On February 19, 1965, Malcom X was brutally gunned down in New York City at the Audubon Ballroom in upper Manhattan. He had been a member of the Nation of Islam (NOI) recruiting thousands of new members and building chapters throughout the country. After leaving the NOI, he founded the Muslim Mosque Incorporated and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Leading up to his death, Brother Malcolm had a transformative experience on his pilgrimage to Mecca and travels throughout Africa in 1964.
On February 16, 2015, The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO will honor the Life and Legacy of Malcolm X by hosting his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz at Jackson State University. His daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, has recently captured her father’s experience in an edited volume titled The Diary of Malcolm X. She has also written an autobiography about her life titled Growing Up X along with a children’s book titled Little Malcolm.
During a 10:00 a.m. Keynote Address in the Liberal Arts Auditorium, Ms. Shabazz will speak to the university body (faculty, staff, and students). This event will be epic for JSU in that it will be the 50th anniversary of Malcom X’s assassination with his daughter present to recount her life’s experiences with him.
Ilyasah Shabazz, (pronounced ILL-YAH-SAH SHAH-BOZZ) is an author, producer, and motivational speaker as she lectures to capacity audiences across the United States. Her coming-of-age Random House publication, Growing Up X, won critical acclaim, including an NAACP Image Award nomination, BET best book list, and United Press International book of the week.
ILYASAH produced training programs to encourage higher education for at-risk youth sanctioned by the City University of New York: Office of Academic Affairs. She served 12 years on the Youth Board for the City of Mount Vernon’s Mayor Ernest D. Davis; including appointments as Director of Public Relations, Director of Public Affairs & Special Events, and later promoted to Director of Cultural Affairs. Ilyasah served as a member of the U.S. delegation that accompanied President Bill Clinton to South Africa to commemorate election of President Nelson Mandela. Ilyasah is a mentor for the We Are Family foundation—dedicated to inspire, educate and promote a global family through building bridges between cultures for young leaders of the world. She mentors at various group homes, lock-up facilities, high schools and college campuses through production of The WAKE-UP Tour™: ‘X’-Tra Credit Forums—her exclusive youth empowerment program.
ILYASAH retraced her father’s footsteps to the Holy City of Mecca and is included in the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World. She explored religious and historical sites in both Egypt and Jordan as the guest of Her Royal Highness Princess Alia Al Hussein. Ilyasah has participated in interfaith dialogue study programs under Rabbi Nancy Kreimer and Dr. Aziza Al Hibri. Ilyasah served as a member of the American Interfaith Leadership delegation that participated with the “Malaria No More Foundation” to provide 2 million bed nets, ultimately saving the lives of 95% at-risk children in Mali, West Africa. Ilyasah is trustee of the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center and the Malcolm X Foundation.
During an 11:00 am Book Review, as part of the Black History Makers Forum, Jackson State University and Jackson Public School Students will engage in intellectual discourse while discussing her book, Growing up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X.
There will be a 6:00 pm Inter-Generational Dialogue between Ilyasah Shabazz and Reena Evers (daughter of Medgar Evers) that will be open to the public. Reena Evers-Everett is currently the Executive Director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute which provides education and civil-engagement programs to show Medgar Evers' vision on civil rights. Through the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, Mrs. Evers-Everett, engages thousands of high school students across the country to learn about the Civil Rights Movement and ways to overcome cultural barriers. This inter-generational conversation between Reena Evers and Ilyasah Shabazz will be groundbreaking…the first ever public conversation between to the two daughters of human rights martyrs in Mississippi. Refreshments will be served.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015: Shabazz will participate in an 8:00 am “Read-In” at Brown Elementary. There, she will discuss her children’s book, MALCOLM LITTLE: the Boy Who Would Grow up To Become Malcolm X (Simon and Schuster). The book is beautifully illustrated and has had overwhelmingly positive response from young children.
Student presentations will be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 11:30 am at the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO exhibit space located at 1017 John R. Lynch Street. While the theme of the forum is “Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Malcolm X”, high school, undergraduate, and graduate students will engage and present their scholarship before an audience of their peers, faculty/staff, and professional scholars centered around the theme of the “Life and Legacy of Malcolm X” and interdisciplinary topics.
This event is FREE and open to the Public. Please register now to be sure you have a seat!
http://2015blackhistorymakersilyasahshabazz.eventbrite.com