Despite being located in the small town of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Wabash is no stranger to spectacular guest speakers. From award winning authors to well established businessmen and women, the list goes on, but this week the College found themselves with a unique opportunity. As the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies (MXIBS) celebrates their 55th anniversary and the nation prepares to recognize Malcolm X on his 100th birthday in May, Wabash hosted several prominent speakers including Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter, and Pulitzer Prize winning author David Garrow. Shabazz first visited Wabash in 2008.
“Having Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz come back to Wabash College really feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Chairman of the MXIBS Quinn Sholar ’26. “I’m really excited to be a streamliner and progress this forward for the MXIBS.”
Shabazz spoke to a crowd of students on April 2 and April 3 in Salter Hall, sharing her unique experience as the daughter of one of America’s most famous civil rights leaders.
“I understood who I was, first and foremost, as a human being, as a woman, as a person of The African diaspora, as Muslim, and I was comfortable with it,” said Shabazz in her panel. “I loved who I was so that I could love others. If I don’t love me, I could never love, and I could never do anything that is to give back to life. Because that’s what life is about.”
During her panel, Shabazz covered a wide variety of topics from the pressure of being Malcom X’s daughter to the importance of her mother throughout her life. However, the theme that stuck out throughout the talk was the significance of just what being Black means.
“For so long, we were told Black is nothing. We were told there’s no history, there’s no identity. But now we’re discovering that there is history for us,” said Shabazz. “There are those pyramids, there are those monuments, there’s the significant contributions we’ve made to math, science, astronomy, archeology, all of these things. You just need determination, and hopefully you can come together as one.”
She also talked about the people around Malcolm X because there were other figures who helped make him an icon. Shabazz honored her often-overlooked mother who became a great inspiration in her own life.
“I often ask how she was able to not only survive, but survive well,” said Shabazz. “She was very compassionate, giving and happy. But what I realized is that she just thrives through a lot of the crazy, rather than be reduced by sorrow. There’s a lesson in any challenge, and she is just a great source of inspiration of strength and determination.”
Having speakers like Shabazz on campus is more than just an event for the College. For the students it signals a commitment to alwa,ys have the opportunity to get the very most out of their experience.
“A lot of Black kids in America do have to grow up faster,” said Sholar. “They have to grow up faster than they’re supposed to, just because of the environments they are brought up in and the positions they’re born into. To hear a lot of life lessons she has gained over the course of all the many trials and tribulations she has been through is a really special moment for me.”
It was not just Shabazz that the College had the privilege of hosting, however. On April 3 in Salter Hall, Pulitzer Prize winning author David Garrow joined Shabazz in remembering the impact of Malcolm X. Garrow is more known for his work on other figures, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and offered some insights comparing the civil rights icons.
“Malcolm’s assassination was a greater tragedy to the civil rights movement than losing Dr. King, because King was pretty played out,” said Garrow. “King was exhausted. King was really drained. Malcolm, in the last 12 months of his life, was embracing the real Muslim faith as sort of multi-racial political inspiring figure. Malcolm’s potential was phenomenal, and that’s why it’s so tragic he was killed.”
As Garrow and Shabazz leave campus, Wabash students are reminded of the important history of Malcolm X, and what he meant to the nation. Even more students can recognize just what the MXIBS stands for and what they can learn.
“I hope that a lot of brothers take what she says and internalize it and realize we wouldn’t have this building without her father,” said Sholar. “To actually see her vibe and in person, hopefully people can see that and realize this is no longer a game. This is something we need to take seriously.”