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Chapter 1 Highlights_WE DONT HAVE TIME TO CRY

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Chapter 2_A Sense of Belonging_Highlights

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Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz Formed an Unbreakable Bond After Their Husbands' Tragic Deaths

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Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz Formed an Unbreakable Bond After Their Husbands' Tragic Deaths

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Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz Formed an Unbreakable Bond After Their Husbands’ Tragic Deaths

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Tragedy brought the widows of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X together, with the friendship cemented by their own sense of activism.

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Malcolm Takes Pan-African/ Diasporic Position (12/13/64)

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Malcolm Takes Pan-African/ Diasporic Position (12/13/64)

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Malcolm Gets Eviction Notice From the Nation (9/3/64)

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Malcolm Gets Eviction Notice From the Nation (9/3/64)

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Malcolm is Against Racial Integration (8/14/63)

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Malcolm is Against Racial Integration (8/14/63)

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Malcolm Returns From Abroad With Changed Perspective on Integration (5/24/64)

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Malcolm Returns From Abroad With Changed Perspective on Integration (5/24/64)

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Baptists Urged to Reject Violence (3/30/64)

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Baptists Urged to Reject Violence (3/30/64)

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"The man who calls for the use of weapons in New York is playing the same game of violence as the man who calls for bombs in Birmingham."

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On the 57 th day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott on January 30, 1956, Martin Luther King Jr. was giving a speech when he got the news that his home in the Alabama city had been bombed. His wife, Coretta Scott King, and their 10-week-old daughter, Yolanda, who were in the home at the time of the bombing, were unharmed.

A month earlier the boycott had begun after Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old seamstress and secretary of the local chapter of the NAACP, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on one of the segregated Montgomery buses.

Fresh out of his doctoral studies at Boston University and the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the 26-year-old King had been drafted shortly after Parks' arrest by local Black leaders to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). This organization was responsible for coordinating the carpools that helped 30,000 African Americans get to and from work after the start of the strike that would launch the civil rights movement.

On the day of the mass meeting at the First Baptist Church, the MIA's executive board voted to file a federal lawsuit against the Birmingham bus system. King's speech that night, wrote biographer Taylor Branch in Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963, was not one of his best, but that the leader "tried to rally everyone's courage behind the lawsuit decision and the boycott, pulling the distant hopes nearer while dispelling the fears close by."

A Test of Nonviolence Strategy

After being told of the bombing, King rushed to his home at 309 South Jackson Street. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, a witness had seen a man around 9:15 pm toss a homemade bomb, severely damaging the front porch. At the house, King was confronted with Black men carrying knives and guns, promising retaliation for the bombing.

As an undergraduate at Morehouse College in Atlanta, King had been introduced to the theory of nonviolent resistance through Thoreau's Essay on Civil Disobedience.Later at Crozer Theological Seminary and Boston University, the writings of Muste, Nietzsche, Niebuhr and Gandhi helped him refine those views. For the first time in his young career, the boycott would force King to confront nonviolence not simply as an idea, but as a core strategy of the civil rights movement.

"As the days unfolded, I came to see the power of nonviolence more and more," he wrote in Stride Toward Freedom, his 1958 memoir about the boycott. "Living through the actual experience of the protest, nonviolence became more than a method to which I gave intellectual assent; it became a commitment to a way of life. Many of the things that I had not cleared up intellectually concerning nonviolence were now solved in the sphere of practical action."

Calming the Crowds

Now with about 300 angry Black people standing in front of his home, demanding justice for the bombing, a bevy of reporters and police officers, and surrounded by MIA staff, King needed to put his learning into action. According to Branch, the police tried to disband the crowd, but they insisted on staying until they were sure that the King family was safe.

"Don't do anything panicky," King told the crowd from the front of the porch. "Don't get your weapons. If you have weapons, take them home. He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword. We are not advocating violence. We want to love our enemies."

King pressed the group to go home and "be calm as I and my family are." Were it not for King's pleas of peace and calm, admitted a white policeman at the scene, he would have been killed by the mass of angry King followers.

