabazz was then taken to a hospital where he died hours later of blunt-force injuries, according to Suarez's account to the AP.
There are many unanswered questions at this point:
1. How did Suarez himself survive the gunman whom he says took him to another room?
2. Why was he taken to another room and what happened while he was there?
3. How long was Suarez in the other room with the gunman and how did he escape?
4. How long was Suarez away before he returned for Malcolm Shabazz in the cab?
5. Who else witnessed the beating of Malcolm Shabazz since, presumably, there were other patrons inside the bar and there were also people outside the bar?
6. Was this a bar that Suarez had frequented in the past and did he know the people who own or operate the bar?
7. Perhaps the most important question: Suarez says he was taken away by a gunman and that while he was in another room he "heard a commotion"; presumably this was Malcolm Shabazz being beaten.
Yet, even after he had been held at gunpoint and somehow managed to escape, instead of calling the police immediately, Suarez left and then "came back in a cab to look for Shabazz."
It was then only after he found Shabazz with his face "messed up" that he called the police.
One would hope that someone held at gunpoint and who heard a "commotion" suggesting his companion to the bar was being harmed would call the police first.
These are the kind of questions that investigators should seek to address and Suarez may have good enough answers. But in the meantime, there are too many red flags and the sooner we get answers the better.
Also, as Black Star News columnist Patrick Delices noted in his article [
blackstarnews.com/us-politics/justice/gone-to-soon-violent-death-of-malcolm-shabazz-who-was-carrying-malcolm-xs-torch], Malcolm Shabazz has actually written about the possibility of being taken out -- not in a purported bar fight but at the hands of U.S. agents. This is part of what Malcolm Shabazz had posted in March:
"The formula for a public assassination is: the character assassination before the physical assassination; so one has to be made killable before the eyes of the public in order for their eventual murder to then deemed justifiable. And when the time arrives for these hits to be carried out you’re not going to see a C.I.A. agent with a suit & tie, and a badge that says 'C.I.A.' walk up to someone, and pull the trigger. What they will do is to out-source to local police departments in the region of their target, and to employ those that look like the target of interest to infiltrate the workings in order to set up the environment for the eventual assassination (character, physical/incarceration, exile) to take place.”
Eulogy poem by Ras Simien Anu -
Another Seed Has Been Planted In A Place Where He Will Never Have To Worry About Being With His Mother...
Again...
A Place Where He Kan Meet His Grandfather...
Face To Face...
And Find Out The Truth Behind His DEATH...
He's In A Place Where He Kan Tell His Grandmother He's Sorry For His MISTAKE...
He's In A Place Where He Will Be Forever Free From The Legacy Of A Man Who The GOVERNMENT HATED And Because Of This Made His Life A Living HELL...
He's In A Place Where He Kan Be A Kid...
A Man...
And Anything Else He Ever Wanted To Be...
He's In A Place Where In The Long Run We All Will Have To See...
He's In A Place Where Some Of Us Really Wanna Go...
He's In A Place Where He Will NEVER DIE AGAIN...
He's A Seed Planted In HEAVEN...
Rest In Peace Young God
2013-03-09 "MALCOLM-LATIF SHABAZZ: MY STATEMENT CONCERNING THE HARASSMENT FROM THE POLICE/FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHICH RESULTED IN MY UNJUST ARREST & DETAINMENT IN FEBRUARY 2013, AND PLACED A HALT ON MY TRAVEL TO TEHRAN, IRAN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERNATIONAL FAJR FILM FESTIVAL"
I sincerely appreciate the care & concern of the People over my well-being after Press TV's report of the most recent events which have transpired regarding the F.B.I.'s harassment of me.
Given the storm of lies, and half-truths that come with being associated with being the descendant of El Hajj Malik el Shabazz, also known as Minister Malcolm X, any and everything that I do; great or small, good or not so good, real or imagined is subject to controversy. However, in this missive I will take this opportunity to properly & fully disclose what transpired.
In the beginning of 2012 I had been informed that I was under investigation by the F.B.I.'s Counter Terrorism Task Force Unit located in Goshen, N.Y.
The agents of this division-and in collaboration with others-have visited several residences of which I was known by them to frequent. However, they would never come when they knew me to actually be there. They would leave their cards with the residents asking them to tell me to call them, and then would tell surrounding residents to observe the house and to notify them if they saw me.
These are the homes of long-time friends, and very close supporters. Yet, when federal agents begin knocking on someone's door on multiple occasions to snoop, and ask questions, whether one is guilty of an offense or not, it's enough to coerce people into distancing themselves from you. This cheap tactic employed by the F.B.I. is a means of agitation & harassment. They seek to neutralize my networking abilities.
They have visited locations in California, Chicago, Miami and most aggressively in New York.
People were advising me that if I had nothing to hide, then I should just contact them as requested and cooperate. Though I must say that in these kind of matters I am of a particular ethic. For one, I have been engaged in no criminal activity of their concern, and they could have located me if they so chose. Secondly, I don't recognize the authority in them beckoning me.
It wasn't even until my mother informed me that they had been contacting her that I truly became agitated. She advised me to see what they had to say, and so I obliged the next time they came around looking for me. My encounter was with 2 federal agents of Goshen, N.Y.'s Counter Terrorism Task Foci Unit. The primary agent identified himself as Special Agent Tom Brozicky.
