My Interview with the Wife of Malcolm X: Dr. Betty Shabazz
Part 1
Dr. Betty Shabazz (image from Wikipedia)
The following article appeared in the Criterion newspaper in the April 1989 edition, 36 years ago. I am repeating it in observance of the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Malcolm X. He was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcom X became an icon in the struggle for civil rights for African Americans. As a member of the Nation of Islam he was articulate and forceful in his ideas of freedom. The autobiography of Malcolm X became very popular. It gave insight into his life and legacy. I remember when I taught in the school system, there was controversy about whether his books should be in the school libraries. For some he was seen as too controversial; however, he became popular and was known for his rhetoric as a minister in the Nation of Islam. The question of the time for African Americans was should they follow Malcolm X or Dr. Martin Luther King? Both men were working for the same results, but in different ways. Malcolm’s famous quote “By Any Means Necessary” was intended to wake up Black America.
The goal of this article is to reflect on the words of his wife, Dr. Betty Shabazz about Malcolm’s beliefs on a number of topics. When I walked into the Buffalo Convention Center on Saturday, April 8, 1989, I had no idea that ten minutes later I would be sitting across from the wife of Malcolm X and conducting an interview with her. The organization called Women for Human and Dignity, Inc. presented its fourth annual meeting. The organization was founded by the late Constance Eve. She was an educator and community leader, working to uplift women. Dr. Betty Shabazz was the keynote speaker. This columnist would like to thank the late Mrs. Constance Eve for the invitation to attend the affair and giving me the opportunity to interview Dr. Shabazz. It was a surprise phone call. I only had a few minutes to prepare for the interview. As I drove to the Convention Center, I was organizing my thoughts and the questions that I wanted to ask Dr. Shabazz. The interesting thing about this was that I was the only journalist in the room. I didn’t have a tape recorder and had to rely on my notes which I wrote in a form of writing called steno script which I learned in high school.
The following are some of the questions that I asked Dr. Shabazz:
Dr. Shabazz what is the message do you try to get across to Black youth that would speak to the tradition of Malcolm X.
Answer: I would tell them that they come from a long line of people who built civilization. And coming from this great history of people who did so much for world civilization, they have a responsibility to accept the challenge learn and to help others to move forward. It is very difficult to endure some of the things that we had to endure. We know that conditions should be better. We were talking earlier to some of the students in the program called STEP about the importance of discipline. We have to let our young people know that we love them. We must provide resources for them in our educational institutions. We must encourage them to learn as much as possible.
Question: If Malcom were alive today, what would he say about Black leadership?
Answer: Someone in New York said that Malcolm frightened a lot of people. When you are serious, a lot of people become frightened. If you look at the conditions that existed 25 or 30 years ago, you can see the same conditions today. Malcolm was very serious. Malcolm was very committed to the African Diaspora. It is unfortunate that some people were so narrow-minded in their view and perspective and labeled him as racist. It had nothing to do with that. We need someone to deal with the crisis of African people. The conditions that we experience do not just exist in America, but all over the world. They must be resolved. We should not go through the same conditions of discrimination, racism, unemployment, and the worst neighborhoods, and the worst schools. We should not have to go through this for another 400 years.