"Many of the Negroes would liken the sight of King with his hand raised to the famous poses of Gandhi or to Jesus calming the waters of the troubled sea," wrote Branch of the minister's way with the crowd.

'If I am stopped, this movement will not stop.'
Martin Luther King Jr., January 30, 1956

Two days after the bombing, Fred Gray, MIA's lawyer, filed suit in Federal court on behalf of four Black women against the segregated Montgomery bus system. The District Court would find that the segregation of Black and white passengers on Montgomery city buses was unconstitutional.

Following appeals from the city and the state of Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Browder v. Gayle decision in November 1956. After 381 days, the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended on December 20, 1956.

King's life would be threatened many times before his assassination on April 4, 1968 by James Earl Ray in Memphis. Yet the Montgomery bombing of his home was his first major personal test of his moral conviction in nonviolence. There were no evil forces, not even his death, he believed, that could stop African Americans from ultimately gaining their civil rights and succeeding through the power of a movement founded on nonviolence.

"I want it to be known the length and breadth of this land that if I am stopped this movement will not stop," he said on the night of the bombing. "For what we are doing is right, what we are doing is just. And God is with us."

HISTORY Vault: Voices of Civil Rights

Fact Check

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How MLK Responded When Segregationists Bombed His Home | HISTORY

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife and child were inside when his home was bombed on January 30, 1956. Thankfully neither were harmed.

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Malcolm X Disputes Nonviolence Policy (6/5/63)

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Malcolm X Disputes Nonviolence Policy (6/5/63)

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Malcolm Accuses Muslims of Firebombing (2/16/65)

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Malcolm Accuses Muslims of Firebombing (2/16/65)

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Malcolm Moves Out of Firebombed House (2/19/65)

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Malcolm Moves Out of Firebombed House (2/19/65)

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Opinion Piece on Malcolm X's Call to Arms (3/14/64)

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Opinion Piece on Malcolm X's Call to Arms (3/14/64)

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MLK Jr. Expands Activism to Class Solidarity Through 'Poor Peoples' Campaign (1968)

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MLK Jr. Expands Activism to Class Solidarity Through 'Poor Peoples' Campaign (1968)

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Coretta Scott King Profile in the Wake of MLK Jr. Murder (1968)

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Coretta Scott King Profile in the Wake of MLK Jr. Murder (1968)

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Coretta Scott King Visits MLK Jr. in Birmingham Jail (1967)

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Coretta Scott King Visits MLK Jr. in Birmingham Jail (1967)

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Transcript of Speech from Coretta Scott King at Memphis City Hall (4/9/68)

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Transcript of Speech from Coretta Scott King at Memphis City Hall (4/9/68)

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Coretta Gives Speech to Nearly 1000 Black Women (9/6/1968)

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Coretta Gives Speech to Nearly 1000 Black Women (9/6/1968)

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Women "don't see much hope in terms of which way the nation will go....Soul quality is needed."

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Nobel Prize is Proof that Non-Violent Approach is the Way (includes quote from Coretta) 

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Nobel Prize is Proof that Non-Violent Approach is the Way (includes quote from Coretta) 

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Excerpt of an Interview for Eyes on the Prize II

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Excerpt of an Interview for Eyes on the Prize II

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"They, I think, respected each other. Martin had the greatest respect for Malcolm and he agreed with him in terms of the feeling of racial pride and the fact that Black people should believe in themselves and see themselves as lovable and beautiful. The fact that Martin had a strong feeling of connectedness to Africa and so did Malcolm. I think if he had lived, and if the two had lived, I am sure that at some point they would have come closer together, and would have been a very strong force in the total struggle for liberation and self-determination of Black people in our society."

https://www.voluntownpeacetrust.org/a-peace-of-history-blog/when-coretta-scott-king-met-malcolm-x

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In 1988, Coretta Scott King spoke publicly about the tensions as well as the commonalities between her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The interview was for the documentary series Eyes on the Prize II , a retrospective look at the civil rights movement which aired on PBS in 1990. In the interview, Coretta describes the one time she had met Malcolm X and what he had said to her. His words surprised Coretta, and in her account of that brief interaction, we can catch a glimpse of an alternate timeline in which Dr. King and Malcolm X came to work together in the struggle for Black liberation and civil rights.