They expressed concern over-as they put it-my "international travels"; I have lived & studied in Damascus, Syria for over a year, and now the U.S. is instigating conflict within the very same region; I went on ex-congresswoman/former presidential candidate Cynthia Mckinney's delegation along with Dr. Randy Short to Libya, and met with Leader Muammar Gadhafi one week prior to N.A.T.O. intervention and I was most recently getting ready to travel to Tehran, Iran to be a participant of the International Fajr Film Festival and give a lecture addressing the issues of Hollywood and violence:
- Modern Violence & Terrorism,
- Provoking clashes between religions & populations
I was picked up by authorities after I filed for a visa to Iran, and 2 days prior to my departure. A detective squad from the City of Middletown Police Department surrounded me in the street about 2 blocks from where I was residing. They asked me my name, and I gave them an alias, but they were already well aware of who I actually was. I didn't tell them my real name because I didn't know what was going on. When I was brought before a Judge of City of Middletown court I was surprised to be informed that I was being charged with Grand Larceny, and False Impersonation charge. Then I was sent to jail, and told to appear again 7 days later. Then following court date the bogus charge of Grand Larceny, which they only put to justify stopping me in first place, was dropped. And they left me to face the False Impersonation. I was offered 90 days for the offense of giving the authorities the wrong name which I declined before bailing out after 2 weeks.
When I was being held within the belly of the beast on trumped up charges, to my rescue came the journalist at Press TV based in Iran. My relationship with powerful & progressive news outfit began in April of 2012, and prior to that I had discussions with their journalist regarding current events internationally. I developed a positive rapport with some of them, and as a result was invited to travel to Iran to discuss the impact of Hollywood in stereotyping Muslims, Iranians and African people. From January 15th through 18th, 2013, I was a featured interviewee for the Press TV documentary “The Façade of the American Dream”. And prior to my date of departure to Iran, Lifetime television released a television bio-picture called “Betty & Coretta” which was a sensationalistic misrepresentation of my grandparents, my mother and me. This film aside from being poorly acted, and shallow in depth also threatened to inflame old controversies, and open unhealed wounds and to remind the public of sad outcomes without ever identifying B.O.S.S.I., the C.I.A., F.B.I. and other forces that set the climate for my grandfather’s assassination, and made my family a long-suffering casualty of COINTELPRO, and other anti-Black repression programs. Naturally, anything done to stir up old hatred of The Shabazz Family will impact me as the name-sake, and first male heir of Malcolm X, and whether I am high or low in fortunes does not exempt me from this reality.
The formula for a public assassination is: the character assassination before the physical assassination; so one has to be made killable before the eyes of the public in order for their eventual murder to then deemed justifiable. And when the time arrives for these hits to be carried out you’re not going to see a C.I.A. agent with a suit & tie, and a badge that says "C.I.A." walk up to someone, and pull the trigger. What they will do is to out-source to local police departments in the region of their target, and to employ those that look like the target of interest to infiltrate the workings in order to set up the environment for the eventual assassination (character, physical/incarceration, exile) to take place.
For several months prior to my arrest in late January, 2013 I faced a pattern of harassment from law enforcement which is usually reserved for important figures.
On Thursday, November 1, 2012 @ 11:53pm in the park circle area of Middletown, N.Y. I was stopped by officers of the Middletown Police Department, and given a ticket for "J-Walking" (crossing in the middle of the street), which then escalated into a "Disorderly Conduct" supposedly because of the exchange of words that I had with the officers. I told them that they couldn't possibly be serious for writing me a "J-Walking ticket", that I didn't appreciate how they were treating me and that they shouldn't be looking at me as less of a man because they were in police uniform. For this I was arrested, the officers stole the little amount of money that I had on me, they then stripped me and threw me in a freezing precinct cell for the remainder of that early morning. I was finally taken before the "Judge Steven Brockett" around 1:30pm. He gave me an unreasonable bail, and then ordered that I be remanded to the Orange county Jail.
This penalty may seem a bit extreme or harsh to most of you, but here is where it gets worse: On Tuesday, October 30th, exactly 2 nights prior to this incident, the same officer "J Berman" who wrote me the ticket for "J-Walking" & "Disorderly Conduct" stopped me coming from out of a store in the same area, and questioned me as to what I was doing. I told him that I was coming out of the store. He asked to see what I bought which was a pack of sun flower seeds. I had actually just so happened to be eating a few while he was talking to me, and I spit one of the shells on the ground. At this point officer "J Berman" threatened to write me a ticket for littering. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded, but I went home that night.
Yet, it still doesn't even begin there. I had an encounter with other officers of the Midletown Police Department one week prior to officer "J Berman's" threats to write me a ticket for spitting a sun flower seed on the ground: I was coming out of a restaurant with my mother, and her friend. As the 3 of us entered the car to leave 2 police cars converged on our vehicle, and boxed us in. My mother was petrified. With guns drawn I was then ordered to step out of the back seat. I asked them why to which they replied that I had several warrants for my arrest. I told them that they were mistaken, but I still complied with their request. Humiliated in front of all on-lookers I was then thrown on the car while the officers ripped through my pockets. After they were done they said that it was my lucky day because I actually didn't have any warrants at all, and so I was free to go! One of these officer's name was "R. Ribeiro"...
