The memory of both Malcolms

MALCOLM SHABAZZ had everything going for him. He was 28 years old, handsome as hell and a remarkably charismatic public speaker. He was an activist, an organizer and a proud father. He also had the blessing of being the grandson of Malcolm X.

Malcolm Shabazz had everything going against him. He was a young Black man with a criminal record in the age of the New Jim Crow. He proudly allied himself with countries resisting U.S. occupation and influence. He spoke to audiences across the earth, earning the unwanted attention of the Department of Homeland Security.

He was treated with persecution, scorn and incarceration instead of the utmost sympathy for his role in a fire that took the life of his grandmother, Dr. Betty Shabazz, when he was only 13. He also had the burden of being the grandson of Malcolm X.

Now Malcolm Shabazz is dead. He was in Mexico City to meet in solidarity with a labor organizer deported from the U.S., and he ended up beaten to death outside of a bar. Details of how and why he was killed are extremely sketchy, and I am not writing this to add to that noise, except to say that I'll trust a police report about the death of Malcolm X's grandson around the time I grow a tail.

I'm more writing out of anger: anger that this young man, whom I was able to get to know after meeting at a panel on fatherhood, is having his character assassinated in death. For reasons it should have to answer for, USA Today chose to display a picture of him in handcuffs alongside a brief notice about his killing.

The Huffington Post--and no, I won't link to this garbage--provided no sense of who he was except to write that he "pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in 2002 and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Just months after his release in 2006, he was arrested again, this time for punching a hole in a store window."

WITH VERY few exceptions, not a single piece has what you would expect in a typical obituary: remembrances of loved ones and colleagues to give a three-dimensional portrait of someone's life. The grandson of Malcolm X can only be seen in one dimension. That dimension, as the Associated Press wrote, was just that he "led a troubled life."

There is no question Malcolm Shabazz had troubles. As he himself said, "Considering what I've been through, it's a miracle that I've been able to hold it together. I'm just trying to find my way...Some of the things I've been through, the average person would have cracked."

But "troubled" is not the sum total of who this young man was. Here's a different take on Malcolm Shabazz by someone who actually knew him. Former NBA player Etan Thomas organized the fatherhood panel I mentioned earlier and worked with Malcolm on numerous events. I asked Etan for his thoughts. He said:

There is a lot of mischaracterization going on from people who know nothing. They never met Malcolm. They stayed far away from him, but now they want to inaccurately characterize him. I knew Malcolm. Talked with him, worked with him, he was my friend. Malcolm had a heart of gold. He wanted to help people and change the world. He had been through so much in his young life.

He went with me to Rikers Island to talk to young incarcerated men under 18, and they were focused on his every word. He shared with them the mistakes he made in the past, the absence of a father's presence, gave them words of encouragement and upliftment. And they were hanging on his every word because they saw the sincerity in him. He genuinely cared. It was an honor to work with him, and to have had him as a friend. He will be missed.

When I met Malcolm Shabazz, I had to ask him the question I'm sure he'd been asked a thousand times. I asked, "Is it more burden or blessing to be Malcolm X's grandson?" He smiled and said, "I wouldn't say it's been easy. Yes, being his grandson is a blessing. But you know what? Being a father is a blessing. Being in the struggle is a blessing. And just being alive is a blessing."

We should mourn for the family of Malcolm Shabazz. We should also mourn for ourselves. In a selfish world where the offspring of the famous are more likely to use their cultural capital to become media parasites, we lost someone truly special. He wanted to wield Malcolm's memory to fight for a better world.

Now we should do the same with the memory of both of these Malcolms. They were both brilliant. They were both maligned. They were both taken far too young with far too much unfinished work in front of them. Malcolm Shabazz: Presente!

First published at TheNation.com.