The possibility of cooperation between the two great men was more likely than one might think. In the 1960s, Malcolm X began to reject Black nationalism and started to embrace a more expansive, international human rights focus. Meanwhile, Dr. King began to espouse increasingly critical analyses of the US war machine. By the end of their respective lives, both were able to draw the connections between war, racism, and other injustices of the world.

It is a deep tragedy that Dr. King and Malcolm X did not have the opportunity to work along with their fully matured political understandings and analyzes of strategy.

[Interviewer:] Mrs. King, can you share with us some of the points of agreement and disagreement between your husband and Malcolm X?

[Coretta Scott King:] I think that Martin and Malcolm agreed in terms of the ultimate goal of the freedom struggle, I don't think there was any difference there. I think it was basically one of strategy. My husband believed that to accomplish the goal of freedom and justice and equality, that it was necessary to use nonviolent means, particularly in a society such as ours where we were ten percent of the population. And he believed finally that nonviolence was the only alternative that oppressed people had in this kind of a society. I think Malcolm felt that people had a right to use any means necessary, even violence, to achieve the goals of their freedom. And I think that was the basic difference. Martin, I don't think, ever spoke publicly against Malcolm in any form. I think Malcolm did against Martin, unfortunately. But that was because Martin was committed to nonviolence, and nonviolence seeks not to humiliate or to depersonalize human beings but to ennoble human beings, human personality. But he never held that against him. They, I think, respected each other. Martin had the greatest respect for Malcolm and he agreed with him in terms of the feeling of racial pride and the fact that Black people should believe in themselves and see themselves as lovable and beautiful. The fact that Martin had a strong feeling of connectedness to Africa and so did Malcolm. I think if he had lived, and if the two had lived, I am sure that at some point they would have come closer together, and would have been a very strong force in the total struggle for liberation and self-determination of Black people in our society.

[Interviewer:] Now, you've spoken about your feelings at Malcolm X's death. Do you recall any specific comments or observations or feelings that your husband had at Malcolm's assassination?

[Coretta Scott King:] Well, I am sure Martin had similar feelings that I had. I think when I first got the news, I wasn't near him so, you know, usually that's when you get these reactions. Martin abhorred violence of any kind and particularly, you know, assassinations of the leadership, you know, Malcolm, of course, in '65, and Medgar Evers in '63, and in many ways, it was, you know, it's like who was next? And I think in '65 while we were in Selma, that was a time when Martin received numerous threats. And I really feel that he had felt that something was going to happen to him in Selma, that he might be killed in Selma. As a matter of fact, when we were in Oslo, Norway, in December of '64, he talked about the fact that when we went into Selma, which we had planned to do the first of January in 1965 and did, to begin the voting rights campaign, that somebody was gonna get killed. And as we always did in the movement, we would make jokes about these things. I mean, you know, this is the way, you kind of begin to accept the fact, the reality. And he would say to people on the trip, Well, you better have a good time and enjoy yourself, because when we go to Selma, somebody's gonna get killed. And they had already sent people out to talk to the White community, and they came back with, you know, the reports were not very good. So, there was that strong feeling. And then as we were moving in Selma, you know, there was so many threats, rumors of plots of his assassination that took place. And having had Malcolm's assassination to come while he was in Selma, I'm sure it reminded him more of the possibility of his own fate, you know, that ultimate fate.

We at VPT are already starting to plan some summer events, including the arrival of the Golden Rule in New London, CT in June. As the world's first modern protest ship and a vessel originally operated by the CNVA, the Golden Rule has strong historical ties to VPT. We at VPT will put on some public events related to the ship in the months before it arrives as well as when the ship is here. To stay in the loop about these events, sign up for our newsletter:

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"Interview with Coretta Scott King." Washington University in St. Louis. http://repository.wustl.edu/concern/videos/fx719r407

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In 1988, Coretta Scott King spoke publicly about the tensions as well as the commonalities between her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The interview was for the documentary series...

