Attallah shabazz biography for kids

American actress and author

Attallah Shabazz (born November 16, 1958) is an American actress, author, diplomat, and motivational speaker, and the eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz.

Early life

Shabazz was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 16, 1958. Shabazz says her name is Arabic for "the gift of God" (Arabic: عَطَاء الله, romanized: `Aṭā'allāh) and she is not named after Attila the Hun as her father's autobiography states.

In February 1965, her sister Qubilah woke the family in the middle of the night with her screams; the house was on fire. Shabazz recalled that night in a 1989 interview: "I almost didn't realize how dangerous it was—my father was that calm, that together a parent. My eyes were burning, I was coughing, but before you knew it, he had us all out of there, and we were safe at a friend's house. My mother's like that too. Together."

A week later, Shabazz was at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, with her mother and sisters, when her father was assassinated. She was six at the time and reportedly the only one of his children who has clear memories of him. In 2005, she told journalist Gabe Pressman that she remembered the events of that day "vividly":

It was a Sunday morning and we were at the Wallaces, this is Aunt Ruby's [Ruby Dee's] brother's house, and my father called and said to my mother, "Why don't you come down?," and that was out of sorts, and I knew it, but at the same time excited. And so two of my little sisters—I had three little sisters at that time—but the baby was six months, and my two sisters after me, we all got ready to go down....
My mother was pregnant with my baby sisters, the twins. We thought it was a boy at the time, so we referred to her stomach as Malik, and six months later they were born. But I remember the day, and it changed everything.

Shabaz

Raised in Westchester County, New York, Ambassador Shabazz is the eldest of six daughters born to Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X Shabazz. She graduated from the United Nations International School at 17 and entered Briarcliff College the following fall semester, majoring in international law with a minor in English.

Ambassador Shabazz has spent over 35 years offering keynote addresses while developing curriculums and programs for educational institutions, executive forums, diplomatic networks, penal systems, conferences, and human service organizations globally. Her purpose is to motivate and encourage the young and mature alike to recognize the value in and appreciation of diverse cultural engagement, traditional rights of passage and perspectives, and a genuine respect for oneself and others.

Recognized as a masterful creator and astute businesswoman, Ambassador Shabazz has been fondly termed by her colleagues as an “ideas architect.” She is a strategist and technician quick to discern the integrity, theme, and ultimate goal of each endeavor while realizing a vision of execution and successful outcome.

In 1996, Ambassador Shabazz established the Pilgrimage Foundation in honor of her father’s spiritual journey to the Holy Land. “It offered him the ‘light of understanding’ and confirmed his vision for our oneness,” she states. In tribute to her mother’s lifelong legacy of service as an educator, as well as the leadership of both sets of grandparents—uniting five languages, three religions, social histories, and traditions—she has remained steadfast guiding experiences that expand one’s own personal prism and regard for others. Her lifetime commitment is to establish fellowships from the most fortunate to the disenfranchised, bridging the gaps with the sustenance that assures that “we step into the world both mindful and equipped to fulfill our bounty, then share it with another.” The Pilgrimage Foundation has touched hundreds of thousands

Ambassador Attallah Shabazz, the eldest daughter of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X Shabazz, gave an online address on Friday, August 21 as part of Berkeley Social Welfare's welcome events for new and returning students.

A producer, writer, and diplomat who has spoken throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean, Shabazz has served as Ambassador-at-Large to Belize since 2002. She has spent over 35 years offering keynote addresses while developing curriculums and programs for educational institutions, executive forums, diplomatic networks, penal systems, conferences, and human service organizations globally.

Dean Linda Burton, who has known Ambassador Shabazz for a number of years, introduced her as "an incredible mentor, and as a beacon of light for many," praising her investment in building relationships and community as a tool to create social change.

Entitled "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: In Pursuit of Inclusiveness and Social Justice," the ambassador's talk touched on a number of topics relevant to social workers and anyone working towards social justice.

Ambassador Shabazz talked about her ongoing role as an educator and mentor, including her current work with youth in Louisville. In the city where Breanna Taylor was killed, she recognized the possibility for younger people's idealism to be at stake as the killing remained unresolved. Her civic fellowship aimed to build an understanding of "what really goes on and who's really responsible, so that when we are frustrated we're not expending energy in a direction that cannot give you the answer." Working with these 16- to 22-year olds was so energizing that the fellowship will be extended. "I can't stop now," she said after a 12-hour day with her students.

She stressed the need to focus on long-term outcomes and for young activists to sustain themselves for the long haul. "Can't

Artist, actress, theatrical director, producer, lecturer, activist

At a Glance…

Clarifying the Vision

Formed Nucleus with King

Converging Ideas

Sources

Attallah Shabazz is a woman of many talents. An artist, performer, producer, and lecturer, she is also the eldest daughter of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, better known as Malcolm X, the powerful civil rights activist who was assassinated in 1965 by three members of the Nation of Islam. Attallah Shabazz plies her trade to clarify her father’s message and to preach her own gospel of human rights and self-esteem. Russell Miller of New York magazine described her as “an inspirational speaker, preaching self-respect, persistence, nurturance.”

Shabazz does not remember Malcolm X as a political militant, but as a loving and devoted father who took pains to instill pride in his children. Both her parents and grandparents gave her a rich cultural education in her “wonderful heritage,” she told Rolling Stone. “One of my coloring books when I was younger was called Color Me Brown, and it had twenty-five little etchings of black American contributors that you could color in. So I knew about [eighteenth-century mathematician and astronomer] Benjamin Banneker, I knew about [acclaimed poet] Phillis Wheatley. I knew about [nineteenth-century dramatic actor] Ira Aldridge and [feminist-agitator] Ida B. Wells. Those were the names that came to my mouth like Mary Poppins might to another’s. So when I went to school and parts of me were omitted from history books, I knew the hole wasn’t in me, it was in the books.”

From an early age, Shabazz was aware of her multinational background and took pride in it. She told the Los Angeles Times:“I grew up cross-cultural. In my house there were many accents. My taste buds were not formed on American food. The family background was African, Caribbean, Arabic, and Native American