You may wonder if it could possibly get any worse than this. Well, it does! Approximately 3 weeks prior to the public humiliation of my mother, and me by "R Ribeiro" and another officer of the Middletown Police Department I found myself subject to the discrimination & prejudice of Mayor Joseph M. Destefano of Middletown, N.Y. himself. A friend, and I went out to eat at a restaurant in Middletown, N.Y. which is owned by the Mayor, and to our surprise he appeared from nowhere and asked us to leave. When we inquired as to why he stated that officials of the Middletown Police Department told him not to let us patronize his establishment. Mind you that this goes without incident.
As I stand for the people, God-Willing, I would pray that the same people wouldn't hesitate to stand for me. If these unjust & heinous actions are tolerated & allowed to be done to me without recourse, then no one is safe. Just as Huewy P Newton of the Black Panther Party stated that police are in the white community to protect & serve, yet occupy ours like a foreign troop... I tell you that we shouldn't fall victim to the conditioning of feeling inferior or fearful at the presence of law enforcement for no apparent reason.
With that being said, I was not arrested by federal agents. I was taken in by a squad from the City of Middletown, N.Y.'s Police Department. I was not being held in an "undisclosed location" so to speak. I was actually being held in the Orange County Jail in Goshen, N.Y. However, from the time that I was booked at the precinct, to standing before a Judge the next day who told me to come back in 7 more, to being processed at the Orange County Jail and up until 7 days later I was not permitted to make any calls to notify anyone of my status; as though I had just been kidnapped from of the street.
Unfortunately, until this day my family hasn't been fully abreast of my situation as I haven't had the opportunity to properly consult with any of them. Dr. Randy Short who notified Press TV of my situation is a close comrade of mine who was on our delegation in Libya. Media reports from Press TV about my situation were not intended to create controversy. In reality, I have a few associates that are affiliated with this reputable International media outlet, and they had expected to meet with me in Iran. So when I disappeared, and rumors spread, the inability to get concise information from a credible source prompted them to rouse public attention on my behalf, for which I am grateful. In April of 2012 I had the opportunity to be a guest analyst/contributor on Press TV. This network has a large following all over the world, and millions find it’s news, documentaries and programming to be both an educational, and insightful alternative to the conglomerated, and highly biased mainstream American & British news media. Regarding the Source magazine, nothing that they published was vetted by me, and was made by persons, at best, vaguely familiar with my situation. Further, I have never had an affiliation or relationship with The Source, nor have they ever directly consulted with me about anything.
[2013-03-09 information out of date]
Call to Action! Defend Malcom Shabazz!
* Organize a community justice gatherings, and call attention to the FBI and the ongoing war against the People!
* Make signs which say "FREE MALCOLM SHABAZZ, NOW!!!!"
* Send letters of support to all organizations who join the call to action.
* Collaborate with Community Defense organizations for booking speakers and entertainment.
* Sign the Petition [
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/release-public-information-pertaining-arraignment-malcolm-lateef-shabzz/S2pfLfj8]: Release public information pertaining to the arraignment of Malcolm Lateef Shabzz. According to Press TV, Malcolm Lateef Shabazz, grandson of, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz ex facto, Malcolm X was arrested by the FBI sometime before his schedule appearance on 2/2/13, at the Hollywoodism International Conference in Tehran, Iran. The FBI has refused to share public information in regards to Mr. Shabazz's arrest and whereabouts. We the People of a Republic hereby demand information of his indictment to be released for public inspection under the Freedom of Information Act. We do NOT consent to any information involving Mr. Shabazz and the FBI to be exempt from public disclosure. We are here to secure our rights, our natural rights and the rights of Mr. Shabazz. This is a campaign of the People, an organized effort to promote this cause and secure a definite result.
Solidarity Networks organizing for the defense of Malcom Shabazz -
2013-02-05 call-to-action from a New African Freedom Fighter:
Our Young Brotha Malcolm (X) Shabazz was arrested by the FBI yesterday!
We are waiting to hear from his attorneys as to why he is being held and what he has been charged with!
In
the meantime we are organizing & calling on All African Freedom
Fighters 2 Move on whatever FBI headquarters / agencies may be in Your
Area!
UHURU!
---
2013-02-08 note of solidarity from Greg G. "G2":
I've
signed the petition.
Now, my brothers & sistahs, in the Black
Panther Party here in Ohio, some who have signed the petition as well,
we are all waiting for the end results.
If those results are not
satisfactory to the outcry that is currently coming from the urban
communities in general, and the Black communities in particular, then we
Black Panthers, along with several factions of Black Liberation Armies,
are ready and well prepared to "push the envelope", as they say, for
more aggressive actions to ensure our brother, Malcolm Shabazz, is free.
"All power to the people!"
"Seize the time!"
"FREE MALCOLM SHABAZZ,
NOW!!!!"
2013-02-05 "Malcolm X’s Grandson Arrested by FBI"
[
jetmag.com/news/malcolm-xs-grandson-arrested-by-fbi/]:
Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X, was arrested by the FBI yesterday while he was on his way to Iran for a conference. The FBI has not released any information about why Shabazz was arrested.
Iran’s television network, PressTV reported:
[begin extract]
Muslim civil activist Malcolm Shabazz was reportedly arrested before starting his scheduled visit to Tehran to attend a conference on Hollywoodism, sources outside the United States confirmed on Monday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has refused to provide any information about his whereabouts.
Tehran hosted the third Hollywoodism International Conference, on the sidelines of the 31st Fajr International Film Festival in the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday.
Many filmmakers, directors, actors, and movie critics as well as politicians and economists took part in the conference.
