OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds gathered Friday to remember the late grandson of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X as mourners said Malcolm Shabazz was well on his way to cementing his own legacy.
More than 200 people attended a traditional Islamic service in Oakland for the 28-year-old Shabazz, who authorities say was beaten to death last week over a $1,200 bar bill in Mexico City.
The service, which lasted more than two hours, featured plenty of prayer, songs, spoken word and tears. Many among the procession of speakers said while they initially connected with Shabazz because of his famous grandfather, they learned to appreciate a man they called “Young Malcolm” as a leader in his own right.
“If I could put into one word how I feel about Malcolm, it would be, ‘inspiration,’” Hussein Mekki, 32, of Houston, Texas, told fellow mourners. “Hopefully that will continue, and he can inspire us for the rest of our lives.”
Despite troubles early in life, from setting a blaze in his grandmother’s apartment that resulted in the death of Malcolm X’s widow, Betty Shabazz, to stints in juvenile hall and prison, mourners said Shabazz was seeking redemption with plans to write a memoir and another book denouncing youth violence.
Abdel Malik Ali, 55, a community activist from Oakland, said “Young Malcolm” appeared ready to fuse the history of Malcolm X along with his own experiences he described as “Generation Next.”
Shabazz, who also was the father of a young girl, wanted to help build mosques and education centers across America, Ali said.
“He was looking for his own voice, his own place in this world,” Ali said. “He had his struggles just like everybody else, but he eventually took on a huge responsibility in embracing his family’s legacy that’s harder than anybody could ever imagine.”
Mourners Gather In Oakland To Remember Malcolm Shabazz was originally published on oldschool945.com
