Malcolm Shabazz
Encyclopedia
Malcolm Lateef Shabazz (born 1984 in Paris
) is the son of Qubilah Shabazz
, the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz
. His father is an Algeria
n Muslim
whom Qubilah Shabazz met in Paris. He is the first male descendant of Malcolm X. In 1997, when he was 12 years old, Shabazz set a fire that caused the death of his grandmother, Betty Shabazz.
According to Shabazz, he has never met his father. Other sources say Shabazz knew his father, but they had little contact with one another.
When Shabazz was a few months old, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles
. A little while later, they went to New York City
and then Philadelphia. One landlord there remembered frequently having to let young Shabazz into the apartment because his mother was not at home. Shabazz showed some evidence of disturbance as a child. As a three-year-old, he reportedly set fire to his shoes. He brought a knife to school in the third grade. About the same time, he suffered from delusions and was hospitalized for a short time.
During the early 1990s, Shabazz often stayed with his grandmother, Betty Shabazz, and his aunts in New York, while Qubilah Shabazz lived with various friends. In 1994, Shabazz moved with his mother to Minneapolis. She was being drawn into a plot to assassinate Louis Farrakhan
by an FBI
informant, Michael Fitzpatrick. Shabazz saw in Fitzpatrick the father figure he had never known, calling him "my dad". In January 1995, Qubilah Shabazz was charged with trying to hire an assassin to kill Farrakhan. She accepted a plea agreement
with respect to the charges, in which she maintained her innocence but accepted responsibility for her actions. Under the terms of the agreement, she was required to undergo psychological counseling and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse for a two-year period in order to avoid a prison sentence. For the duration of her treatment, Malcolm Shabazz, then ten years old, was sent to live with Betty Shabazz at her apartment in Yonkers, New York
.
Shabazz visited his mother in December 1996 in San Antonio, where she was undergoing treatment. Qubilah Shabazz had married, and Shabazz quickly bonded with his stepfather. But the marriage soon ended, and Shabazz and his mother began to fight, sometimes physically. On February 26, she called the police and said she wanted him committed to a mental hospital. After a brief stay, Shabazz was released. In April, he called the police and reported that they had been in a fight. His mother said she was going to place him in foster care. On April 26, Shabazz was sent back to New York to live with his grandmother.
On June 1, 1997, Shabazz, then twelve years of age, started a fire in Betty Shabazz's apartment. She suffered burns over 80 percent of her body. Shabazz was found by police, wandering the streets barefoot and reeking of gasoline. Betty Shabazz died of her injuries on June 23, 1997. At a hearing, experts described Shabazz as psychotic
and schizophrenic
. He was also described as "brilliant but disturbed." He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in juvenile detention for manslaughter
and arson
, with possible annual extensions until his 18th birthday.
Shabazz was released after four years. In a 2003 interview with The New York Times, Shabazz, then aged 18, gave his version of the fire and the events leading up to it. He explained that he had been unhappy living in New York with his grandmother, and had started: "being bad, doing anything to get them to send me back to my mother. And nothing's working. Then I got the idea to set the fire." Expressing remorse for the event, Shabazz continued:
In the same interview, Shabazz also dismissed the diagnosis of the child psychiatrist at his trial that he was a paranoid schizophrenic, saying that he had only "made up" a story about hearing voices in his childhood "to get attention."
Following his release, Shabazz lived for a time with his aunt, Ilyasah Shabazz
. He was arrested in 2002 for stealing $100. He pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Shabazz was arrested again in 2006, months after his release from prison, for punching a hole in a store's plate glass window.
Shabazz is the father of a girl, named Ilyasah, who was born in March 2007. In 2010, he made the hajj
to Mecca. , he is working on his memoirs and attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice
.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) is the son of Qubilah Shabazz
Qubilah Shabazz
Qubilah Shabazz is the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. In 1995, she was arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Louis Farrakhan, who she believed was responsible for the assassination of her father. Shabazz maintained her innocence...
, the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz
Betty Shabazz
Betty Shabazz , born Betty Dean Sanders and also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was the wife of Malcolm X....
