Malcolm X Papers Will Come to New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Shabazz Family Deposits Historic Documents at the Schomburg Center

 

 

Portrait of Malcolm X by Laurence Henry, Laurence Henry Collection, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library

New York, NY, January 7, 2003 -- A large collection of Malcolm X’s diaries, photos, letters, and other materials have been placed on long-term deposit by Ilyasah Shabazz and Malaak Shabazz, as the Administrators of the Estate of Betty Shabazz, at The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture where they will be made available to researchers. The materials provide unprecedented insight into the viewpoints and personal reflections of the dynamic and vastly influential figure who spearheaded a vigorous and often controversial fight for the rights of African Americans in the 1960s. Malcolm X’s six daughters are Ms. Attallah Shabazz, Ms. Ilyasah Shabazz, Ms. Gamilah Shabazz, Ms. Qubilah Shabazz, Ms. Malikah Shabazz, and Ms. Malaak Shabazz.

Howard Dodson, Director of the Schomburg Center, said “We have worked closely with the family of Malcolm X to ensure that this archive will be available to researchers here at the Schomburg Center, rather than go into private hands or be dispersed. It is significant that the collection will be located in Harlem—on Malcolm X Boulevard—in the neighborhood where much of the drama of Malcolm X’s life unfolded.” “This is one of the single most important collections to come to The New York Public Library in the last decade,” said Dr. Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library. “And it is one of the only significant collections of archival materials on this galvanizing leader. The path blazed by Malcolm X led African Americans to greater freedom and respect in our society. It is important that the history of his efforts be preserved and made accessible to future generations.”

The majority of the collection arrived at the Schomburg Center on December 31, with additional materials due to arrive later this month. The papers will be available to researchers after approximately 18 months of processing and preservation work is completed. The materials in the collection include a wide range of speeches, letters, diaries, and other documents handwritten or typed by Malcolm X. There is also a collection of photographs, many of which are presumed to have been taken by Malcolm X, and others that show various aspects of his life, including pictures of him with his family and with dignitaries. The collection features 67 handwritten radio addresses delivered to spread the message of Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam; many outlines and manuscripts for speeches given at rallies and other public appearances; and the manuscript outline of his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” in which he revised his message to encourage the black community to flex its political muscle through voting. Additionally, there is a contract and correspondence between Malcolm X and Alex Haley regarding The Autobiography of Malcolm X; and hundreds of photographs of Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad and other Nation of Islam leaders, family members, and personalities such as Muhammad Ali, with whom he came into contact.

 

 

Journal (from April 17 - May 21) of Malcolm X's 1964 trip to Africa and the Middle East including his pilgrimage to Mecca. From The Malcolm X Collection, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library

Among the most significant items are diaries in which Malcolm X documented his trips to Africa and the Middle East, made soon after he broke from the Nation of Islam in 1964. The diaries record his impressions abroad, experiences which led him to rethink and alter his views about race relations. Chief among the experiences that impacted him was seeing people from a wide variety of backgrounds making pilgrimage to Mecca. “Never in America had I received such respect & honor as here in the Muslim world, just upon their learning I am a Muslim. People with blue eyes & blonde hair, bowing in complete submission to Allah beside those with black skin & kinky hair.”

Also included are letters from Malcolm X to his wife Betty Shabazz written during his 1964 trips. “I miss you and the children very much and I do pray that you are all well and secure there in that hellish land where I have so many enemies, black as well as white. . .  I realize many there in the states may think I’m shirking my duties as a leader (and even as a husband) by being way over here while there is such trouble there, but what I am doing here will be more helpful to the whole in the long run, and I always think in terms of the whole. . . .” The materials documenting Malcolm X’s experiences on his foreign tours are extremely significant to researchers since that period was not covered extensively in The Autobiography of Malcolm X and other written histories.

The documents placed on deposit at the Schomburg Center include those that were offered for sale by Butterfields Auctioneers in March of last year. When the Shabazz Family became aware of this effort, they asserted their ownership rights and threatened legal action to prevent the sale of their father’s property.  Adding to the Family’s voice were those of researchers and scholars, who expressed concern that materials of such historic importance might be purchased by individual collectors and dispersed to multiple owners.  In the face of the pressure from the family, Butterfields withdrew the documents from sale, and eventually the family reached agreement with Butterfields and others claiming rights to the property, that allowed the family to recover the entire collection.