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Coretta Scott King on the 5 Steps Toward Social Change

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Coretta Scott King on the 5 Steps Toward Social Change

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From the WTTW Archive | Coretta Scott King on the Process of Social Change | PBS

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Coretta Scott King explains the steps required to enact social change in a 1978 interview.

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Betty Shabazz: Hope and Healing in the Face of Daunting Odds

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Betty Shabazz: Hope and Healing in the Face of Daunting Odds

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Image credit: malcomx.org

"I wish you power that equals your intelligence and your strength. I wish you success that equals your talent and determination. And I wish you faith." - Betty Shabazz

Faith helped sustain Betty Shabazz in the wake of the assassination of her husband, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, or Malcolm X, on February 21, 1965. According to Shabazz's daughter, Ilyasah, "[M]y mother refused to live her life as a victim. She possessed faith in God, self-respect, and a perspective that did not permit her to say, 'No, I cannot do this.'" The night Malcolm X was shot, he was in Manhattan, preparing to deliver a speech in the Audubon Ballroom; Shabazz, Ilyasah, and Ilyasah's two older sisters were present, sitting in the front row. (Baby Gamilah was being cared for by family friends, the Wallaces, that night.) Although Ilyasah has no clear recollection of the events-she was not even three years old when her father was killed-she has heard stories of her mother's brave actions that night. "I'm told that our mother shielded my sisters and me with her body from the gunfire before attempting to save [my father] with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," she has said.

Shabazz's bravery continued long after the devastating events of February 21. The circumstances demanded bravery: suddenly a Solo Mom to four children, Shabazz was also pregnant with twins at the time of her husband's death. And a week before the assassination, a firebomb had been thrown into the nursery of the Shabazz home, where the children slept, leaving the family temporarily homeless. Though at first tempted to isolate herself and her family in the wake of her husband's assassination, Shabazz came to realize that giving up would not help the world-or her children. "It is impossible to create an environment for children to grow in and develop in isolation," she said. "It is imperative that one mix in society on some level and at some time."

And so she didn't give up. She went on to raise her six daughters, always working to protect her husband's legacy and the rights of others. Education was important to her: as a Solo Mom, she earned a master of arts degree in public health education and a PhD in education administration. So was putting good into the world. Ilyasah remembers her mom saying, "[J]ust as one must drink water, one must give back," and Shabazz was as good as her word, founding the Young Mothers Educational Development program, which helped pregnant, unwed teens complete their education. In 1976, Shabazz became associate professor of health sciences with a concentration in nursing at Medgar Evers College in New York. She felt drawn to the school, where the students were primarily working-class women, many of them mothers. She eventually became the director of Institutional Advancement and Public Affairs at the school, a position she held until her death. Shabazz served on an advisory committee on family planning for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She was active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League.

Shabazz's life of service ended tragically in 1997, when she died of burns sustained in a fire set by her troubled young grandson, Malcolm. More than 2,000 mourners attended her memorial service. "She never stopped giving, and she never became cynical," civil-rights leader Jesse Jackson said in a statement released after her death. "She leaves today the legacy of one who epitomized hope and healing."

Please feel free to contact us with any comments or questions.

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Betty Shabazz: Hope and Healing in the Face of Daunting Odds

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Civil-rights activist and Solo Mom Betty Shabazz lost her husband Malcolm X in the '60s, and she continued his legacy.

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Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927- January 30, 2006)

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Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927- January 30, 2006)

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Coretta Scott King was born on April 27, 1927, in Heiberger, Alabama, and grew up on a family farm in the racially segregated South. Despite facing the harsh realities of racial discrimination, she excelled academically, which set the foundation for her future role as a prominent civil rights leader.

Coretta pursued higher education at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she became actively involved in civil rights activism. She later attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she studied voice and violin. It was in Boston where she met Martin Luther King Jr., a young theology student. They married in 1953 and would go on to become central figures in the civil rights movement.

