Betty Shabazz (born Betty Jean Sanders) (May 28, 1936 – June 23, 1997), also known as Betty X, was the wife of Malcolm X. May 28 is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (Latin for, We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes) Location in Wayne County, Michigan Coordinates: Country United States State Michigan County Wayne County Settled 1701 Incorporation 1806 Government  - Type Strong Mayor-Council  - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Area  - City  143. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of United States. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ...

Background

There is an air of uncertainty about Betty Shabazz's background and early life. Shabazz was born in Detroit, Michigan as Betty Sanders. She is reportedly the daughter of Shelman Sandlin and a woman named Sanders. Shabazz was an illegitimate child and had a scattered childhood. Young Betty Shabazz was taken in by foster parents after her troubled childhood and grew up with them in a fairly sheltered, loving, middle-class household in Detroit. Throughout her life, Shabazz devoted her life to black community affairs in the areas of childcare, health and sexual education. Nickname: Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (Latin for, We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes) Location in Wayne County, Michigan Coordinates: Country United States State Michigan County Wayne County Settled 1701 Incorporation 1806 Government  - Type Strong Mayor-Council  - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Area  - City  143. ...

Early years

After high school, Shabazz left the comfortable home of her adoptive parents in Detroit to study at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), a well-known historically black college in Alabama. It was at Alabama that she encountered her first racial hostilities. She did not understand the causes for the racial issues, and her parents refused to acknowledge these issues. She mentioned this in an autobiographical essay she wrote in 1992, published in Essence Magazine: "They thought [the problems] were my fault."' Tuskegee University is an American institution of higher learning located in Tuskegee, Alabama. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ...

Shabazz moved to New York City to escape Southern racism, and enrolled as a nursing student at the Brooklyn State Hospital School of Nursing. While in New York, Shabazz's friend invited her to hear Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X from the Nation of Islam speak at an Islamic temple (Temple No. 7 in Harlem). According to the Essence essay, Shabazz's friend offered to introduce her to Malcolm X after his speech. Betty's initial reaction was "big deal". She continues: "But then, I looked over and saw this man on the extreme right aisle sort of galloping to the podium. He was tall, he was thin, and the way he was galloping it looked as though he was going someplace much more important than the podium... Well, he got to the podium and I sat up straight. I was impressed with him." They discussed the racism she encountered in Alabama, and she began to understand its causes, pervasiveness, and effects. Soon, Betty was attending all of Malcolm's lectures. By the time she graduated from nursing school in 1958, she was a member of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad bestowed of his followers the last name "X", representing the African family name they would never know. She changed her name to "Betty X" a result of her Nation of Islam influence. “New York, NY” redirects here. ... Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (October 7, 1897 - February 25, 1975) is notable for his leadership of the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death. ... Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Apollo Theater on 125th Street; the Hotel Theresa is visible in the background. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Marriage

In her autobiographical essay for Essence Magazine in 1992, Shabazz said, "I never 'dated' Malcolm as we think of it because at the time single men and women in the Muslims did not 'fraternize' as they called it. Men and women always went out in groups." In 1958, after she had completed nursing school, Malcolm X, who was traveling the country at the time, called her from Detroit and proposed marriage. Before the week was out, Betty aged 23 and Malcolm aged 32 were married.

After their split from The Nation of Islam in 1964, Malcolm and Betty X adopted the Muslim last name, Shabazz. Together, they had six daughters — Attallah (b. 1958), Qubilah (b. 1960), Ilyasah (b. 1963), Gamilah (b. 1964) and twins Malaak and Malikah (b. 1965, seven months after Malcolm X's death). 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Qubilah Shabazz (born 1960) is the daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Ilyasah Shabazz Ilyasah Shabazz was only two years old when her father Malcolm X was shot to death. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Husband's Assassination

In February of 1965 their family survived the firebombing of their home due to Malcolm X's activism in Queens, New York. On February 21, 1965, Shabazz and her four young children witnessed the assassination of Malcolm X in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. It was reported that Shabazz was in the audience and covered her girls with her own body on the ballroom floor as the assassins' bullets flew. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... Queens is geographically the largest of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States, and the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S. It is coterminous with Queens County in the State of New York and is located on western Long Island. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... The Audubon Ballroom is most notoriously known as where Malcolm X was assassinated. ...

Alex Haley wrote in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, "Sister Betty came through the people, herself a nurse, and people recognizing her moved back; she fell on her knees, looking down on his bare, bullet-pocked chest, sobbing, 'They killed him!' " Alexander Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer. ... The Autobiography of Malcolm X cover The Autobiography of Malcolm X (ISBN 0-345-35068-5) was written by Alex Haley between 1964 and 1965, based on interviews conducted shortly before Malcolm Xs death (and with an epilogue for after it), and was published in 1965. ...

Two of the three assassins were captured at the scene, and all three were members of Nation of Islam.

