ABOUT ILYASAH SHABAZZ—continued

Ilyasah’s mother, Dr. Betty Shabazz was a nurse, educator, activist and an international advocate for women’s rights.  On Valentine’s eve, the home in which Malcolm, his pregnant wife, Betty, and their four young children lived was firebombed with a Molotov cocktail. One week later on February 21, 1965, young Betty and her young girls would witness the brutal assassination of her husband. Now widowed and homeless, terrified, badgered and harassed by the government, this young woman in her twenties would refuse to accept defeat or limitations; and she would never accept, “no” or “I can’t” as an answer.  With faith in God and the knowledge of Africa’s contributions to world 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.”  She could have gone anywhere, but she chose a position in Education 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 and Educational Center, Inc. at The Audubon—the place of her father’s martyrdom in 1965.