My Interview with the wife of Malcom X: Dr. Betty Shabazz Part 2

Dr. Betty Shabazz

This is the last part of my interview with Dr. Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X. I interviewed Dr. Shabazz at the Buffalo Convention in April,1989. The occasion was the annual luncheon held by the organization known as Women for Human Rights and Dignity, founded by Mrs. Constance Eve. Mrs. Eve was an educator and community leader who worked for the progress of our community for many years.

 The Late Mrs. Eve organized programs to support women who were incarcerated and needed help for getting their lives in order. Dr. Shabazz was the keynote speaker of the event. I was invited by Mrs. Eve to interview Dr. Shabazz. I did not have enough time to prepare for the interview. As I was driving to the Convention Center I thought about the questions I wanted to ask. I was the only journalist in the room at the time.

I sat across from Dr. Shabazz and I asked several questions about how Malcolm would respond based on his work in the African American community. I was aware that his beliefs were different from Dr. Martin Luther King. However, both men worked for the same results of achieving freedom and justice for the Black community.

Question: Do you think that Malcom has been given his proper place in history?

Answer: No, I don’t think so. But if you understand the environment we are living in then you know that no one is really going to give him the recognition. People who feel insecure about themselves will always have a problem with Malcolm. You will find that most people in the African Diaspora don’t put themselves first. You have to love yourself.

Question: What are your personal feelings about the future of African Americans? Where are we going?

Answer: I don’t know where we are going. We need leaders to understand that there is a crisis in our community, and we have to deal with the conditions that affect African Americans. We have people who can chart the course to the moon, but somehow the conditions of people remain unsettled, unchartered, and are getting worse. You can’t contain a crisis forever. We tell our children to do one thing and then we do another. What kind of messages are we sending to our young people?

Question: What would you tell young people today?

Answer: I would tell them that the future belongs to them, but they are going to have work for it. They come from an area of the world that is the richest in resources. They must reconnect and recapture their heritage. Development, Peace, and Love are the words that I would give them!!