[end extract]
In 1997, Shabazz started the fire that led to the death of his grandmother Betty Shabazz, who he was living with at the time. He pled guilty to manslaughter and arson, and was sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile facility. Since then, he’s been arrested for burglary and robbery (2002) and was in and out of jail until his parole in 2006. While he has a jaded past, Shabazz became an activist after his release.
His grandparents are probably turning in their graves.
2013-02-04 "Malcolm X’s Grandson Arrested by FBI"
by Keith Nelson Jr. [
allhiphop.com/2013/02/04/malcolm-x-grandson-arrested-by-fbi]:
(AllHipHop News) Malcolm X’s grandson and Muslim civil activist, Malcolm Lateef Shabazz has reportedly been arrested by FBI agents, according to reports from PressTV.
Prior to the arrest, the grandson to the civil rights icon was en route to Tehran, Iran for the third annual Hollywoodism International Conference held on Sunday (February 3rd). The FBI has refused to release information regarding Shabazz’s current whereabouts and the cause for the apparent arrest. The Hollywoodism International Conference hosts filmmakers, activists and scholars from across the globe to discuss issues facing world cinema and it being used as a vehicle for nationalistic propaganda.
Coincidentally, Shabazz’s arrest coincided with the February 2nd premiere of Lifetime original movie Betty & Coretta, which is based on the friendship between Betty Shabazz and Coretta Scott King following their respective husband’s assassination. The movie is steeped in controversy as members of both the King and Shabazz family claim they were not consulted for the film and that there are stark character inaccuracies. Ilyasah Shabazz recently told the Washington Post that her mother (played by R&B legend Mary J. Blige) was “regal, compassionate, strong, loving, beautiful, resilient and well-educated” as opposed to the timid and insecure portrayal in the movie. Even the character’s wardrobe drew the ire of Ilyasah Shabazz as she states her mother never wore a scarf around her face, as portrayed in the movie and traditional for a Muslim, as a sign of independence.
The Washington Post reported that unnamed A&E officials excluded the families from involvement in the movie prior to post-production due to limiting familial bias in the protection of their legacy. A major point of contention for the Shabazz family was the dramatization of Betty Shabazz’s death which resulted from a fire set by her grandson, Malcom Lateef Shabazz. The movie depicted Malcolm X’s dying wife as using her last moments of life to speak to Coretta Scott King, even though the Shabazz families claims she was unable to speak after suffering third-degree burns.
Here is a video of Malcolm Lateef Shabazz explaining the details behind the fatal fire:
2013-04-17 "Blacks are murdered with impunity in US, Malcolm X's grandson says"
from "PressTVGlobalNews" [
youtube.com/watch?v=3OiOj5y2yLI] [
presstv.com/detail/236611.html]:
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.
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.
2013-03-04 upload to "Welcome to New York/Newark" album:
2013-01-22 upload to "Welcome to New York/Newark" album showing Malcolm Shabazz with Jae Effin Love in New York, NY.
2012-08-15 upload to "Welcome to New York/Newark" album:
2012-02-19 "The Legacy of Malcolm X: His Struggle for Human Rights"
[
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8FjZ7Uio3E]:
TMA & POL Event held at Concordia University
A fundraiser for: The Al-Mahdi School in Haiti & Terah Against Terror Association
| SPEAKER | Malcolm Lateef Shabazz
2012-01-14 upload to "California" album:
313 ;) “
May Allah bless his soul for thriving and remaining steadfast in the midst of corruption, deception and societal ills. May Allah bless his soul for speaking the Truth about the injustices and oppression that are continually occurring against our brothers and sisters. May our Ummah become strengthened and enhanced through this tragedy and may we hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. (3:103)"
"At Lemeirt Park" 2012-01-14 upload to "California" album:
"At Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects"
2012-01-14 upload to "California" album:
"Piru & Pueblo Blood Hood at South Central" 2011-12
upload to "California" album:
2011-08-16
upload to "California" album:
2011-07-28
upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz with the BRLP:
2011-07-28
upload to "California" album:
2011-07-28
upload to "California" album showing "People's Minister of Information" JR and Malcolm Shabazz:
2011-07-28
upload to "California" album:
2011-07-19 upload to "Welcome to New York/Newark" album:
2011-07-17 upload to "Welcome to New York/Newark" album showing Malcolm Shabazz with Malaak, Gamilah, Qubilah, IDK, Reverend Al Sharpton, Ilyasah — with Ladyof Judah in New York, NY.
2011-07-11
upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz at the "DeBug" community center in San Jose:
2011-05-23 upload to "Welcome to New York/Newark" album:
With the Shia brothers, Michigan 2011
2011-02-23 upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz at the Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center:
2011-02-12 "Hajj Malcolm El Shabazz Reports Back: My Journey 2 Mecca & Africa"
Saturday, 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Location: Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County [467 Sebastopol Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95401] [707-575-8902] [
peaceandjusticesonomaco.org]
Hajj Malcolm Shabazz (grandson of Malcolm X) spoke at a historic Pan Afrikan conference in Tripoli, Libya last month, and was given a standing ovation in the presence of the African Union president Muamar Qadafi. He spoke about his grandfather's connection to the Organization of African Unity, and his connection to the African Union.
We will hear more about this and his wonderful journey to Mecca and back.
2011-01-08
upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz with his heritage:
2011-01-08
upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz with POCC Minister of Information JR Valrey:
2010-10-28 upload to "Welcome to New York/Newark" album (with blockreportradio.com):
"My Road Dog"
In Harlem New York on the panel...
2010-09 upload to "The Legacy Tour" album:
2010-09 upload to "The Legacy Tour" album
showing Malcom Shabazz with
Prisoners Of Conscience Committee:
2010-08-02 upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz with students at East Oakland Youth Development Center:
2010-08-02
upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz with Prisoners Of Conscience Committee:
2010-08-02 upload to "California" album showing Malcom Shabazz with Mac Mall:
Mac Mall - Rebellion Against All There Is ft. Ray Luv
[
youtube.com/watch?v=E4K6mmhhMlc]: Published on Apr 10, 2012
I would like to thank everybody for showing support to my video and NEW album,"THE REBELLION AGAINST ALL THERE IS" I made this album for the Day-One Mac Mall fans; the ones who rode with me through the ups and downs, good and bad. Khayree and I made this for you! We also made this album for HIP-HOP because the game NEEDS A REBELLION so each one, teach one and let's take rap back from the WACK! #MACN
Malcom Shabazz: "
Watching something of the history of Saudi Arabia... I'm in Medina in this photo"
Malcom Shabazz made enemies...
While not anti-Semitic, Malcom was anti-Imperialist, including being in solidarity with Arabs who organized against Zionism and colonialism in former Palestine. Malcom is also a devout man of Islam and was a target of Israel's
Mossad
clandestine services, the USA's DHS & JSOC. Among his postings in 2010, Malcom advocated for a boycott of monopolized corporations which serviced Israel's manifest destiny, which meant he was under surveillance by the INFRAGARD program, too...
2013-05-11 "Did CIA kill Malcolm X's grandson?"
by
Dr. Kevin Barrett
[
www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/11/302870/did-cia-kill-malcolm-xs-grandson]:
Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS and other broadcast outlets, and has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin. He is the co-founder of the Muslim-Christian-Jewish Alliance. His website is www.truthjihad.com.
---
I never met Malcolm Shabazz, the outspoken activist whose grandfather, Malcolm X, was the most influential African-American of the 20th century. Now I will never meet him. According to reports, Malcolm Shabazz was recently murdered in Mexico.
I had been hoping to get to know Malcolm Shabazz at last February's Hollywoodism Conference in Tehran. But the US National Security State had other ideas. While trying to catch his flight to Tehran, Malcolm was arrested by the FBI. No explanation for the arrest was ever provided.
Why did US authorities prevent Malcolm from traveling to Iran?
The arrest was almost certainly politically-motivated. Malcolm Shabazz's presence at the Hollywoodism Conference would have brought the event invaluable publicity - especially in the black community and among Muslims, anti-Zionists, and anti-imperialists worldwide. And that publicity would have fueled Malcolm's impending rise to superstar-dissident status.
Make no mistake: Malcolm Shabazz, like his grandfather, posed a serious, “actionable” long-term threat to the powers-that-be.
Malcolm had converted to Shi'a Islam and become a spokesman for the “axis of resistance” - not just anti-Zionist forces in the Middle East, but anti-empire forces around the world. Like his grandfather, he had had some brushes with the law when he was young. And like his grandfather, he was on the road to putting his past behind him and becoming a charismatic spokesman for the world's dispossessed.
I do not know whether the usual suspects - the “asteroids” who assassinate the enemies of empire on behalf of the CIA, the World Bank, and related entities, according to author John Perkins - killed Malcolm Shabazz. But I am 100% certain that they were thinking about it.
How can I be so sure?
I have been studying these assassinations for many years. My conclusion is that the empire's assassins profile their potential enemies, and decide which ones present an “actionable threat.”
Charismatic leaders with access to the media are among the most actionable threats. President John F. Kennedy was murdered because he was so charismatic and media-savvy that he was capable of pushing through policies that the guardians of empire deemed unacceptable: Nuclear disarmament, rapprochement with Cuba, détente with Russia, withdrawal from Vietnam, a new deal for the Third World. This story has been beautifully told by James Douglass, one of America's leading peace activists, in his book JFK and the Unspeakable.
JFK's brother Robert Kennedy also presented an actionable threat to the powers-that-be. RFK would have been elected president in 1968 had he not been gunned down by CIA assassins. Robert wanted to be president, so he could prosecute his brother's murderers and continue his brother's policies. But the “asteroids” - and their bankster masters - had other ideas.
Martin Luther King was also an “actionable threat.” MLK had turned against the Vietnam War and the whole military-industrial complex, even as the FBI was trying to drive him crazy and make him commit suicide. Far from committing suicide, MLK was planning to lead a half-million people to occupy Washington DC and stay there until the war and poverty were both ended. So - as a jury verdict legally established in 1999 - the US Army, FBI, and CIA worked together to murder Dr. King. The full story is in William Pepper's book Act of State.
Other “actionable threats” in recent history include JFK Jr., who was murdered in 1999 for pursuing the killers of his father and uncle; Senator Paul Wellstone, murdered in 2003 for planning to investigate 9/11 and prevent the US from invading Iraq; and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, killed with a cancer weapon for the crime of having enough charisma to almost single-handedly lead Latin America out from under the US empire.
Malcolm Shabazz's grandfather, Malcolm X, was also an “actionable threat” when the CIA orchestrated his assassination in 1965. Malcolm X was forging an anti-empire alliance consisting of Muslims and other non-Western victims of imperialism, along with poor and middle-class American whites and blacks...the same alliance Dr. King was assembling when he was killed three years later.