Life after Malcolm X's assassination

Hajj

She performed the Hajj in Mecca and considered herself a Sunni Muslim. Shabazz held her conviction about the role of the Nation of Islam's role in Malcolm X's assassination until 1995 when she had a public reconciliation with Louis Farrakhan, the head of the Nation of Islam. The Hajj (Arabic: , transliteration: ; Turkish: ; Ottoman Turkish: حاج, Hāc; Malay: , Bosnian: ) is the Pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. ...

In the essay for Essence Magazine in 1992, Shabazz confessed, I really don't know where I'd be today if I had not gone to Mecca to make Hajj shortly after Malcolm was assassinated. . And that is what helped put me back on track. I remembered one of the things Malcolm always said to me is, 'Don't be bitter. Remember Lot's wife when they kill me, and they surely will. You have to use all of your energy to do what it is you have to do.' Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Lot and his Daughters, Hendrik Goltzius, 1616. ...

Education

When Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, the couple had four daughters. Shabazz was pregnant with twins at the time of his assassination. She was a registered nurse, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Brooklyn State Hospital School of Nursing in 1958. She continued her education by enrolling in Jersey City State College. Shabazz was determined to provide for her family and serve as a role model for her children. She received a Bachelor of Arts in public health education from Jersey City State College. She returned to pursue her Master of Arts in public health education from Jersey City State College in 1970. In 1975, she received her Ph.D. in education administration at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. New Jersey City University (formerly Jersey City State College) is a public university located in Jersey City, New Jersey. ... The center of the UMass Amherst campus. ... Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, (ΔΣΘ) Incorporated is a non-profit Greek letter organization of college educated women committed to constructive development of its members and to public service with a primary focus on the Black community. ...

Ilyasah Shabazz's autobiography, Growing Up X, published in 2002.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (468x700, 36 KB) Summary Growing Up X by Ilyasah Shabazz Publisher: One World/Ballantine; 1st edition (April 30, 2002) Language: English ISBN: 0345444957 Licensing This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (468x700, 36 KB) Summary Growing Up X by Ilyasah Shabazz Publisher: One World/Ballantine; 1st edition (April 30, 2002) Language: English ISBN: 0345444957 Licensing This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either...

Raising family

Betty Shabazz demonstrated her resiliency and determination as a single mother in raising and educating her six daughters, Attallah, Qubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah, and twins Malikah and Malaak upon Malcolm X's assassination. Shabazz raised her family in the Islamic faith.

According to daughter Ilyasah Shabazz's autobiography, Growing Up X (2002), after Malcolm X's demise, Betty Shabazz got help from wealthy close friends and celebrities to acquire a large, beautiful home in Mount Vernon, New York for her family. Malcolm and Betty had split from The Nation of Islam in 1964 and in turn, the Nation had recently evicted Malcolm and family from the small house it had provided during Malcolm X's ministry, just before the assassination. In her book, Ilyasah writes that Betty Shabazz worked very hard to ensure that her daughters were well provided for. They led sheltered, comfortable, upper middle-class lives, complete with the luxury of housekeepers, chauffeured cars, exclusive social clubs, and expensive, predominantly white private schools, private tutors and summer camps. Motto: The city of homes Coordinates: Counties Westchester County Government  - Mayor Ernest D. Davis (Dem) Area  - City 11. ...

Middle years

Social work

In 1976, Shabazz worked at New York's Medgar Evers College as an assistant professor. She taught health sciences and then became head of public relations at Medgar Evers College. She traveled widely, speaking on topics such as civil rights and racial tolerance. She became a great advocate for the goal of self-determination for African Americans. She also served on many boards, including the African-American Foundation, the Women's Service League and the Day Care Council of Westchester County, New York. Medgar Evers College (MEC) is a college campus (offering bachelors and associates degrees) of the City University of New York. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Westchester County is a primarily suburban county with about 940,000 residents located in the U.S. state of New York. ...

Later years

In 1994, Shabazz spoke out for the first time against the Nation of Islam and linked its current leader, Louis Farrakhan, to Malcolm X's assassination. Farrakhan denied the allegations. He blamed the turbulent and racially hostile atmosphere of the 1960s as the root causes for Malcolm's death. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. ...

In January 1995, Betty and Malcolm X's daughter Qubilah Shabazz was charged in Minneapolis with trying to hire an assassin to murder Farrakhan in retaliation for the murder of her father. The assassin turned out to be a government informant. Farrakhan surprised everyone by defending Qubilah. He claimed that she had been manipulated by government agents who wanted to breed ill feelings within the Nation of Islam and throughout the African American community. In May 1995, Shabazz eventually reconciled with Farrakhan, shaking his hand on the stage of Harlem's Apollo Theater at a fundraiser for her daughter's defense. The fundraiser had been arranged by Farrakhan to help pay for Qubilah's legal fees. Betty Shabazz spoke at Farrakhan's Million Man March in October 1995. This article is about the city in Minnesota. ... Apollo Theater marquee, c. ... The Million Man March was a Black march of protest and unity convened by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in Washington, DC on October 16, 1995. ...

