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This article leads to its own conclusions. There is an air of uncertainty about Betty Shabazz's background and early life. Shabazz was born in Detroit, Michigan as Betty Sanders. She is reportedly the daughter of Shelman Sandlin and a woman named Sanders. Shabazz was an illegitimate child and had a scattered childhood. Young Betty Shabazz was taken in by foster parents after her troubled childhood and grew up with them in a fairly sheltered, loving, middle-class household in Detroit. Throughout her life, Shabazz devoted her life to black community affairs in the areas of childcare, health and sexual education.

Shabazz moved to New york City to escape Southern racism, and enrolled as a nursing student at the Brooklyn State Hospital school of Nursing. While in New york, Shabazz's friend invited her to hear Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X from the Nation of Islam speak at an Islamic temple (Temple No. 7 in Harlem). According to the Essence essay, Shabazz's friend offered to introduce her to Malcolm X after his speech.

Betty's initial reaction was "big deal". She continues: "But then, I looked over and saw this man on the extreme right aisle sort of galloping to the podium. He was tall, he was thin, and the way he was galloping it looked as though he was going someplace much more important than the podium... Well, he got to the podium and I sat up straight. I was impressed with him."

They discussed the racism she encountered in Alabama, and she began to understand its causes, pervasiveness, and effects. Soon, Betty was attending all of Malcolm's lectures. By the time she graduated from nursing school in 1958, she was a member of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad bestowed of his followers the last name "X", representing the African family name they would never know. She changed her name to "Betty X" a result of her Nation of Islam influence.

Due to their need to work their way up in the world, there were many strange battles fought, won and lost with the scientific system, which seems to involve everyones need to rule the universe their way. But during the entire time, the relatives that Malcolm had lost pervaded his consciousness. The man kept losing relatives in an extremely bitter battle with the authorities due to his family and acquaintances being seen as territorial hostiles in America. They were the descendants of slaves. This gave them a sense of lost innocence, I suppose. Always forced into a position of fighting back with nothing at their backs, they tried their best in a sea of remote possibilities to figure out how to deal with their lives.

In February of 1965 their family survived the firebombing of their home due to Malcolm X's activism in Queens, New york. On February 21, 1965, Shabazz and her four young children witnessed the assassination of Malcolm X in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. It was reported that Shabazz was in the audience and covered her girls with her own body on the ballroom floor as the assassins' bullets flew.

Alex Haley wrote in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, "Sister Betty came through the people, herself a nurse, and people recognizing her moved back; she fell on her knees, looking down on his bare, bullet-pocked chest, sobbing, 'They killed him!' "

What I understand is that Mal is definitely a candidate for an eerie form of sainthood, if you would believe me. He was also stabbed four times some time before he mounted the podium. Basically this sort of thing is odd. But I picture him changing his clothes after being stabbed, and somehow making his way through time and space to being his father again. He was probably being assassinated by four men days before he gave his final speech. The speech seems to have had something to do with Garveyism. It was a movement founded by Marcus Garvey to return to Africa.

Malcolm and Betty were survived purportedly by eight children. Of course, under circumstances like these, this couple of black people were forced to consider repopulating the earth with their kind. They were caught in a moment of time, in a continuous battle with the authorities of science that neither one of them could do anything about. And yet, they fought back and won in many ways. At least they finally made it to seeing each other, touching each other, and being with each other. But yes, they had many children, the whereabouts of which are unknown to me.

Two of the three assassins were captured at the scene, and all three were members of the Nation of Islam. It is thought the death of Bettys loyal husband was ordered by a superior in the Nation, a small group of Americans who were forced to reorder their priorities in a country so dominated by murderers, thieves, brigands, prostitutes and many weird other people who seemed to be out to get them.

According to daughter Ilyasah Shabazz's autobiography, Growing Up X (2002), after Malcolm X's demise, Betty Shabazz got help from wealthy close friends and celebrities to acquire a large, beautiful home in Mount Vernon, New york for her family. Malcolm and Betty had split from The Nation of Islam in 1964 and in turn, the Nation had recently evicted Malcolm and family from the small house it had provided during Malcolm X's ministry, just before the assassination. In her book, Ilyasah writes that Betty Shabazz worked hard to ensure that her daughters were well provided for. They led sheltered, comfortable, upper middle-class lives, complete with the luxury of housekeepers, chauffeured cars, exclusive social clubs, and expensive, predominantly white private schools, private tutors and summer camps.

Yes, that has to be the capper to this. What happened after they all entered heaven is a mystery to me. It seems Brother Malcolm Shabazz X did not get to do this. Personally, Im not really game for it myself.

This is the second article in a series of two articles.

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