And now, Malcolm Shabazz - who was forging an updated version of the same anti-empire alliance - is murdered in Mexico. Coincidence? Maybe.
But look at it from the point of view of his likely murderers. From their perspective, Malcolm Shabazz seemed to be following in his grandfather's footsteps. If they waited much longer to kill him, and let him establish his growing reputation as a respected activist, it would be a lot harder to stage an assassination and then spread the media propaganda line, based on the ancient history of his alleged teenage misdeeds, that he was “just a thug.”
If they waited until his book was finished and published, killing him would look suspicious...and sell his book.
And if they waited until he got as famous and influential as his grandfather, they might have wound up with a major problem on their hands.
So, apparently, they decided to take pre-emptive action. Kill him while he's only a decade or so past his “troubled” phase. Do it in a way that reinforces the “troubled young man with a criminal history” Operation Mockingbird mantra. Spread that mantra through all of the controlled-media outlets.
Whatever happened to Malcolm Shabazz, it is abundantly obvious that the intelligence agency assets infiltrating US mainstream media are conducting a scripted posthumous character-assassination designed to obscure Malcolm's role as an up-and-coming activist and long-term threat to the Empire.
If you search the CIA-Mossad-linked Google for “Malcolm Shabazz,” the first result is a story published by the CIA propaganda front, the Huffington Post. The story is a smear designed to drag Malcolm's name through the mud.
Huffington Post: “In his youth, he set a fire that caused the death of his grandmother.”
Reality: Malcolm Shabazz denied having set that fire as a child; he was forced to plead guilty in the same way that virtually all defendants, especially African-American ones, are forced to plead guilty in plea bargains to avoid facing long prison terms for crimes they may or may not have committed.
Huffington Post: “Shabazz continued to have trouble with the law throughout his life.”
Reality: His last conviction was in 2002, more than a decade ago; the only “trouble” the character-assassins could find since then was an arrest, with no conviction, meaning he was and remains legally innocent. In other words, he was legally deemed innocent of allegedly “punching a hole in a store window” in 2006 (seven years ago!)
In the USA, where Obama's presidency has not decriminalized “Driving While Black,” practically all young black men have “trouble with the law.” Actually, it isn't that they have trouble with the law. It's that the law has trouble with them. Being young, black, and male means being guilty until proven innocent.
The imperial propagandists at the New York Times, Huffington Post, and similar outlets are working overtime smearing Malcolm Shabazz. This apparently pre-orchestrated smear smells like an intelligence operation. It is strong circumstantial evidence that Malcolm Shabazz was yet another political assassination victim.
Malcolm Shabazz's real “crime,” like that of his famous grandfather, was joining the axis of resistance, standing up to Zionism and the US empire, and speaking the truth.
Malcom Did Not Kill Betty ShabazzDick Gregory revealed in a Jan. 2013 interview that it wasn't young Malcolm who set the fire which killed Dr. Betty Shabazz but neighbors reported 4 mysterious men setting the fire. Young Malcolm was told never to speak about what really happened or face life in prison. They made him plead guilty to manslaughter and he ended up spending the majority of his developmental/adult life behind bars. He never had a chance to fully clear his name of this tragedy and indeed its still used today to desensitize people to his recent assassination!
2003-09-06 "For Malcolm X's Grandson, a Clouded Path"
by MICHAEL WILSON [
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/06/nyregion/for-malcolm-x-s-grandson-a-clouded-path.html]:
The grandson is back in prison. His name does not follow him around as much as it runs ahead, shouting down the cellblocks each time he is transferred to a new place, until soon enough, the other inmates come around, asking if it is true.
''I say, 'Yeah,' '' Malcolm Shabazz said. ''Then they ask me questions: 'Do you need anything? If so, let me know.' They hang around a lot. I just kind of distance myself a little bit, because that gets annoying sometimes. They come with cartons of cigarettes and all this food. I appreciate it, but I don't need it.''
Malcolm Shabazz is the grandson of Malcolm X, whose autobiography is practically required reading among prisoners. He is also the grandson of Malcolm X's widow, Dr. Betty Shabazz, who died in 1997 after she was severely burned in a fire in her Yonkers apartment.
Young Malcolm was the 12-year-old in shackles in the news photos, looking bewildered as he pleaded guilty to setting the blaze. He remembers sitting on the cot in his cell and talking to his dead grandmother, asking for a sign that she forgave him. ''I just wanted her to know I was sorry and I wanted to know she accepted my apology, that I didn't mean it,'' he recalled. ''But I would get no response, and I really wanted that response.''
After a dreary succession of juvenile institutions, he got out after four years and fell into a strange double life: one day the scion of black pride, speaking to a youth group or posing for pictures with Johnnie Cochran, and the next, a gang member making drug deals and fresh headlines. Malcolm X Heir Faces Charges. Malcolm X Grandson Pleads Guilty.
Six years after the fire, he is locked in another cell -- this time in an adult prison, on the far less sensational charge of attempted robbery, the latest in a string of petty crimes that have nibbled away his adolescence. And still he is looking for a sign that he can move on with his life, that the world outside will see him as something more than a delinquent named for a martyred leader.