. His father is an Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
whom Qubilah Shabazz met in Paris. He is the first male descendant of Malcolm X. In 1997, when he was 12 years old, Shabazz set a fire that caused the death of his grandmother, Betty Shabazz.
According to Shabazz, he has never met his father. Other sources say Shabazz knew his father, but they had little contact with one another.
When Shabazz was a few months old, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. A little while later, they went to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and then Philadelphia. One landlord there remembered frequently having to let young Shabazz into the apartment because his mother was not at home. Shabazz showed some evidence of disturbance as a child. As a three-year-old, he reportedly set fire to his shoes. He brought a knife to school in the third grade. About the same time, he suffered from delusions and was hospitalized for a short time.
During the early 1990s, Shabazz often stayed with his grandmother, Betty Shabazz, and his aunts in New York, while Qubilah Shabazz lived with various friends. In 1994, Shabazz moved with his mother to Minneapolis. She was being drawn into a plot to assassinate Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
by an FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
informant, Michael Fitzpatrick. Shabazz saw in Fitzpatrick the father figure he had never known, calling him "my dad". In January 1995, Qubilah Shabazz was charged with trying to hire an assassin to kill Farrakhan. She accepted a plea agreement
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
with respect to the charges, in which she maintained her innocence but accepted responsibility for her actions. Under the terms of the agreement, she was required to undergo psychological counseling and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse for a two-year period in order to avoid a prison sentence. For the duration of her treatment, Malcolm Shabazz, then ten years old, was sent to live with Betty Shabazz at her apartment in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
.
Shabazz visited his mother in December 1996 in San Antonio, where she was undergoing treatment. Qubilah Shabazz had married, and Shabazz quickly bonded with his stepfather. But the marriage soon ended, and Shabazz and his mother began to fight, sometimes physically. On February 26, she called the police and said she wanted him committed to a mental hospital. After a brief stay, Shabazz was released. In April, he called the police and reported that they had been in a fight. His mother said she was going to place him in foster care. On April 26, Shabazz was sent back to New York to live with his grandmother.
On June 1, 1997, Shabazz, then twelve years of age, started a fire in Betty Shabazz's apartment. She suffered burns over 80 percent of her body. Shabazz was found by police, wandering the streets barefoot and reeking of gasoline. Betty Shabazz died of her injuries on June 23, 1997. At a hearing, experts described Shabazz as psychotic
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
and schizophrenic
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. He was also described as "brilliant but disturbed." He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in juvenile detention for manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
and arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, with possible annual extensions until his 18th birthday.
Shabazz was released after four years. In a 2003 interview with The New York Times, Shabazz, then aged 18, gave his version of the fire and the events leading up to it. He explained that he had been unhappy living in New York with his grandmother, and had started: "being bad, doing anything to get them to send me back to my mother. And nothing's working. Then I got the idea to set the fire." Expressing remorse for the event, Shabazz continued:
I set a fire in the hallway, and I didn't think the whole thing through thoroughly, but she didn't have to run through that fire ... There was another way out of the house from her room. I guess what she thought was I was stuck, and she had to run and get me because it was in front of my room as well. She ran through the fire. I did not picture that happening, that she would do that.
In the same interview, Shabazz also dismissed the diagnosis of the child psychiatrist at his trial that he was a paranoid schizophrenic, saying that he had only "made up" a story about hearing voices in his childhood "to get attention."
Following his release, Shabazz lived for a time with his aunt, Ilyasah Shabazz
Ilyasah Shabazz
Ilyasah Shabazz is the third daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. She is the author of a memoir, Growing Up X, and a motivational speaker.-Early life:Shabazz was born in Queens, New York, on July 22, 1962...
. He was arrested in 2002 for stealing $100. He pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Shabazz was arrested again in 2006, months after his release from prison, for punching a hole in a store's plate glass window.
Shabazz is the father of a girl, named Ilyasah, who was born in March 2007. In 2010, he made the hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
to Mecca. , he is working on his memoirs and attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a senior college of the City University of New York in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and is the only liberal arts college with a criminal justice and forensic focus in the United States. The college offers programs in Forensic Science and Forensic...
.