Exclusive Interview with Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz
After March Against Hate Crimes in Charleston, WV

 
Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz fires up the crowd at the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charleston, W.Va.
on November 3, 2007 after the National March Against Hate Crimes organized by the Black Lawyers for Justice.
(Photo: TEI Enlightener News Staff)

Ashahed M. Muhammad (AMM): Al Sharpton had you on his radio show ‘SharpTalk’ a week before the march, he was listed as a supporter and one of the scheduled speakers at the march in West Virginia, what happened?  

Malik Zulu Shabazz (MZS): Well, we thank Al Sharpton for supporting but the fact that he did not march means that new leadership has come of age where the people must rely on other leadership to lead them instead of depending on the same set of leaders we’ve been relying on for 20 years.  This means a new generation can come forth and organize and move forward in the future.

AMM: When I talked to Megan’s mother Carmen, in our interview in the beginning of October, she said that the whites in West Virginia were more supportive than many Blacks have been.  When you came here and started to shake things up, tell us a little bit about that struggle, because it appears as if the time is out for weak leadership.  

MZS: It’s a 98 percent white state and Blacks have been used to dealing with their injustices either quietly or not at all and there is a heavy atmosphere of intimidation.  We were told ‘you’ve never seen blacks in Charleston ’ and to a degree they were right.  It was a struggle. This march was denounced over and over again, but, we were the overcomers, as the Qur’an teaches, and now there is a new generation in Charleston that will be standing up that is not fearful and is not afraid.  By our actions and by organizing and making all the right moves we were able to put in effect a time out on being afraid and bring in a new time of standing up and overcoming fear.

A lot of the lessons in this march I picked up from Minster Louis Farrakhan’s handling of the Million Man March and the attack on that march and how he moved, and also the Million Youth March and how we moved, and I learned from both of those situations how to handle this in a way to keep all of the people on board, and be successful in a conservative white dominated town like this.

AMM:  Have you received any compensation or anything to account for the man hours of travel and researching the hate crime laws in your efforts to assist as the legal advisor to Megan Williams and the Williams family?

MZS: No. This is a pro bono effort, and actually, we are operating at a deficit.  We’ve bought many plane tickets, a lot of gas money, sound equipment, hotel rooms, we spent a lot of money.  It’s really a charitable cause and a public service for Black Lawyers For Justice and the New Black Panther Party who provide free security and travel in from around the country.  We have to understand that without sacrifice, there will be no freedom.  Without giving up of our time and effort to go out there and fight with our little brothers in the street, there won’t be any progress.  We don’t want any pats on the back, but this is a pro bono effort.

AMM: In talking to people in Charleston over the time that I have been here, I have noticed that there are actually some warriors and gladiators here.   Many showed up today, came out and participated in the march and said they want to get active.  

MZS: A new generation of young brothers, some say they want to join the New Black Panther Party, others say they want to be Muslims, some in the Christian church say they want to fight for justice.  The young brothers here that may be involved in wayward styles of life have been given new hope that they can join the liberation struggle of their people.  I’m looking at young brothers here that I’ve never seen before, but they are standing and they are standing strong because they feel a new spirit.  They’ve been given a weak teaching and a weak doctrine most of the time.  This is the first time many of them have seen and been around strong Black men and strong sisters.  So all of the young brothers that are here, we will work further to build an army that will help to solve the problems of our people.

AMM: The Ku Klux Klan dropped flyers and newsletters in a pre-dawn leafleting at the West Virginia Capitol before anyone was present for the rally, and then last night, at the candlelight vigil in at the Logan County trailer where Megan was held captive, we heard of other acts of intimidation in the surrounding area, speak to that.

MZS: The Ku Klux Klan is active in West Virginia.  The Klan tried to intimidate, but we in the New Black Panther Party are just not afraid of the Ku Klux Klan.  We look for the Klan. God has blessed us not to have any fear of the Klan.  Whatever they have, we have too.  If you don’t fear them, they scatter, so today, the Klan scattered and last night the Klan scattered and we were not afraid to go in Ku Klux Klan territory because if we are going to free our people, we have to remove the obstacles of fear. We’re not really worried about them.

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