File #: Res 0860-2007    Version: * Name: Commemorating the 82nd birthday of Malcolm X on May 19, 2007.
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations
On agenda: 5/30/2007
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution commemorating the 82nd birthday of Malcolm X on May 19, 2007.
Sponsors: Helen D. Foster, Inez E. Dickens, Letitia James, John C. Liu, Darlene Mealy
Council Member Sponsors: 5

Res. No. 860

 

Resolution commemorating the 82nd birthday of Malcolm X on May 19, 2007.

 

By Council Members Foster, Dickens, James, Liu, and Mealy

 

                     Whereas, Malcolm X was one of the leading figures in the movement for Black liberation in the United States and was active in the civil rights movement during the 1960’s; and

Whereas, Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska to Louisa Norton Little and Earl Little, a Baptist Minister who’s outspoken civil rights activism prompted death threats from a white supremacist organization, forcing Malcolm’s family to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday; and

Whereas, Malcolm X excelled in school and graduated Junior High School at the top of his class but was discouraged from pursuing his dream of becoming a lawyer by a teacher who told him that it was not a realistic goal for a black person; and

Whereas, Malcolm fell into a life of crime and was sentenced to seven years in prison in 1946 and used this time to further his education and to study the teachings of Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Elijah Muhammad; and

Whereas, By the time Malcolm was paroled in 1952 he was a devoted follower of the NOI and had adopted a new name, Malcolm X; and

Whereas, Malcolm X was appointed a minister and national spokesman for the NOI and was responsible for the establishment of new mosques in cities across the United States, including Mosque No. 7 in Harlem; and

Whereas, Malcolm X grew further in his faith and went on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 1964 and returned to the United States having adopted the name of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and preaching a message of unity to all races; and

Whereas, At a speaking engagement in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was shot 15 times and was pronounced dead at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital at the age of 39; and

Whereas, Malcolm X is a symbol of courage and strength who promoted social justice and educational excellence and is recognized as a hero to many Americans; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York commemorates the 82nd birthday of  Malcolm X on May 19, 2007.

 

 

LS# 2855

4/23/07

JN