The Meeting Between Dr. Betty Shabazz and Minister Farrakhan

Hotep!!! (Peace)!!!

Take notes!!!!!!!

In light of Netflix’s newly release documentary on the assassination of Malcolm X called-Who Killed Malcolm X, I think some additional events and perspectives (i.e. a Black Nationalist perspective, a Pan-Afrikanist perspective, an Afrikan centric perspective, etc) needed to be included in the program to give the audience a more Ma’atic (balanced) perspective. Unfortunately, Netflix failed to give those perspectives. Also, Netflix failed to mention a massive community meeting between Black nationalists, supporters of Malcolm X, sister Betty Shabazz, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, and the Nation of Islam to give support to Malcolm X’s family and begin a path to mend old wounds.

This massive community meeting took place in Harlem, NYC at the famed Apollo Theater. I attended this meeting with my good friend Ed Riley, who is currently the executive producer of the All Politics Are Local radio show on Rutgers-Newark, NJ’s campus. The All Politics Are Local radio show airs every Friday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm eastern standard time. The radio show is the number #1 political Hip Hop radio show in America. You can tune-in to show at www.wrnu.info) or (www.allpoliticsrlocal.com)

I went there as a journalist for a 1990s Hip Hop Magazine called the College Entertainment Revue, which Ed was the Editor-In-Chief. My assignment was to write an article on the Apollo theater community meeting between Sister Betty Shabazz and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

At that time, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, and the Nation of Islam, were very popular in the Black community, particularly in the Hip Hop community. Malcolm X’s legacy was huge as well in the Black community in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His popularity was reborn through Afrikan centricity, Black Nationalists, Malcolmites, the streets, Black youth, and Hip Hop. Many people believed that the rise of Afrikan centricity in the late 1980s and early 1990s had been inspired by the Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

While sitting in the audience, there were many respected Black community leaders, Black elected officials, Black clergy members, and community activists attending the event. In fact, it was a who’s who in Black America at that time. The Apollo event was broadcasted all over the news. Even Legendary CBS journalist Mike Wallace attended the event. In the 1960’s, Mike Wallace conducted many interviews with Malcolm X. The place was packed

The Apollo had many speakers from the Black community on the dais. However, the masses of Black people came to see and hear from the main featured speakers: the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan-National Leaders of the Nation of Islam and Dr. Betty Shabazz-the wife of brother Malcolm X (Omawele El Hajj Malik El Shabazz).

At the Apollo, the atmosphere was thick. You could cut the tension in air with a knife. As a consequence of the circumstances surrounding the murder of Malcolm X, which involved some rogue members of the Nation of Islam’s Muhammad Mosque #25 in Newark, NJ, the US Government, and America’s policing agencies (i.e the FBI, the New York City police department, etc); know one knew what the outcome would be on that day. Many people believed that the program would collapse all together on that day.

However, everything was peaceful. We learned at the Apollo that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan initiated the meeting between the sister Betty Shabazz, supporters of Malcolm X, Black nationalists, and the Nation of Islam to financially help support Malcolm’s wife and daughters. At that time, brother Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz’s second oldest daughter named Qubila Shabazz was in legal trouble with the US government for a plot to kill the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Sister Qubilah case says that she approached a Whiteman named Michael Fitzpatrick, a family friend, to convince him to help her to kill the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Michael Fitzpatrick contacted the FBI. He told the FBI that Qubilah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, wanted to kill the leader of the Nation of Islam. The FBI used Michael Fitzpatrick as an under cover agent, and as an agent provocateur, to trap Qubilah in the plot. She was arrested in 1995 in a setup operation by the US government in connection with a plot to kill the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. She was charged with using the telephone and crossing states lines in the case. She went to court, but accepted a plea agreement with respect to the charges. Under the plea deal, Qubilah maintained her innocence, but she accepted responsibility for her actions.

In America, from the 1930s to the 1970s, Al-Islam primarily under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, bursted on the scene to offer Black people a path to free ourselves from racial oppression in America. Masses of Black people embraced Al-Islam as taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam grew to a mass movement for Islam and Black nationalism. It's members included famous Black Muslim leaders such as, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Clara Muhammad, Clarence 13x (the Founder of the 5% Nation of Islam), Imam Suraj Wahhaj, Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad, Minister Conrad Muhammad (now Rev. Conrad Tillard), Minister Abdul Rahmam Muhammad, Minister Akbar Muhammad, and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Unfortunately, the White power structure became threatened by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam movement in the Black community. Racist Whites in America, and in the world, worked night and day, to destroy the Nation of Islam and it's Afrikan centric Black consciousness. After the departure of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1975, his son Wallance Muhammad, who would later change his name to Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, took over the reign of leadership. The son of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad moved the Nation of Islam into Sunni Al-Islam. In 1978, disagreeing with the direction of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan left Sunni Al-Islam to rebuild the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam.