Following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968, Coretta took on a more prominent role in the struggle for racial and gender equality, peace, and social justice. She founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, spearheading the effort to institutionalize and honor her husband’s life and work. Under her leadership, the center became a hub for civil rights education and advocacy.

Coretta Scott King's commitment extended beyond the civil rights movement in the United States. She influenced global policies related to social justice and participated in protests against apartheid in South Africa. Her work earned her numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions worldwide.

As a public figure, Coretta was a powerful speaker and author, effectively communicating her and her late husband's messages of nonviolence and equality. Her autobiography, "My Life with Martin Luther King Jr.," is a detailed account of their life together and the civil rights movement.

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Betty in Her Own Words (interview begins at 5 minute mark)

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Betty in Her Own Words (interview begins at 5 minute mark)

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Commentary on MLK Jr. begins at 15:36

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MALCOLM X: BREAKIN' IT DOWN-BETTY SHABAZZ

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Betty with the Kids (after Malcolm's death)

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Betty with the Kids (after Malcolm's death)

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MLK Jr.'s Brother, A.D. King, Home Bombed in 1963

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MLK Jr.'s Brother, A.D. King, Home Bombed in 1963

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Malcolm, Betty, Family with Muhammed Ali

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Malcolm, Betty, Family with Muhammed Ali

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Mrs. Poitier Raises Money to Buy Betty a Home (8/9/65)

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Mrs. Poitier Raises Money to Buy Betty a Home (8/9/65)

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Betty Shabazz and family were living in rundown apartment at the time. Malcolm had no life insurance or will.

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Betty Shabazz, born Betty Dean Sanders on May 28, 1934, in Pinehurst, Georgia, faced a challenging start after the death of her mother in an apparent suicide. Her early life took a hopeful turn when she was adopted by Lorenzo and Helen Malloy, who provided a nurturing home filled with community and church activities in Detroit, Michigan. Betty's formative years under the guidance of the Malloys shaped her into a community-focused individual, setting the stage for her future endeavors.

Seeking higher education, Betty initially attended Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where she intended to study education. However, the pervasive racism at the institute compelled her to transfer to Brooklyn State College in New York, where she pursued a career in nursing. This move to New York marked a significant turn in her life, not just academically but also personally, as it led her to cross paths with Malcolm X.

Betty met Malcolm X, then Malcolm Little, at one of his lectures at the Nation of Islam's Temple Number Seven in Harlem. The two quickly found that they shared a deep commitment to civil rights and social justice. They married in 1958 and had six daughters, creating a partnership that would become deeply intertwined with the civil rights movement. Betty was a steadfast supporter of Malcolm's work, standing by him until his assassination in 1965.

Widowed with six children, Betty faced her life's greatest challenge. She chose to return to school, a testament to her indomitable spirit and commitment to education. Betty earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts in 1975, specializing in public health administration with a focus on drug abuse treatment and prevention.

As an associate professor of Health Sciences at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York, Betty Shabazz became an influential figure in her community and beyond. She advocated tirelessly for civil rights, education, and the empowerment of African Americans. Her work extended beyond the classroom; she was also a public speaker and an advocate, continuing to engage in activism throughout her life.

Betty's legacy is one of resilience, education, and advocacy. She worked to preserve Malcolm X’s legacy while establishing her own as a leader in health education and civil rights.

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Attallah Shabazz Eulogy of Muhammad Ali and article about it from The Nation

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Attallah Shabazz Eulogy of Muhammad Ali and article about it from The Nation

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Article and transcription below from The Nation:

After Muhammad Ali’s remarkable funeral service last Friday, transcripts of some of the eulogies immediately went up online. If anyone wanted to know what Bill Clinton or Billy Crystal had to say, it was easy enough to find. Yet nowhere on the Internet could you find a transcription of what for me was the most historically significant and deeply moving eulogy of the day: the words of Malcolm X’s daughter Ambassador Attallah Shabazz. Her words were more than a heartfelt remembrance. They help provide a crucial puzzle piece to the past. Many write that after Muhammad Ali—literally—turned his back on Malcolm X in 1964 and that marked the end of their relationship. Yet here was Attallah Shabazz writing a counternarrative, one that consisted of a deeply paternal and loving decades long relationship after Malcolm’s death. Ali was there for her and her siblings in a manner that speaks to a bond that couldn’t be broken by any religion or organization.

