ABOUT ILYASAH SHABAZZ-continued

Ilyasah’s mother, Al-Shaheedah Dr. Betty Shabazz was a nurse, educator, activist and an international advocate for women’s rights.  A widowed, penniless, homeless, terrified, badgered and harassed young woman in her twenties, Betty Shabazz refused to accept defeat or limitations; and she would never accept, “no” or “I can’t” as an answer.  With faith in God and the true knowledge of her history, she raised her six girls, became a role model for single mothers, and zealously appropriated the legacy of her husband, Malcolm X.  After receiving her PhD, Dr. Betty Shabazz accepted the professorship at Medgar Evers College because, in her words, “[she] was concerned about the plight of her people and could empathize with those struggling to take care of their families and to make ends meet.”  She could have gone anywhere, but she chose a position where she could best serve others.  Dr. Shabazz often said to Ilyasah, “Just as one must drink water, one must give back.”


BIOGRAPHY

ILYASAH SHABAZZ is committed to developing educational programs that foster self-empowerment; expanding the role of government to teach individual responsibility for improving society; and capitalizing on the arts & entertainment to encourage the understanding of history, culture, and self- expression.    

Ms. Shabazz produces The WAKE-UP Tour™, her exclusive youth empowerment program designed to inspire young people to think and act critically to safeguard their futures.  She is also corporation president and trustee of The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational, and Cultural Center, Inc. at The Audubon, the place of her father’s martyrdom in 1965.