Ilysah Shabaz
#335,183 Most Popular
About
American author, educator, motivational speaker, and social justice advocate widely recognized as the daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. She has dedicated her life to preserving and extending her parents' legacy, with work spanning across memoirs, children's and young-adult literature, academic instruction, and public speeches.
Before Fame
She was raised within a racially-integrated community in Mount Vernon and attended Hackley School before going on to obtain her bachelor's degree from SUNY New Paltz. She later also earned a master's degree in education and human resource development from Fordham University.
Trivia
She received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her 2002 memoir, Growing Up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X. Her children's and young-adult book titles about her parents' early lives include Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X and Betty Before X.
Family Life
She was the third daughter born to civil-rights leaders Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. She was only a toddler when her father was assassinated in 1965.
Associated With
Her late father was a mentor of Muhammad Ali.
