Steve Neavling
Malik Shabazz, right, built a reputation as a courageous activist who routinely confronted crime and racism.
Malik Shabazz is no stranger to adversity.
The fearless Detroit activist has confronted drug dealers at their homes and faced off with chop shops and businesses selling rotten meat. He has led searches for missing people and stood up to greedy politicians.
Now he’s in a different battle.
Shabazz, the founder of the New Black Panther Party/New Marcus Garvey Movement, had a massive heart attack on June 26. He was in critical condition for nearly two months and fought off an infection caused by a heart pump. Doctors removed his breathing tube on July 12 and implanted a permanent heart pump on Aug. 1. He was recently transferred to a rehabilitation center, where he’s learning to walk again.
“I’m in the biggest battle of my life,” Shabazz tells Metro Times. “I was truly dead. God brought me back. The ancestors brought me back to continue this great work. This is a sign that I was chosen to do this work.”
A day after his heart attack, dozens of people, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Police Chief James White, and numerous civil rights leaders, attended a vigil for Shabazz in front of Henry Ford Hospital on West Grand Boulevard. Early this morning, Shabazz was reading about the vigil and choked up when he saw that a fellow activist, Teferi Brent, said he was “irreplaceable.”
“What do you say when community leaders say that about you — other than wipe your tears, say, ‘Thank you, Lord,’ and know that you don’t have a choice but to continue on,” Shabazz says. “I am coming up on the rough side of the mountain and doing my best to get through. What do you say to all this love? It lets you know that your work, your struggle, your sweat equity, and your sacrifices were not in vain because it can get lonely being a street soldier.”
Shabazz has earned a reputation as a courageous, unapologetic activist for Detroiters. Now he’s committed to getting back to his work.
“He is as sharp as ever,” his friend and fellow activist Sam Riddle tells Metro Times. “When you literally die two or three times, it’s miraculous where he is. A lot of folks gave up on him, but he didn’t give up on himself. Prayers and good vibes from the community did him well.”
Shabazz is beginning his new journey with the zeal and commitment he showed when he confronted injustices before his heart attack.
“I’m going to do this work until the day I die,” Shabazz says. “But I’ve got to learn how to walk again. And I’m trying hard.”
When he recovers, Shabazz says he plans to spend time with his family, write books about activism and the civil rights movement, and ultimately, “get back on the streets.”
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