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Malcolm X's Daughter Malikah Shabazz Found Dead In Brooklyn Home
By
Sophia Chang
Published Nov 23, 2021
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By
Sophia Chang
Published Nov 23, 2021
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One of the daughters of Malcolm X was found dead in her Brooklyn home Monday, according to police.
Malikah Shabazz, 56, was found unconscious in her home in Midwood by her daughter, CNN reported. Emergency responders pronounced Shabazz dead at the scene, NYPD said.
Shabazz was the youngest of Malcolm X’s six children—Dr. Betty Shabazz was pregnant with her and her twin sister when Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965.
Last week, the two men who were convicted of the assassination were exonerated during a court hearing.
A nearly two-year-long investigation from the Manhattan District Attorney's office and the Innocence Project into Malcolm X's assassination at the Audobon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965 cleared Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam. The men had spent 42 years in prison; Islam died in 2009. The Netflix documentary Who Killed Malcolm X?, released in 2020, helped push for the case to be reopened.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told WPIX-11 that “at this point, nothing appears suspicious” about Malikah Shabazz’s death.
"At this point in time, working with other authorities, the medical examiner, and speaking to the family, she had been ill for a period of time," he told PIX 11 Tuesday.
"We are investigating and the cause of death is pending the final results of additional testing, but the death does not appear to be suspicious following initial review," a spokeswoman for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement Tuesday.
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, said she was "deeply saddened" by the news:
Mayor Bill de Blasio also paid tribute to Malcolm X’s family, calling Malikah Shabazz’s death “so horrible.”
“We have no indication so far – per the NYPD – no indication of any foul play or criminality so far, but we do not have all the answers yet. It is so painful,” he said at his press briefing Tuesday.
De Blasio then addressed the family: “There are millions and millions of people in New York City and all around the country who love you, who care about you, who embrace you, who embrace his legacy, and it's just – I'm so sorry for what they're going through right now, in any way we can support them, we all need to.”
Tagged
malikah shabazz
brooklyn
malcolm x
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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