Joseph Fleming, the attorney for the Estate of Betty Shabazz and the Shabazz Family, said that “the Family was prepared to use every means available to it to ensure that they remained the sole proprietors of their father’s legacy.”  It was that determination that led to the recovery and now the preservation of the Collection.  In the current arrangement with The New York Public Library, the Shabazz family is depositing the papers at the Schomburg Center for a period of 75 years.

Malcolm X
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His childhood was marked by tragic events -- the brutal death of his father, reportedly at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, his mother’s illness and subsequent institutionalization, and life in foster care.  Despite this, he was academically among the top students in his class in the predominantly white high school he attended. After a life in petty crime led to years in prison he joined the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm X rose quickly to become an effective organizer and visible spokesperson for the group and his major period of public influence and recognition came during his nine-year association with the Nation. He represented a position that racism toward blacks was so deeply embedded in American culture that it was absurd to believe that racial equality and integration could be achieved. This ideology led to a belief that the only solutions were the return to Africa or the division of the United States into black and white nations.

In 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated, Malcolm commented that it was a case of “the chickens coming home to roost.” Many people interpreted this to mean that Malcolm thought the President deserved his fate, although he explained he really meant that “America’s climate of hate had been responsible for the President’s death.”

His comment brought censure from Elijah Muhammad, who “silenced” him for 90 days so that Muslims everywhere could be “disassociated” from the remark. With this, came a climate of hostility toward Malcolm in some sectors of the Nation of Islam.  Malcolm’s devotion to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, though tested by the three-month sentencing, was still true when Malcolm discovered that his idol, the spiritual leader who was judge and jury for the Nation of Islam, was himself guilty of adultery. On March 8, 1964, he broke with the Nation of Islam and then announced the formation of his own groups, Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

He made a “hajj” or pilgrimage to Mecca in April of that year, and visited Africa and the Middle East again that July. His travels introduced him to Muslims of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. He gained an enlightened understanding of Islam and rejected many of the racial views held by the Nation of Islam.

During this time, Malcolm urged African Americans and African nations to bring the United States before the United Nations and other international bodies on charges of violating the human rights of African Americans.

Malcolm X’s life and work were cut short on February 21, 1965 when he was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. Two of the three men arrested were black Muslims, although the motivation and full responsibility for the attack remain unclear to this day.  Malcolm X’s positions and views were militant, ambitious, and idealistic. The availability of these papers promises to provide new insights into the depth, breadth, and complexity of his life and work.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a national research library devoted to collecting, preserving, and providing access to resources documenting the experiences of peoples of African descent throughout the world. The Center's collections first won international acclaim in 1926 when the personal collection of the distinguished Puerto Rican-born Black scholar and bibliophile, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, was added to the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints of the 135th Street Branch of The New York Public Library. Schomburg served as Curator from 1932 until his death in 1938. Renamed in his honor in 1940, the collection grew steadily through the years. In 1972 it was designated as one of The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library and became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Today, the Schomburg Center contains over 5,000,000 items and provides services and programs for constituents from the United States and abroad.

The Center provides access to and professional reference assistance in the use of its collections to the scholarly community and the general public through five research divisions, each managing materials in specific formats but with broad subject focus. The Center’s collections include art objects, audio and videotapes, books, manuscripts, motion picture films, newspapers, periodicals, photographs, prints, recorded music discs, and sheet music. The Schomburg Center facilitates access to these holdings through mail and telephone reference services, the Internet, participation in national computerized databases, and publication of bibliographies and other finding aids. The Schomburg Center also promotes the study of the histories and cultures of peoples of African descent and interprets its collections through a wide range of exhibitions, publications, and educational, scholarly, and cultural programs.

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Statement from Shabazz family regarding Malcolm X papers

Photos available upon request

Press contacts:

Herb Scher, 212-704-8600

Joan Harris, 212-491-2259

 

 

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