February 21, 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem's Audubon
Ballroom.
June 23, 1997: After surviving for a remarkable 22 days, his widow,
Betty Shabazz, dies of burns suffered in a fire.
In the years between, their six daughters reach adulthood, forged by the
memory of their parents' love, the meaning of their cause, and the power
of their faith. Now, at long last, one of them has recorded that
tumultuous journey in an unforgettable memoir: Growing Up X.
Born in 1962, Ilyasah was the middle child, a rambunctious live wire who
fought for - and won - attention in an all-female household. She carried
on the legacy of a renowned father and indomitable mother while
navigating childhood and, along the way, learning to do the hustle. She
was a different color from other kids at camp and yet, years later as a
young woman, was not radical enough for her college classmates. Her
story is, sbove all else, a tribute to a mother of almost unimaginable
forbearance, a woman who, "from that day at the Audubon when she heard
the shots and threw her body on [ours, never] stopped shielding her
children."