I contacted Johnny Smith, co-author of the book Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, for his thoughts on her words. He said:

Attallah Shabazz made clear that she and Ali shared something important—the loss of Malcolm, a man they both truly loved. Listening to her speak, I could not help but think back to January 1964, when Malcolm, his wife Betty, and their children visited with Ali in Miami. Ali played with Attallah and her sisters, clowning and teasing them with affection. Malcolm said later, “I liked him. Betty liked him. Our children were crazy about him.” They were like family then, and that bond has stood the test of time, a credit to Betty Shabazz who raised her daughters to forgive those who once condemned their father. Yet the bond that Muhammad and Attallah developed long after Malcolm died also demonstrates that Ali sought forgiveness and that she helped him find “the light of understanding” as her father would have liked. In their shared grief, he and Attallah cried together and laughed together. Her eulogy reminds us that Malcolm had forgiven Ali for not speaking to him. Attallah helped relieve Ali of the deep pain that he had buried years after Malcolm died. And in return Ali helped Attallah better understand her father.

All should watch the speech, but here it is as a written document: a resource that should be studied and treasured.

* * *

May peace be unto all of us. As this is a home-going celebration, I find myself balanced between that of celebration and depletion, loss. And somehow or another, my breathing capacity has been weakened this past week so I ask all of you gathered and afar to please muster up and transmit a bit of your air to me.

In the memory of Muhammad Ali, thank you all. [Shabazz then says thank you in numerous languages] and more as the globe centers at this very moment amidst this holy month of Ramadan where every two hours, there’s a time zone praying and including Muhammad Ali and his family in their thoughts. Amidst that are the prayers of all faiths, all those touched, even those that don’t claim a religion are feeling something right now in honor of the family and the memory of their father, husband.

In the spirit of my parents, Malcolm X Shabazz and Dr. Betty Shabazz, in the presence of my five younger sisters, our children and our grandchildren, I would like to first honor his beloved wife, my sister, Lonnie Ali. For all the strengths that you know and that resonate beyond, sometimes you do need a little help, no matter how magnificent you are. And indeed those that were with him that loved him, his family members, sustained that. His nine children, and I will name them—Maryum, Rasheda, Jamillah, Muhammad Jr., Khaliah, Miya, Hana, Laila, and Asaad—as well as their mothers and the third generation of Ali grandchildren who accompany them.

To his only brother, Rahman, to his extraordinary example of a best friend, Howard Bingham, and to his sister in law, Marilyn Williams, for all the grief that I am depleted by and others are feeling by his transition, there’s none comparable to yours and I know that. On this day and those to come, as you redefine your waking days, with a life without him here presently, very different. Photos, memories, all the things that we have of him that keep him going, he touched you differently and that has to be honored and recognized, never forsaken.

Just know that when you are the descendant of, in the presence of, someone whose life was filled with principle, that the seed is in you so that you have to cultivate that responsibly as well. This moment is very meaningful for me to have been amongst those chosen and blessed by Muhammad himself and affirmed by his wife Lonnie to take part by sharing of prose a statement during this home-going ceremony. While he and I had a treasured relationship, the genesis of this love was through the love of my father. Muhammad Ali was the last of a fraternity of amazing men bequeathed to me directly by my dad.

Somewhere between me turning 18, 19, or 20, they all seemed to find me somehow guided by an oath or a promise to my dad, long after him leaving this earth to search for me. And they did. Each one remaining in my life until joining the rest of the heaven’s beloved summit of fearless humanitarians. This included Muhammad Ali, who my dad loved as a little brother 16 years his junior, and his entrusted friend.

