Malcolm X Daughter Pleads Guilty to Theft

A youngest daughter of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X has pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of an elderly family friend to run up more than $55,000 in credit card bills.

Malikah Shabazz was freed from jail Thursday after entering the plea at a courthouse in New York City. She had been in custody since her Feb. 18 arrest in North Carolina.

Her deal with prosecutors calls for her to pay back the money and be on probation for five years.

Queens prosecutors say the 46-year-old used the name of a 70-year-old woman whose late husband was one of Malcolm X's bodyguards to acquire credit cards that Shabazz used to run up big debts.

Malikah Shabazz will be sentenced to five years probation next month as long as she pays back the $55,000 owed to various credit card companies, Queens prosecutors said. If not, she could be locked away for seven years.

Related articles

• Malcolm X daughter pleads guilty to ID theft (nydailynews.com)
• Malcolm X's Daughter Pleads Guilty to ID Theft (theroot.com)

Happy Birthday, Malcolm X

May 19 was the birthday of Malcolm X, (he would have been 86) and as someone who lived through the turbulent '60s I remember him as one of the driving forces in the civil rights era. His autobiography, written with Alex Haley, is was a compelling tale of his journey from street hustler to religious and civil rights leader.  His original name is Malcolm Little ; his Muslim name was el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.

Democracy Now! hosts a roundtable discussion about Dr. Manning Marable's controversial new biography,Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. Dr. Marable used material for his book that was recently made available, thus providing a new insight into the famed civil rights leader. His biography, however, has also refueled the debate on many controversial aspects of Malcolm X's life and interpretation of his politics and legacy.

Only minutes into the discussion, Amiri Baraka and Michael Eric Dyson spared off about Manning's research on the life of Malcolm X and conclusions about the political legacy of the famed civil rights leader.

Check out the excerpt of what Amiri Baraka, an acclaimed poet, playwright, music historian and activist based in Newark, NJ,  and Michael Eric Dyson had to say: