Daughter Of Malcolm X Talks To L.I. Students At End Of Black History Month

BRENTWOOD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The end of Black History Month was celebrated for students on Long Island Monday with a message from the daughter of the late civil rights leader Malcolm X.

As WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reported, Ilyasah Shabazz described her father as a man of peace and integrity. But some, she admitted, still would portray Malcolm X in more aggressive terms.

"Because he was challenging historical injustices, they portrayed him into someone that he wasn't," Shabazz said.

Shabazz addressed hundreds of Brentwood freshman students, and passed on what she called her father's encouragement.

"Understanding their role in society so that they can become their best and give something back," Shabazz said.

As a member of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X advocated black power and rejected integration during the fight for civil rights, as CBS2 recalled last year.

Shortly after he broke off from the group and turned his back on what it stood for, members of the Nation of Islam gunned him down in the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights in 1965.

Part of the Audubon Ballroom is now a memorial and educational center named after Malcolm X and his late wife Dr. Betty Shabazz, who fought to save the building.

Malcolm X would have turned 91 years old this year.

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