He is tall and lean, with a strong handshake and a bright, wide smile. Little is left of the frightened-looking 12-year-old. This summer, he agreed to sit down in a visiting room at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility, north of Albany in Comstock, N.Y., for his first interview. He spoke freely about a rootless childhood of privilege and loss, and the destructive course he chose.
In some ways, he sounds like any 18-year-old: ambitious, full of dreams, certain that anything is possible. For that matter, he sounds like any convict; no inmate announces plans to mess up again. His family is hopeful in the forced-smile way of those stung before.
Few prisoners have so many people watching. Malcolm grew up under the glare of an inherited fame. For years he fought the expectations that trail his grandfather, even as he benefited from the family connections and the help from powerful admirers of Malcolm X.
He says he wants to achieve something on his own. ''I have goals. I have plans,'' he said. ''I want people to know what's going on with me.''
What is going on with him will have to wait at least 22 months while he serves his sentence. And even then, he knows he will have to answer to a more sinister kind of fame: his reputation as a mentally disturbed firebug.
''According to the records, I'm diagnosed with so many things,'' he said. ''I hear voices, I hear things, I'm schizophrenic, I'm manic-depressive. I wouldn't be sitting here this calm if those things were true.''
Calmly, then, he talked about the fire.
A Night Without an Escape -
His grandmother's bedroom was in the middle of the hall. She could have turned away from the flames and made it outside.
''I set a fire in the hallway, and I didn't think the whole thing through thoroughly, but she didn't have to run through that fire,'' he said. ''There was another way out of the house from her room. I guess what she thought was I was stuck, and she had to run and get me because it was in front of my room as well. She ran through the fire. I did not picture that happening, that she would do that.''
Dr. Shabazz, 61, had been jumping in to help Malcolm for years, aided by a cadre of aunts who would take him in when life got bad with his mother, Qubilah Shabazz. A bright, eccentric, intensely private woman, Qubilah was the second of Malcolm X's six daughters, a 4-year-old sitting in the audience at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem in 1965 when he was shot to death.
Young Malcolm never knew his father, an African man Qubilah met in Paris while studying at the Sorbonne, though Malcolm heard plenty about his grandfather. ''It's a lot of pressure being Malcolm X's grandson,'' said his godmother, Ruth Clark. ''Everyone had very high hopes.''
Mother and son lived a nomadic existence, moving from France to California, to New York City, to Pennsylvania. In 1995, when Malcolm was 10, Qubilah was charged with plotting with her boyfriend to assassinate Louis Farrakhan out of fear for the life of her mother, who long suspected Mr. Farrakhan had a role in Malcolm X's death.
The boyfriend was an F.B.I. informer later accused of ensnaring Qubilah in a sting, and the charges were dropped, but she agreed to psychiatric and substance-abuse treatment in Texas.
When that was done, two years later, she brought Malcolm to live with her in San Antonio, where they battled, sometimes physically. After only a few months she sent him back to live with his grandmother. But Dr. Shabazz, devoted to preserving her husband's memory, often had to leave town, sending the boy to stay with an aunt, who in turn would send him to a friend -- a door-to-door cycle he hated.
''And this time, I start acting up,'' he said. ''Being bad, doing anything to get them to send me back to my mother. And nothing's working.
''Then I get the idea to set the fire.''
Twenty-three days after the blaze, on June 23, 1997, Betty Shabazz died. Malcolm's mother brought the news to him in a juvenile detention center where the lights were so bright he slept under the bed. ''It was very sad,'' Qubilah Shabazz said. ''You could see something just die in his eyes.''
Two longtime friends of the family stepped forward to represent the boy: Percy E. Sutton, a former Manhattan borough president who had been Malcolm X's lawyer, and David N. Dinkins, the former New York mayor. Malcolm pleaded guilty to the juvenile equivalent of manslaughter.
Before sentencing, the prosecution and the judge selected mental health specialists to interview Malcolm and his family. One testified that Malcolm was ''a schizophrenic boy of a paranoid type.'' Another said that he was fascinated by fire, that he set his shoes ablaze at age 3. Even family members were stunned to hear testimony that Malcolm had an imaginary friend named Sinister Torch who told him to do things.
Malcolm says now that he came up with the friend -- combining the names of characters from the X-Men comics -- as a way to get out of trouble when he was 9. ''That was the type of kid I was: 'I can do this and not be responsible for my actions.' ''
He is particularly critical of Dr. Don Heacock, a well-known child psychiatrist assigned to the case by the judge. ''He was so convinced a voice told me to set the fire, and that was just his own theory,'' Malcolm said. ''He said, 'Didn't you used to hear voices?' 'No, I didn't used to hear voices. I made that up to get attention.' He said: 'Maybe you thought you made it up. Maybe the medication made you think that you made it up.' ''
Dr. Heacock would not discuss specifics of the case but said he stood by his diagnosis. A psychiatrist chosen by the defense did not testify, but found, like the others, that Malcolm was brilliant but disturbed.
Whatever Malcolm's troubles were as he entered treatment, he picked up new ones along the way, particularly at his last juvenile center, Leake & Watts Children's Home in Yonkers. The group home for troubled youths was itself troubled, with well-publicized episodes of vandalism and truancy, and counselors discovered to have criminal backgrounds.
''It was so loose there, you could do anything,'' Malcolm said. ''I would leave the campus and sell drugs. There was nothing better for me to do.''
