Skip to main content

Malikah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, has died: officials

Malikah Shabazz, 56, was found unconscious by her daughter at her home in Brooklyn. (New York Daily News/Tribune News Service/Getty Images/CNN) Malikah Shabazz, 56, was found unconscious by her daughter at her home in Brooklyn. (New York Daily News/Tribune News Service/Getty Images/CNN)
Share

A daughter of slain Black civil rights activist Malcolm X, Malikah Shabazz, died Monday, the New York Police Department told CNN.

Shabazz, 56, was found unconscious by her daughter at her home in Brooklyn, according to the NYPD.

Police said the death appears to be due to natural causes at this time.

Bernice King, a daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr., offered her condolences.

"I'm deeply saddened by the death of #MalikahShabazz. My heart goes out to her family, the descendants of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X. Dr. Shabazz was pregnant with Malikah and her twin sister, Malaak, when Brother Malcolm was assassinated. Be at peace, Malikah," King said on Twitter.

Shabazz is the youngest of Malcolm X's six daughters.

CNN has reached out to the medical examiner's office and to the Shabazz family.

Malcolm X was one of the most powerful voices in the fight against racism before his shooting death in New York in 1965.

He remains a symbol of inspiration for Black men and others moved by his transformation from a street hustler to a historic figure the late African-American actor Ossie Davis eulogized as "our own black shining prince."

The assassination came after a public feud between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam's founder, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X had accused Muhammad of infidelity and left the Nation in March of 1964.

Last Thursday, two men convicted of the assassination were exonerated during a court hearing.

New York County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Ellen Biben granted the motion to vacate the convictions of Muhammad A. Aziz and the late Khalil Islam.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code

Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.

Local Spotlight