Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X: A Journey of Strength from Wife to Widow to Heroine

Good price for a good book

Great biography from the author. After reading this book I am convinced of two things: 1) EL Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) was a brilliant, brave, compassionate, humble, generous, deeply principled man who never compromised or wavered from what he knew to be and was actually true about this country. He held up a gigantic mirror and forced America to take a good look at itself and revealed some VERY ugly sins no one was ready to confront. America holds itself up as a beacon of freedom and liberty but was not extending those same ideals to its own citizens. He single handedly grew the NOI to the juggernaut that it became and was on his way to galvanize and unite nations across Africa and the Middle East in human rights endeavors. 2) Dr Shabazz was an amazing woman and was exactly what Malcolm needed in a wife. She really took care of him while he obsessively traversed the country to essentially wake up black folk. Not only did this woman watch her husband whom she loved SO much murdered in front of her, but she persevered as a single mom of 6 girls, kept a roof over their heads, earned her doctorate all the while fighting to keep Malcolm X's legacy alive. She had to tow the line between carrying on Malcolm's work, raising her family and building her own career which I think she did masterfully. Despite her awesome accomplishments, the only thing I wished for Betty was that she got counseling after Malcolm was killed as it naturally affected her so deeply. Malcolm and Betty should be acknowledged for their contributions to civil and human rights ALOT more than they are.

I am deeply pained by the fact that we don't hear more about this remarkable woman's life. Betty Shabazz was raised by a woman with a strong sense of the importance of education and economic independence. She became a nurse. She converted to Islam. She married a man who would become an American and international icon, then became widowed with 4 children while pregnant with twins. She emerged from the haze of grief in order to be a single mother and sole breadwinner to her 6 daughters. She earned a master's degree from Jersey City State College (now NJCU), then a doctorate from UMass at Amherst, and served as a faculty member at Medgar Evers College for more than 20 years. She became an icon in her own right while defending her slain husband's legacy and matriarching his descendants and his political and ideological heirs until her death in the 1990s. She is an example to Black women, Muslim women, working women, single mothers, widows, ambitious women, women who have suffered loss and disappointment, all women. I just don't understand why she's not often recognized as such.

I am in the midst of a personal project to read all that I can on the life of Malcolm X. In doing this, I quite naturally need to read about the woman who shared his life, Mrs. Betty Shabazz. I have read quite a number of books on Malcolm, with “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” standing head and shoulders above all others as my favorite. There are some very good books out there on Malcolm. There are. Now, having said this, let me say a few other things. First, Mrs. Betty Shabazz is a legend in her own right, a woman whose story can inspire the World, independent of her relationship with Malcolm. She needs to be respected as a person in her own right, and this book is perfect for that task. I can honestly say, that outside of “The Autobiography Of Malcolm X,” I have read no other book on the larger Malcolm story that brings me more profound emotional pleasure than this book written by Russell Rickford. This is more than an extraordinary book! It is superb, on so many different levels, but I'll try and give a few examples. Beginning with the paragraph at the top of page 38, that starts with the words, “To experience...” and going to the paragraph in the middle of the next page that ends with the words”...where you been?”', one would have a hard time finding a better description of the intensity that is Malcolm X...anywhere! Later, on in the book, Russell talks about Malcolm respecting MLK, despite all, because he knew that King was truly a man. The description of the intensity of Betty's first meeting with Winnie and Nelson Mandela is, in itself, worth the total price of what I paid for this book. Once Winnie grasped that the person standing several feet away from her was the wife of Malcolm X, she became very aggressive in hugging Betty, which speaks volumes for the respect, held throughout the continent of Africa, for Malcolm. Winnie was simply ecstatic to be hugging Malcolm's wife, and Betty felt the same way about Winnie, as it seems both women stood in awe of each other, and of each other's husband. The meeting between Winnie Mandela and Betty Shabazz almost makes a person want to cry, and it's as if one can hear reggae singer Bob Marley's anthem of respect to women of color, “No Woman, No Cry” symbolically playing in the background. The comparison of the Malcolm/Betty marriage with that of the Nelson/Winnie marriage that is spelled out within the book is not one that I had previously thought of, but in terms of its international impact, symbolism and implications, is a fair, and powerful one. There are so many wonderful things in this book that it amazes me that it only has 20 reviews! But, of all the things that I love this book for, I love it most for its reverential, sensitive, perspicacious, awe-inspiring respect that it pays to the marriage of Malcolm and Betty. There are very few that can grasp how profound this simple fact is. This is an absolutely wonderful book on so many different levels, and anyone who respects Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X, and the marriage between them, is more than wise in making this book part of one's collection. Thank you so much Mr. Russell Rickford for such an absolutely wonderful book! Simply wonderful!

I was very excited to receive this book and read it. Unfortunately, the book completely fell apart. The pages were not even attached to the spine of the book. Complete disaster. I was totally disappointed!!!