Betty Shabazz

Betty Shabazz was an American educator and civil rights activist. She was the widow of Malcolm X.

Betty Shabazz
Black caucus Wash. D.C. Sept. 14, 1996
Born	Betty Dean Sanders (1934-05-28)May 28, 1934 Pinehurst, Georgia, or Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	June 23, 1997(1997-06-23) (aged 63) The Bronx, New York City
Resting place	Ferncliff Cemetery
Other names	Betty X
Spouse	Malcolm X (1958–1965)
Children	Attallah Shabazz Qubilah Shabazz Ilyasah Shabazz Gamilah Lumumba Shabazz Malikah Shabazz Malaak Shabazz

She was born on May 28, in either 1934 or 1936. Her full name at birth was Betty Dean Sanders. She grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She and Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam in 1956. They married in 1958. They had six children together. She raised them on her own after her husband was murdered in 1965.

Shabazz converted to Islam in 1965. Betty was pregnant with twin girls when she witnessed Malcolm X’s assassination. Betty never remarried after her husband’s death, and became a national figure. She also cared deeply about the struggle of people of African heritage in the U.S.

Shabazz's grandson Malcolm Shabazz (1984-2013) set fire to her apartment on June 1, 1997. She died of burns in hospital on June 23, 1997. He was convicted of arson and manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months juvenile detention.