Malcolm X Writings Form Base for Project

Malcolm X gave one of the last speeches of his life at Columbia University--in Barnard's LeFrak Gymnasium. Now Columbia is giving back to Malcolm X's legacy through a new project that will examine the late civil rights leader's life and also make information about his life more readily available to the public.

The project, which is being launched by Columbia's Institute for Research in African-American Studies, will have three parts: the Malcolm X Papers Project, which will compile Malcolm X's personal letters, speeches, interviews, and published and unpublished writings; the Malcolm X-Dr. Betty Shabazz Oral History Project, which will record interviews with family, friends, and associates of Malcolm X's; and a multimedia version of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which will include interactive presentations of the autobiography and other writings and speeches as well as film clippings from Malcolm X's life and interviews with historians of the civil rights movement.

Professor Manning Marable, director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies, said he was excited by the project.

"We are honored to have the opportunity to explore the rich historical legacy of Malcolm X," Marable said. "His impact on American life is profound. This research will further document his immense contributions by cataloging the words of his family and contemporaries and by examining his words and writings."

Columbia has worked with Malcolm X's family in the past. His daughter, Attallah Shabazz, spoke at Barnard on the 36th anniversary of her father's speech there earlier this month, and Barnard hosted a panel discussion on Malcolm X's life two weeks ago.

Larry Dais, assistant vice president for public affairs and director of community affairs, called the Malcolm X project an "important extension of Columbia's existing relationship with the Shabazz family," adding that the project "enhances the recognition of two icons [Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz] of the African-American communities."

The research project is important, Marable said, because there is little scholarly work devoted to Malcolm X's life. At the forum two weeks ago, Marable said there were some 48,000 pages of documents that have never been seen by historians, many of which are in the Shabazz family's possession. Part of the project's work will involve negotiating with the family to have those documents released.

But Marable was not critical of the family.

"The Shabazz family's support has been invaluable in making these projects possible," Marable said.

The oral history project, which will be a two-year collaborative effort between the institute and Columbia's Oral History Research Office, will include 200 interviews of Malcolm X's surviving family members, other civil rights leaders, and prominent members of America's--and especially Harlem's--black community. It will focus not only on Malcolm X but also on his late wife, Dr. Betty Shabazz, a nurse and educator who was a major historical figure in her own right.

Dais worked with Shabazz to found the Malcolm X Medical Scholarship Program at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1984. The program supports research into health problems, such as sickle-cell anemia, that pose higher risks to African Americans by giving scholarships to African-American students pursuing careers in medicine and public health.

Twenty-five recipients of the scholarship have graduated from the school since the program's establishment.