Ilyasah Al Shabazz, third daughter of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, to speak at annual Rosa Parks Luncheon

On Feb. 28 Rowan University will cap a month-long celebration of Black History Month with the 12^th Annual Rosa Parks Luncheon featuring as keynote speaker Ilyasah Al Shabazz, the third daughter of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X and his wife Betty Shabazz.

Rowan’s Rosa Parks Luncheon was created to honor the life and works of the woman known to many as the mother of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Best known for her December 1, 1955 refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white passenger after the whites-only section was filled, Parks was a civil rights activist before and after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal moment in the Movement that her action helped fuel.

Rowan’s annual luncheon honoring Parks last year featured Congressman John J. Conyers, the 44th Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives, with whom Parks worked in his Detroit legislative office from 1970 until her retirement in 1988.

Sponsored by the department of Africana Studies, the luncheon raises money for the Gary Hunter Scholarship Program and this year will explore the theme of crisis in black education.

Shabazz, an educator, activist, motivational speaker and author, promotes higher education for at-risk youth, interfaith dialogue to build bridges between cultures for young leaders and participates in international humanitarian delegations.

“She brings a platform of young community activism that’s tied to her past,” said Denise Williams of Rowan’s History department who sits on the council for Africana Studies.

Shabazz is a Trustee for the Harlem Symphony Orchestra, The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, and The Malcolm X Foundation. She is a member of the Arts Committee for the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center and was a project advisor for the PBS award-winning Prince Among Slaves documentary. She holds a Master of Science in Education & Human Resource Development from Fordham University and is an adjunct professor at John Jay College for Criminal Justice in New York.

Tickets to the luncheon, to be held 11 a.m. Feb. 28 in the Eynon Ballroom of the Chamberlain Student Center, are $50.