In his wanderings, he joined the Bloods, drawn by what he calls the gang's ''fight against oppression and brutality.'' He was initiated, or ''jumped in,'' in Manhattan at age 14, he said, and quickly became a leader because of his name. The crown tattooed on his right forearm connotes rank.
When he left the group home at age 16, he entered a split life as two distinct young men -- one bright and curious, the other a minor thug.
Between Blood and the Bloods -
He lived upstate, in Peekskill, with his aunt Ilyasah Shabazz, a celebrity among the Shabazz daughters with the publication of her memoir that year, ''Growing Up X.'' She encouraged him to read African-American classics like ''Invisible Man'' and ''Native Son.''
He worked around the Manhattan temp agency owned by his godmother, Miss Clark. Through her he also found work with Terrie Williams, a publicist and the author of inspirational books, and even became a speaker for Ms. Williams's Stay Strong Foundation, warning other teenagers to avoid his mistakes with drugs and gang life.
Part of him loved the attention, he said, and part of him squirmed. It was as if ''grandson'' had become part of his legal name. At a September 2001 renewal of vows between the Rev. Al Sharpton and his wife, Kathy Jordan Sharpton, Mr. Sharpton pointed him out to the crowd and introduced him: Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X.
He found a place to hide from his fame and his infamy 85 minutes from Manhattan by express bus, in Middletown, N.Y., a small, scuffed city in the foothills of the Catskills where he would escape for days or weeks to hang out with friends from his Leake & Watts days.
He started going by the name Mecca, a seeming tribute to Islam that was actually an acronym inciting violence against a rival gang: Murder Every Crip Child Alive. He ran up a minor police record, and eased into a mentor's role on the streets, he said, teaching drug dealers how to work without getting caught.
Friends said he told them, after some time had passed, who he really was. They were shocked. ''I told him, 'Let me be the grandson, and you wouldn't see me sitting around Middletown,' '' recalled one friend, Quamel Perry. ''I'd have it made.'''
Malcolm's one major arrest came in January 2002, when he and a friend were charged with following a man home from a party and stealing $100. Once again, the family name and connections offered hope of a rescue. A boxing promoter Terrie Williams knew, Butch Lewis, sent his son and an off-duty police officer, as security, to Middletown with $27,500 in cash in a briefcase to make bail. Mr. Lewis had never met Malcolm, but said he wanted to help a ''male heir'' of Malcolm X.
Malcolm pleaded guilty to attempted robbery but skipped bail; he says now that he panicked. After he was caught 11 days later, he was sentenced to three and a half years. His earliest release date is June 29, 2005.
To the Middletown police, he was a low-level troublemaker, no more and no less. ''That he got a lot of street credibility because of his ancestry didn't matter to us,'' Chief Matthew Byrne said. ''Without the name, I wouldn't even remember who you were talking about right now.''
Dreams, and a Dose of Realism -
He has no substantial marks on his disciplinary record. He sits straight up when he eats. He is, by prison standards, a good cook, clever with a hot plate and the canned stuff sold in the commissary: barbecue chips, seasoning and some chopped-up calamari, heated and poured over rice.
In a dark coincidence, his onetime cellmate, Michael Pack of Brooklyn, is serving a sentence for killing his grandmother. The two became friends, studying Islam together until Mr. Pack attempted suicide in July and was transferred to a psychiatric hospital. ''He's a very quiet guy, very observant,'' Mr. Pack said. ''He's very positive, and he gave me the will to fight when I was at my lowest.''
Sometimes, Malcolm assists fellow prisoners with their legal appeals, calling the prison system a corrupt means of locking up ''hundreds of wrongfully convicted innocent African-American men.''
But looking back at his own record, he says he sees a lot of stupid, wrong choices. He has quietly renounced his Bloods ties. ''Keep getting locked up, it's not worth it,'' he said. ''Losing your friends, family, can't make your own decisions.''
He writes regularly to Rosemary, 14, his girlfriend of the last two years, and she wears a necklace bearing his name. They say they want to marry.
Some days, he talks of writing a book, or of law school or business school. Or he imagines owning a chain of small businesses -- ''stores, laundromats, grocery stores, gas stations, barber shops, movie theaters'' -- that would put poor people and ex-convicts to work, and eventually finance loftier goals: an appellate and investigative service for wrongfully convicted inmates, and a halfway house for convicts returning to society.
To get it started, he hopes to tap influential contacts he made earlier in life. ''My name will bring attention,'' he said. ''People know Malcolm Shabazz, whether you like me or not.''
His mother, who is studying nursing, drives up to Great Meadow prison from her home in the Catskills once a week if she can. Over cold sodas from the vending machine and packages of spicy chicken wings pulled steaming from the microwave, they appear closer than they have been in years.
She tries to be realistic about his future. ''It's hard to define your goals from a prison cell, because you want to do everything,'' she said. ''You just dream.''
Malcolm continues to study Islam, as his grandfather did in prison, before he changed his name from Malcolm Little and emerged a leader of the black-power movement. The grandson quotes him on occasion to the other inmates.
But he wonders how different things must have been for Malcolm Little, himself a petty criminal locked up in 1949 when he was in his 20's. Nobody had ever heard of him. To Malcolm, it sounds so much easier.
''He didn't know he was going to be Malcolm X,'' he said. ''He didn't know that. But with me, I know what I want to do. I know what I want to be.''
R.I.P. Malcom Shabazz mural in Oakland at the East Side Arts Alliance [2277 International Blvd], photo July 5th, 2013.