By 1980, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan became the leader of the Nation of Islam. Once again, the Nation of Islam grew to a massive movement in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. But because of his long respected activism of Black empowerment with Black people in America, and with the Afrikan world community; by 1995, the masses of Black people trusted the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as the credible voice for Black liberation.

However, in the Nation of Islam's early history, Malcolm X rose to become a major leader in the Black Muslim movement. He was the former National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam and a world-wide respected Black Nationalist freedom fighter in the 1950s and 60s. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York. Brother Malcolm X’s uncompromising Afrikan centered critiques of White supremacy, and the system of racism, made him some enemies in the Nation of Islam, many enemies in US government, many enemies in the F.B.I., many enemies in local police departments across the United States, and many enemies in European governments in the world. The organization that created Malcolm X was called the Nation of Islam. However, Malcolm's leadership turned the Nation of Islam into a respected national organization with Masaajid (arabic for Mosques) in every major city in America.

Back to New York City. At the Apollo theater, Dr. Betty Shabazz said, Malcolm made her fearless.” She told audience the that, “I am thankful to Minister Farrakhan for all his help.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said that, “he did not believe that sister Qubila was trying to kill him.” He further said, “the plot to kill me was part of a larger conspiracy to cause a deeper rift between brother Malcolm X and himself, a rift between Malcolm’s family and all Malcolm’s supporters towards Farrakhan’s supporters, Farrakhan’s supporters towards Malcolm.” He also added these words, “at the end of the day, the US government wants to destroy the Nation of Islam and every movement for Black liberation.”

It was in early 1990s that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan began his public apologies to Dr. Betty Shabazz, and the Shabazz family, and to the Black people for creating an anti-Malcolm atmosphere in the Nation of Islam.

These events began to set the platform for a huge meeting that took place at the Apollo Theater on 125 street in Harlem, New York City, which is also the home to the historic Black community in America. Sister Betty Shabazz and the Honorable Minister Farrakhan shook hands on the stage at the Apollo Theater. This was the first time, since the 1960s, that both the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and sister Betty Shabazz shared one another’s space. This public event was intended to raise money for Qubilah Shabazz's legal defense and support for brother Malcolm’s family. Many people heralded the evening as a reconciliation between sister Betty Shabazz and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Nearly, $250,000 was raised that evening in New York City by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam, the Black Nationalists, supporters of Malcolm X, and the Black community.

Two years later sister Betty Shabazz died on June 27, 1997 in New York City. Her 12 year-old grandson Malcom Shabazz set a fire in her apartment. Malcolm Shabazz was sentenced to 18 months in juvenile detention for manslaughter and arson.

After the success of the Apollo theater community meeting between Dr. Betty Shabazz and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, later on in that same year of 1995, on October 16, the leader of the Nation of Islam organized over two million Black man at the mall in Washington, DC. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan called it the Million Man March. This demonstration called for Blackmen to reconnect to strong family values, called the US government to task for reparations, called for the freeing of Black political prisoners and New Afrikan prisoners of War, promoted social justice, Black unity, and Black liberation.

Unfortunately, the Apollo theater meeting between sister Betty Shabazz and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan never made it into the Netflix documentary called- Who Killed Malcolm X. The meeting was a major event in Black History and in the history of Black freedom struggle. Sister Betty Shabazz and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan showed the world that Black people can make atonements for past injustices towards one another in Black liberation struggle.

In summation, we must be careful of the motives behind news reporters and documentaries produced about our Black leaders, organizations, and movements. If we are not the financiers in media, the creators in media, the executive producers in media, the reporters in media, and the writers in media, then many times our story is told with biases. We must always remember that White supremacy, and the system of racism, are real conditions in the world dominating Black lives in America and in the Afrikan world community. Anything, like the Nation of Islam, and Black nationalism, that represents a challenge to White dominance, White supremacy and the system of racism will quickly use all resources and propaganda to discredit and destroy.

Hotep!!!

-Bashir Muhammad Akinyele is a History Teacher, Black Studies Teacher, Community Actvist, Chairperson of Weequahic High School's Black History Month Committee in Newark, NJ, commentary writer, and Co-Producer and Co-Host of the All Politics Are Local, the number #1 political Hip Hip radio show in America.

Note: Spelling Afrika with a k is not a typo. Using the k in Afrika is the Kiswahili way of writing Africa. Kiswahili is a Pan -Afrikan language. It is spoken in many countries in Afrika. Kiswahili is the language used in Kwanzaa. The holiday of Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January
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