Mexican authorities say arrests made in killing of Malcolm Shabazz

By Saeed Shabazz -Staff Writer- | Last updated: May 15, 2013 - 1:21:07 PM

Picture of Malcolm Shabazz Photo: Malcolm Ali

(FinalCall.com) - News reports have been circulated at Final Call press time that two men Alejandro Perez de Jesus, 24, and David Hernandez Cruz, 24, were charged with the beating death of Malcolm Shabazz, 28, the grandson of Minister Malcolm X in Mexico City. The Mexico City Attorney General, Rodolfo Rios was quoted saying that Mr. Shabazz died from blows to his head, ribs and jaw, according to reports.

Mexican authorities also reportedly noted that they still haven’t figured how Mr. Shabazz’s body came to be dumped on the street, saying the bar where he was allegedly drinking with an associate had its cameras facing the wall. Mr. Rios said rumors that Mr. Shabazz had jumped from the window were untrue.

A message on the blog under Malcolm Shabazz’s name stated as of May 12 his body was lying in in the Institute of Forensic Science in Mexico. “The family is offering no comment at this time,” Herb Boyd a reporter for the Amsterdam News explained to The Final Call in a text message on May 13. “Clearly, there are more questions than answers at this point,” offered Mr. Boyd.

Mary Ratcliff, associate publisher of the San Francisco Bayview Newspaper told The Final Call that Mr. Shabazz’s funeral would be either May 16th or 17th in Oakland.

“People believe It is safer, better and a more positive atmosphere here than on the East Coast,” Ms. Ratcliff said. You know, he spent a lot of time in The Bay area, she added.

“I was blessed with Malcolm’s beautiful smile. He was smart as a whip,” Ms. Ratcliff noted, adding, “People were so hopeful that Malcolm Shabazz would be a positive force in the world.”

Malcolm Shabazz, the son of Qubilah Shabazz, the second eldest of six daughters from the marriage of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, was reportedly in Mexico meeting with businessman, activist Miguel Suarez, a co-founder of RUMEC (Revolutionary United Mexicans in Combat), a California-based grassroots labor organization that worked to build Black and Latino unity, who had been deported in April.

The Final Call has been unable to reach anyone connected with RUMEC.

“Everyone wants those responsible apprehended and brought to justice,” Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, of the Harlem-based Mosque of the Islamic Brotherhood and the Majilis Ashura of New York told The Final Call. He said the Muslim community shared in the same grief and shock that has enveloped the Shabazz family. “And the worst thing is that the family doesn’t know what happened—leaving an information vacuum in the community,” the imam said.

“I haven’t had a contact with Malcolm for a while,” Imam Abdur-Rashid admitted. “However, I believe that he was maturing; wanting to make his own mark.”

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), saying he had known Malcolm Shabazz for several years. He said in a statement, the young man spoke regularly at Islamic centers around the country, educating children of immigrants from the Middle East and south Asia about his grandfather, Min. Malcolm X and the civil rights movement.

The young activist traveled across the U.S. speaking about the struggles that his generation was facing. He had also traveled extensively to the Middle East, studying in Damascus, Syria; meeting with Col. Muammar Ghaddafi—even planning a trip to Iran, which never materialized due to his arrest in Middletown, N.Y. on robbery and false impersonation charges which were all dropped.

Dr. Dick Gregory explained to The Final Call, that the death of young Shabazz needs to be seen through the lens of a “big tragedy.”

“Malcolm Shabazz was growing so beautifully—getting so big, a real tragedy,” Dr. Gregory said.

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