Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, to speak at MLK event

Professor and author Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, will be the guest speaker at Bloomsburg University's 29th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration. The lecture will be Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. in Carver Hall's Gross Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Anyone in attendance must properly wear a face mask.

The event is sponsored by The Multicultural Center and the Division of Access and Success. It will be live-streamed at:  https://bupmediasite.passhe.edu/Mediasite/Play/44a7b365f3c44b85bf1a3cd1649204771d

Shabazz has authored five historical novels and has served as project advisor for the PBS award-winning documentary, "Prince Among Slaves." She is co-chairperson of the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. In her work to preserve her parents' legacy, she has dedicated herself to institution building and intergenerational leadership development with the tenants of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Shabazz has furthered her community impact with the City University of New York's Office of Academic Affairs, where she created a curriculum to encourage higher education for underserved, inner-city high school dropouts. She has worked with the Office of the Mayor in Mount Vernon, N.Y., as director of public affairs and special events. She founded and produced a young adult development program. The purpose of the program was to provide insight on social justice - encouraging personal empowerment. As president and founder of Ilyasah Shabazz Enterprises, she produces a variety of forums dedicated to power, possibility, and sovereignty.

She is a member of the Soar Higher Cabinet Committee for New Paltz College; a member of the Advisory Council for the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition; a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.; and she serves as a trustee for the Harlem Symphony Orchestra. Shabazz holds a Master of Science in Education & Human Resource Development from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from New Paltz College. Currently, she is an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, where she teaches Perspectives on Justice in the Africana World.