Malcolm X’s Daughter Disputes Claims About Father’s Sexuality
by Jamilah King, colorlines.com
April 25th 2011 4:12 PM
The fallout continues over the late Dr. Manning Marable’s controversial
autobiography of Malcolm X. The controversy in question is a comparatively
small section of the book in question, “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention” that
speculates the late Civil Rights icon may have been “gay for pay” back in his
hustler days. Malcolm’s daughter, IIaysah Shabazz, recently spoke to NPR’s
Michele Martin on “Tell Me More”, and the discussion went from tense to
downright hostile after several questions about the allegations.
MARTIN: Forgive me, and I completely credit your perspective on this, but it is
also the case that children often don’t know the complete details of their
parents’ lives because it’s not really their business.
SHABAZZ: It’s not their business.
MARTIN: Particularly their interpersonal relationships. So is it possible that
perhaps Dr. Marable had access to information that you did not? Or that was
just uncomfortable for you to explore because…
Ms. SHABAZZ: Not at all. I mean, listen, I have a lot of friends who are gay. I
have, you know, I hate to say, but some of my best friends are gay. OK? So, if
my father experienced persons of the same sex before he became the icon Malcolm
X, you know, then that would be his experience. But he would’ve spoken about
it. And I think because there were so many other allegations, especially that
my mother cheated on him with his best friend when he was in Africa. If we even
consider that the FBI looked for a very long time for something to get on my
father, something to discredit or to tarnish his image, then certainly they
would’ve found the information.
Listen to the interview or read the full transcript here.
Gender Matters columnist Akiba Solomon wrote weeks ago that the allegations in
question appear on only two pages of a 600 page book. And Rod McCollum also
sums it up nicely: “Given the intense anti-gay culture of the Nation of Islam
and Islam, and the cultural norms of the 1950s and 1960s, it does not seem
likely that even if the claims were true, Malcolm X (or anyone else in his
position) would publicly discuss a same-sex experience.”
Original Page:
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/04/malcolm_xs_daughter_disputes_sexuality_claims_leaves_interview.html
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