By Saeed Shabazz -Staff Writer-
NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) – In the United States, Mexico and England, activists commemorated the life of Malcolm Latif Shabazz, 28, the grandson of Nation of Islam Min. Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, who died mysteriously in Mexico City a year ago.
The details of how he died May 9, 2013 remain sketchy. “He thought he was going to Mexico to be in solidarity with a labor struggle with a ‘trusted’ friend,” said Zayid Muhammad, New Black Panther Party and the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee on the assassination of Malcolm Latif Shabazz explained to The Final Call. He had traveled to Mexico.
Young Shabazz, the only son of Qubilah, the second oldest daughter of Min. Malcolm X and Dr. Shabazz, was reportedly beaten after drinking at a bar, and died from blows to the head, ribs and jaw. The “friend,” Miguel Suarez told Mexican authorities the two were in a bar, and when presented with a bill for $1,200 an argument ensued.
Mr. Suarez, who has hardly been heard from since the incident, allegedly said he escaped and hailed a cab, and Mr. Shabazz was left to fend for himself.
“The murder of Malcolm Latif Shabazz has all the trappings of a set-up, more pointedly of a CIA contract hit. The CIA has used organized crime to ‘neutralize’ enemies over the decades,” offers Mr. Muhammad.
Days after his death, reports were circulating that two men had been arrested and charged, however, there has been no update or comment by Mexican authorities.
On May 25, 2013, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated during his lecture series “The Time and What Must Be Done”, “I want to say to Black America; the same FBI that hatched the plot to divide Bro. Malcolm from his teacher–that same FBI that worked to destroy Black organizations and Black leadership–was dogging the footsteps of the young potential giant.”
Min. Farrakhan publicly offered his and the Nation of Islam’s “deepest condolences” to the Shabazz family.
To date the only public statement from the family was placed on Face Book: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved El Hajj Malcolm El Shabazz. To all who knew him he offered kindness, encouragement and hope for a better tomorrow. Although his bright light and boundless potential are gone from this life, we are grateful that he now rests in peace in the arms of his grandparents and the safety of God. We will miss him.”
“Seeing that it is the one-year anniversary of his brutal murder makes it very bitter to absorb. However, we are resolved to stand strong to get the answers/justice and demand for an investigation,” wrote Sabrina Green of freethemove9mumia out of Baltimore, Md., in an e-mail to The Final Call.
Ms. Green has protested on several occasions in front of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., and has applied for a Freedom of Information Act petition on the activities of the FBI before the death of Mr. Shabazz.
The late Mr. Shabazz had written on his blog, malcolmshabazz.blogspot.com, “In the beginning of 2012 I had been informed that I was under investigation by the FBI’s Counter Terrorism Task Force Unit located in Goshen, New York. Agents visited homes of long-time friends and very close supporters.”
“I still have not received a response on the FOIA as of yet,” Ms. Green said, adding, “We are looking to making a demand internationally with the United Nations’ Commission on Human Rights and the Organization of American States.”
She said there will be a petition table demanding an investigation into Mr. Shabazz’s death in several cities where there would be commemorations of his grandfather’s death on May 19.
In the meantime, activists in Mexico, members of the Citizens Committee for Defense of the Naturalized and Mexicans (Comite Ciudadano de Defense de los Naturaliza dos y AfroMexicanos) held a press conference at the Club of Journalists in Mexico City on May 9. The president of the organization, Dr. Wilner Metelus, told The Final Call the groups were still working to uncover the truth behind Mr. Shabazz’s death.
“I enjoy fighting for Malcolm Latif Shabazz. Malcolm’s family is owed that, and there must be justice in Mexico. It is necessary to press President Obama to embrace in solidarity with us for this justice,” he said.
“Expecting the U.S. government or the State Department to launch a full-scale investigation of the murder of Malcolm Latif Shabazz, was out of the question a year ago following his death in Mexico City, and now that possibility is even more remote,” wrote Herb Boyd, a journalist and author.
“It would be miraculous for the U.S. and its agencies to pursue this murder with the same intensity as the surveillance they supplied on Malcom X, both at home and abroad,” Mr. Boyd added, in an e-mail message.
He suggests there is a need to “devote” time for serious study of “Malcolm’s life and legacy.” Mr. Boyd notes that Ilyasah Al-Shabazz has a “wonderful” children’s book on her father’s coming of age in Michigan and she is also the co-editor of “The Diary of Malcolm X.”
A vigil was also held outside the U.S. Embassy in London on May 10.
