AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
If you're not ready to die for it, put the word freedom out of your vocabulary. Those were the words of Malcolm X, who was assassinated 60 years ago on February 21. The civil rights leader was the public face of the Nation of Islam for many years and voiced the collective frustration of Black Americans during the Jim Crow era. Unlike some Black leaders, he did not advocate nonviolence but a doctrine of equality by any means necessary.
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MALCOLM X: Faced with the brutality that they've experienced in this country for 400 years, and the inability or unwillingness of the government to protect us against this brutality, then if the Negro intends to be recognized and respected as a man, he should do whatever is necessary to defend himself in the same way that whites have done to defend themselves.
RASCOE: Malcolm X's family says popular images of him speaking with a raised fist or holding a gun don't capture the whole man.
ILYASAH SHABAZZ: For a long time, many people had been miseducated about who my father was, and I think it may have been intentional.
RASCOE: His daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz was just 2 years old when her father was murdered in front of her in New York City. She told me how her mother, Betty Shabazz, kept Malcolm X's spirit alive after his death.
SHABAZZ: We had his shoes, clothes, his briefcase, his books in our study. And when we did something great, she'd say, oh, my goodness, Daddy would be so proud of you. Or, you know, if we did something that wasn't so great, she would, you know, let us know Daddy would not approve. She made sure that we knew Malcolm, the man, the husband, the father, the son, the brother. It wasn't until I went to college that I fully learned about Malcolm X, the icon.
RASCOE: Malcolm X, the icon - a lot of people think about Malcolm X. They may think of that picture of him looking out the window with the gun, kind of militant, Black nationalist leader. What do you want us to know about your father?
SHABAZZ: My father was a young, responsible, purpose-driven individual. My father just insisted that his country live up to their promise of liberty and justice for all of its citizens. And when we see Malcolm, you know, with his fist up and talking passionately, it is usually the reaction to the bombings, to the lynchings, to the injustices that were happening. And Malcolm challenged the government for, you know, these injustices. And not really just the government - he said it's individuals who are behind policy and laws and so forth and that we need to come together and change these things that are causing us to be so divisive.
RASCOE: You father joined the Nation of Islam, a Black nationalist group. People would say it was more separatist when it came to race. It was more antisemitic. But he later distanced himself from that organization and converted to more mainstream Islam. What do you think about that part of his legacy?
SHABAZZ: Ayesha, we're talking about the 1950s. It was the height of segregation. And so the Nation of Islam was much like the Universal Negro Improvement Association - community building, you know, a place where you're worshipping God. And you're also learning about who you are as a Black person because we were called Negroes. Now, remember, he joins the Nation of Islam when he was in his 20s, and he was gunned down at 39. So this is all a very young man who's quickly evolving with purpose and intention, giving back to society, wanting to make it better for all of us.
He said, if you put a knife in my back 9 inches and you pull it out 6 inches, the knife is still in my back. There's no progress. If you pull it all the way out, that's not progress. There's an open wound. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. But in order to heal the wound that the blow made, we have to acknowledge the fact that the knife has been in my back. And those are the kinds of instructional things that he was doing with his life.
RASCOE: Well, talk to me about that evolution.
SHABAZZ: Sure. You know, when he was in prison, his elder sister, Ella Collins, she got him to transfer to another prison simply because she said that there is a superior library. So my father was always an avid reader. But we first have to recognize, when you're 15, you're not the same person when you become 20, right? Hopefully you have matured in some way. When you become 25, you've matured in another way, when you become 30.
So when people say, oh, you know, Malcolm went to the Middle East, and he was a new man. He no longer believed in white man's the devil and all of these things. Malcolm just grew up. He continually evolved as we all do. It just so happens that he was a man of ethical, character-based values. He also recognized the injustices. He recognized the misinformation, miseducation. There were a lot of things that he recognized because he was such an avid reader in so many different topics.
RASCOE: I want to ask you one more question. As someone who lost their father early on - I lost my father early on - you often live your life and you're thinking what you would have liked him to see, what you would have liked to know about him. How do you think about your life as the daughter of Malcolm X and what you would want him to think about you and what you've done?
SHABAZZ: That is so sweet, Ayesha. I do believe that the people that were very near and dear to us - I believe our ancestors are out there, that my father knows the work that I've done. I think that he would be proud because it was just so unfair to allow these inaccurate stories of him to persist. We have these, you know, poems that he wrote, and you get to see his heart. You get to see that he's a visionary. You get to see his compassion.
A gentleman that just finished his book, "Malcolm Before X" - he just said that Malcolm was this star debater. He was a brilliant young man. He read the dictionary because he wanted to know the root of words, the etymology, so that he could be his best self, and he was his best. And so it's things like that that's just wonderful. And why would I just die without making some effort to ensure, just as my mother was safeguarding her husband's legacy, that we would make it available for young people? - 'cause his work is too important for it not to. His work can be beneficial to new generations.
RASCOE: Ilyasah Shabazz is the third daughter of Malcolm X. He was shot and killed 60 years ago. Thank you so much for sharing the memories of your father and your mother. And thank you so much for speaking with us today.
SHABAZZ: It's been an honor. And any time you want to talk, I'm here (laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF LAVINIA MEIJER'S "NUVOLE BIANCHE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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