There was a double-take when I came upon him, [once a child], and now looking right into his face, and you know how he is, he gives you that little dare, like, “Is that you?’’

From the very moment we found one another, it was as if no time had passed at all, despite all the presumptions of division. Despite all the efforts at separation. Despite all the organized distancing. We dove right into all of the unrequited, yet stated, and duly acknowledged spaces we could explore and uncover privately. We cried out loud. His belt, his grief for having not spoken to my dad before he left, and then just as loudly we’d laugh about the best of stories that can’t be repeated. He was really very funny.

What was significant as brothers for my father and Ali, was their ability to discuss openly anything, all facets of life. Namely the true meaning of men with great responsibilities bestowed to them and how to make an equitable difference in the lives of others. A unifying topic was faith and ecumenical faith, respect for faith, all faiths, even if belonging to one specific religion or none, the root of such being the gift of faith itself. So in his own words, he wrote:

We all have the same God, we just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all have different names but they all contain water. So do religions have different names and yet they all contain truth. Truth expressed in different ways and forms and times. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a Muslim, a Christian or a Jew. When you believe in God, you should believe all people are part of one family. For if you love God, you can’t love only some of his children.

His words and certainly ideals, shared by both men. Love is a mighty thing. Devotion is a mighty thing. And truth always reigns. Having Muhammad Ali in my life somehow sustained my dad’s breathe for me, just a little while longer. Fifty one years longer, until now.

I am forever grateful that our union on this earth together allowed for me a continuum of shared understanding, preserved confidentialities, and the comfort of living in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky for the past six years. That was not a plan. And mostly for the gift of knowing and loving his wife and children forever forward, as my own family—know that.

As the last of the fraternity reaches the heavens, my heart is rendered ever longingly for that tribe, tribe of purpose, tribe of significance, tribe of confidence, tribe of character, tribe of duty, tribe of faith, tribe of service. We must make sure that the principle of men and women like Muhammad Ali and others, who dedicated their very being to ensure that you get to recognize your own glory is sustained and passed on like that Olympic torch. My dad would often state when concluding or parting from one another: “May we meet again in the light of understanding.” And I say to you with the light of that compass, by any means necessary.

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Attallah Shabazz - In The Memory of Muhammad Ali

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Notes on Betty I (from previous research)

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Notes on Betty I (from previous research)

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Life facts about Betty Shabazz _190921_194232

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Notes on Betty II (from previous research)

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Notes on Betty II (from previous research)

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Notes from Betty Shabazz Biography _190810_002347

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Notes on Betty III (from previous research)

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Notes on Betty III (from previous research)

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Notes from book Betty Shabazz Sharing the Vision _180620_194632 (1)

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January 30, 1956- Martin Luther King, Jr.s home is bombed with Coretta Scott King, Yolanda King and a neighbor inside.

February 25, 1964- Cassius Clay changes name to Cassius X after defeating Sonny Liston

March 8, 1964- Malcolm X leaves the Nation of Islam

February 2, 1965- Martin Luther King Jr. arrested in Selma, AL

February 14, 1965- Malcolm X's Queen's home (owned by the Nation of Islam) is firebombed

February 18, 1965- Malcom X and family move out of firebombed home before a formal eviction can be filed by The Nation

February 21, 1965- Malcolm X assassinated at a rally

March 7, 1965- Bloody Sunday; demonstrators violently attacked in Selma, AL

April 4, 1968- Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, TN.

April 29, 1968- It's announced that Coretta Scott King will lead Welfare Mothers March on Mother's Day.

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Cassius Clay Denounces Malcolm X (5/18/64)

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Cassius Clay Denounces Malcolm X (5/18/64)

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Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali (Ali calls Malcolm "chief hypocrite") (2/23/65)

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Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali (Ali calls Malcolm "chief hypocrite") (2/23/65)

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Blood Brothers and the tragedy of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X

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‘Blood Brothers’ explores the relationship between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. Sam Moore talks to their daughters Maryum and Ilyasah, as well as director Marcus A Clarke about the film, the men and being Black in America