50 years after Malcolm X’s assassination, his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz published a young adult novel based on her father’s life. Here’s what she had to say about it.
Candlewick Press / weneeddiversebooks.org
Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Civil Rights leader Malcolm X, uses the power of her words to accomplish something important to her: taking her father's legacy into her own hands and recording the history of his life. The author has published four titles: Growing Up X, a memoir about her experience growing up as Malcolm X's daughter in the wake of his death; The Diary of Malcolm X: El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz; and a children's book called Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X. Most recently, Shabazz co-wrote X: A Novel along with Kekla Magoon and told the story of her father's life prior to becoming Malcolm X in the format of a young adult novel.
The book follows Malcolm Little's journey from his childhood in the country to his time hustling in the streets of New York and Boston. While The Autobiography of Malcolm X is told by an adult Malcolm reflecting on his life, X is told from the perspective of a young Malcolm, who grapples with his self-worth as society and the state tears his life apart. The novel focuses on the importance of family in shaping the activist and ends moments after Malcolm Little first adopts the name Malcolm X.
BuzzFeed had the chance to talk to Ilyasah Shabazz about X: A Novel and her father's legacy 50 years after he was assassinated. Here's what she had to say:
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What Malcolm X’s Daughter Wants You To Know About Her Father’s Legacy