News of Shabazz’s death comes just days after a judge dismissed the decades-old convictions of two of the three men found guilty of the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X. The move followed a declaration by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. that “it was clear these men did not receive a fair trial.”
Shabazz, one of Malcolm X’s six children, was born after his death.
“I’m deeply saddened by the death of Malikah Shabazz,” Bernice King, a daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., wrote on Twitter.
“My heart goes out to her family, the descendants of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X. Dr. Shabazz was pregnant with Malikah and her twin sister, Malaak, when Brother Malcolm was assassinated. Be at peace, Malikah.”