Qubilah was not imprisoned for her plot to assassinate Farrakhan. However, she was required to undergo psychological counseling and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse for a two-year period. During this period, Qubilah's 12-year-old son, Malcolm, was sent to live with Shabazz at her apartment in Yonkers, New York. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Death

On June 1, 1997, Betty Shabazz's grandson, Malcolm, set fire to her apartment. Malcolm Shabazz had been living with Shabazz for a few months at the time of the incident and it was reported that he was unhappy he had been sent to live with his grandmother in Yonkers and that he had wanted to re-join his mother Qubilah in Texas. Shabazz suffered burns over 80 percent of her body and remained in intensive care for three weeks at the Jacobi Medical Center in Bronx, New York. She underwent five skin-replacement operations as doctors struggled to replace damaged skin and save her life.^[1] At the time, doctors had forewarned that patients with her severity of injuries usually had less than a 10 percent chance of survival. Shabazz died of third degree burns on June 23, 1997, at the age of 61. June 1 is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Malcolm Shabazz is the son of Qubilah Shabazz and grandson of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Jacobi Medical Center is a municipal hospital located in the Morris Park section of the Bronx, New York. ... The Bronx is New York Citys northernmost borough. ... This page deals with the type of injury called burns; for other meanings of burn see burn (disambiguation) In medicine, a burn is a type of injury to the skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, or radiation (an example of the latter is sunburn). ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Malcolm Shabazz was arrested within hours of the fire being started and accused of setting the blaze.^[2] He was later sentenced to eighteen months in juvenile detention for manslaughter.

At the time of her death, Shabazz headed the Office of Institutional Advancement and Public Relations at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn (part of the City University of New York). More than 2,000 mourners attended a memorial service for Shabazz at New York City's Riverside Church. Many prominent leaders including Coretta Scott King (widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.), Myrlie Evers-Williams (widow of Medgar Evers), poet Maya Angelou, actor-activist Ossie Davis, four New York City mayors—Rudolph Giuliani, David Dinkins, Edward Koch and Abraham Beame; U.S. Representative Maxine Waters and New York Governor George Pataki were present for her memorial service. U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman delivered a tribute from President Bill Clinton. In a statement released after Shabazz's death, black civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said, "She never stopped giving and she never became cynical. She leaves today the legacy of one who epitomized hope and healing." The City University of New York (CUNY; acronym: IPA pronunciation: ), is the public university system of New York City. ... Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was the wife of the assassinated civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. ... “Martin Luther King” redirects here. ... Myrlie Evers-Arias (born March 17, 1933, nee Myrlie Beasley in Vicksburg, Mississippi) is an African American activist. ... Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi. ... Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Johnson April 4, 1928[1]) is an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. ... Ossie Davis in The Green Pastures, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1951 Ossie Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an African American film actor, director and social activist. ... Rudolph William Louis Rudy Giuliani III, KBE (born May 28, 1944) served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994 through December 31, 2001. ... David Norman Dinkins (born July 10, 1927 in Trenton, New Jersey) was the Mayor of New York City from 1989 through 1993, the first (and, to date, only) African American to hold that office. ... Ed Koch, a Democrat, speaks at the 2004 Republican National Convention in support of the re-election of President George W. Bush. ... Abe Beame in mid-career Abraham David Beame (known as Abe Beame) (March 20, 1906 – February 10, 2001) was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. ... Maxine Waters (born Maxine Moore Carr on August 15, 1938) has served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing the 35th District of California (map). ... George Elmer Pataki (born June 24, 1945) is the current Governor of New York State, USA serving since January 1995, and as of late 2006 is the longest-serving of all current U.S. governors. ... The official portrait of Alexis Herman hangs in the Department of Labor Alexis Margaret Herman (born July 16, 1947 in Mobile, Alabama) served as the 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. ... The presidential seal was first used in 1880 by President Rutherford B. Hayes and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Jesse Louis Jackson (born October 8, 1941) is an American politician, professional civil rights activist and Baptist minister. ...

Shabazz's funeral service was held at the Islamic Cultural Center in New York City. Her wake was at the Unity Funeral Home in Harlem (the same location where Malcolm X's wake was held 32 years before). Betty Shabazz was buried next to her husband, Malcolm X, at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.^[3] A wake is a ceremony associated with death. ... Founded in 1903, the non-sectarian Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of New York City. ... Hartsdale is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. ...

There is a major mosque in Harlem named after Shabazz. The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ...

References

1. ^ "Betty Shabazz in Extremely Critical Condition", CNN, June 19, 1997
2. ^ "Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X's Widow, Dies at 61", CNN, June 23, 1997
3. ^ "Thousands Mourn Death of Dr. Betty Shabazz in New York City", Jet Magazine, July 14, 1997

Betty Shabazz is a real cool name!!!!!!!!! The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... Jet magazine is a popular African-American publication founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company. ...

Further reading

• Russell J. Rickford, Betty Shabazz: A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X (Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2003).

External links

• Dr. Betty Shabazz Health Center