“My alma mater was books, a good library. . . I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.”- Malcolm X
As we mark the May 19th 2025 centennial of the birth of Malcolm X (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz), our renowned Civil Rights and Nation of Islam leader, the importance of who he was and his legacy should be highlighted for young people. Young people who are coming of age now may only have a vague idea of his impact on the Civil Rights Movement, his role as a spiritual leader, and his role in laying the foundation for the Black Power and Black Arts Movements. They may have read or heard about The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley in 1965, or they may have viewed Spike Lee’s 1992 film on Malcolm X’s life.
Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz, the third daughter of Malcolm X, and an award-winning writer, educator, film producer, and motivational speaker provides a realistic and enhanced portrayal of Malcolm X’s story, beliefs, struggles, and values in her books targeted for young people. Through The Awakening of Malcolm X: A Novel (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2021) by Ilyasah Shabazz and Tiffany D. Jackson, X: A Novel (Candlewick Press, 2015) by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon, and Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X (Atheneum, 2013) by Ilyasah Shabazz and illustrated by AG Ford, Shabazz uses a fictional lens to present a complicated view of Malcom X who left a legacy propelled by his beliefs in social justice, the collective responsibility of the community, and world peace for people throughout the United States, Africa, and the Middle East.
Shabazz provides the perspective of a daughter who grew up feeling very connected to her father and who felt his spirit and presence throughout her life. Her books, based on interviews with her mother, aunts, cousins, friends, and Malcom’s brothers and sisters, are companion pieces to other works on the iconic leader. They provide insights into Malcolm’s inner world and emotional life and imagine the conversations he had with the many people he encountered as he developed into a world-renowned advocate for civil rights.
In The Awakening of Malcolm X, Shabazz and her co-author Jackson provide windows into Malcolm X’s mind as he sits in a “hole” in solitary confinement while in prison and reflects on memories of his father, a preacher and Garveyite who told him he would be a leader, his mother, a writer and reader who helped to instill in him a love for books and the written word, his family who provided him with sustenance and with the knowledge that he could survive, and his love for Allah as a result of meeting Elijah Muhammad.
As Malcolm educates himself by reading the dictionary and literary, philosophical, religious, and historical books on the history of Africa and Black people in the United States, he is sowing the seeds for facing whatever adversity comes to him. Shabazz introduces each chapter in this novel with an epithet that illustrates a message and provides readers with an affirmation of his evolving worldview and growth as an intellectual and spiritual leader.
Shabazz supplements this book by providing a summary of Malcolm X’s work as a Minister in the Nation of Islam, a timeline of his life from his birth in 1925 through his release from prison in 1952, and his reading list.
Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon wrote X, A Novel prior to The Awakening of Malcolm X. Using realistic and specific descriptions, the novel describes Malcolm’s journey from a smart young student who wanted to be a lawyer to a young man who became a hustler, spent six years in prison, and transformed his life after his introduction to Elijah Muhammad. As in The Awakening of Malcolm X, Shabazz provides readers with additional reading resources: Character Notes, A Timeline of Malcolm’s Life, Malcolm’s Family Tree, a History of the Civil Rights Movement from 1925-1965, and a list of books that exemplify Malcolm’s reading life.
In the beautifully illustrated book, Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X, Shabazz provides a description of Malcolm’s life as a young boy. Although his family faces tragedy, their faith, love, and perseverance underscore the importance of self-reliance, a trait that Malcolm draws upon as he works in his mother’s gardens, devises ways to obtain food for his family, and determines that he will survive although his mother is placed in a state institution and he is forced to leave his family and live in foster care.
Shabazz is committed to imparting, safeguarding, and preserving Malcolm X’s legacy for future generations. We lost a fearless leader 60 years ago on February 21, 1965 when he was assassinated. These three books keep the presence of Malcolm X alive, engage, and awaken the minds of young people, and provide current and future generations with guidance and strategies for overcoming the obstacles that inevitably come with living as Black youth in America.
Dr. Brenda M. Greene is Professor of English and Founder and Executive Director Emeritus of the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY.
