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8 Iconic Black Leaders Whose Wives Deserve More Recognition

betty shabazz malcolm x

Betty Shabazz (May 28, 1934 – June 23, 1997)

Malcom X is one of the most well-known figures of the Civil Rights Movement. After his wife Betty Shabazz, who was pregnant with twins, witnessed his assassination alongside their four daughters, she continued her husband’s work.

Aside from raising her six daughters on her own, she got a Ph.D. in education administration, delivered countless lectures on civil rights, directed the department of Communications and Public Relations at Medgar Evers College and pushed forward her late husband’s work on social justice. She also was a key player in establishing the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in New York City’s Washington Heights, the site of her husband’s assassination.

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