Who Killed Malcolm X's Eldest Grandson, Also named el-Hajj Malcolm Shabbaz
WARRIOR CREED livestream this Friday
The ANNOUNCEMENT:
Tune in to the WARRIOR CREED livestream via the Gettr profile of Maajid Nawaz this Friday 12th August 4PM UK / 11AM EST to hear the tragic life story of Malcolm X’s eldest grandson, found murdered in Mexico City after he made attempts to travel for study abroad on a “presidential scholarship” to Iran.
The TRAILER:
The BACKGROUND:
“Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died while traveling in Mexico, US officials confirmed Friday. He was 28.
Two US officials said Shabazz was killed Thursday morning in Mexico City. They did not provide additional details and they spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Shabazz family publicist Terrie Williams confirmed the death to The Associated Press and said the family would issue a statement later.
Labor activist Miguel Suarez said he was with Shabazz when his friend was beaten up during a dispute over a bill at a Mexico City bar.
Suarez, who was recently deported from the United States to Mexico, told the AP that they and several other people had gone to a bar near the downtown plaza that is home to Mexico City's mariachis.
He said Friday the owner demanded they pay a $1,200 bill and a fight ensued. Suarez says he later found Shabazz injured outside the bar and took him to a hospital where he died on Thursday.
Shabazz was born in 1984 to Qubilah Shabazz, one of six daughters of Malcolm X and his wife Betty Shabazz. Qubilah was 4 years old when she saw her father shot to death as he delivered a speech in a Harlem ballroom in 1965.
In June 1997, Malcolm Shabazz, then 12, set a fire at his grandmother Betty Shabazz's home. She died from severe burns, and he served four years in juvenile detention.
He later expressed regret for his actions, telling The New York Times in 2003 that he would sit on his jail cot and ask for a sign of forgiveness from his dead grandmother.
"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 said. "But I would get no response, and I really wanted that response."
Shabazz also served time on a 2002 attempted robbery conviction, and was released in 2005. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to criminal mischief for smashing the window of a Yonkers doughnut shop.
In recent years, Shabazz said he was writing a memoir and traveling the United States to speak out against youth violence. On his Facebook profile, he said he was attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
He proudly embraced his grandfather's legacy, describing himself on his Twitter page as ‘Grandson, name-sake and first male heir of the greatest revolutionary leader of the 20th century."
The STORYTELLER:
Malcom Shabbaz’s friend and last sponsor, Dutch-Maghrebi poet and classically trained musician Rajae.
She is the founder of creative impact platform Ellae.
Rajae El Mouhandiz is a singer, composer, short film maker and (music) theater maker. She produces Maghreb pop, soul and jazz and has released the albums Incarnation, Hand of Fatima, the EP Watani and the single Gracefully. Her short docu-film HOPE! was nominated for the NFF prize.
She is one of the 60 female curators of the international MUSLIMA exhibition and she gave a TEDx talk about the power of identity and music. She created a TV version of her talk for a Dutch national tv network KRO, on the show KRO, Straight from the Heart.
With a British Council grant and a US licence she initiated and produced theatre production Hijabi Monologues NL (nominated for the Golden C award).
In 2017 she created a research music theatre production titled Home, Displaced. In 2018/2019 she made and toured with Home, Displaced #2, a 70 minutes music theatre solo production about the space women can take up. The spin off of her research is a large art exhibition which she created and curated for/with Het Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, titled: Modest Fashion: An international Phenomenon in Art and Fashion.
In the last 11 years in a row Rajae was listed in the arts and culture section of the annual list of the 500 most influential Muslims in the World.
The REMINDER:
Tune to WARRIOR CREED livestream tomorrow Friday 12th August 4PM UK / 11AM EST via Maajid Nawaz’s Gettr profile to hear the tragic story of Malcolm X’s eldest grandson, found murdered in Mexico City.
