Attallah Shabazz, daughter of human rights activist Malcolm X. Photo sourced from the LA Times, 1983.
Attallah Shabazz, an international human rights advocate and daughter of civil rights leader Malcolm X, will speak at Eckerd College on Friday, Feb. 27, from 6 to 7 p.m. in Fox Hall as part of the EC Classic weekend and CPS Speaker Series. The public lecture will focus on diversity, justice, and global citizenship, followed by a Q&A with students. The event is open to the campus community and the public.
Malcolm X remains one of the most influential and debated voices of the civil rights movement, known for challenging America to confront racism, power, and identity. His daughter, Attallah Shabazz, has spent decades extending that work through diplomacy, education, and global human rights advocacy.
For Eckerd students, Shabazz’s visit creates a rare opportunity to engage directly with a speaker whose life and career have been shaped by the legacy of the civil rights movement and decades of international public service. While her talk will focus on diversity and human rights, Shabazz brings a background as a diplomat, professor, and global advocate, offering students and community members exposure to perspectives rooted in lived experience and global engagement.
Having a speaker of this caliber on a local campus underscores the importance of access to nationally relevant voices within the Tampa Bay region. Major voices in civil rights and human rights discourse are not always accessible to students outside of large metropolitan or elite academic spaces. Hosting Shabazz in St. Petersburg underscores the role of local institutions in creating access to global perspectives and national conversations.
Attendees can expect more than historical reflection from the discussion. The event invites them to consider their own roles within ongoing struggles for equity and human dignity. As Malcolm X once said, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today” (speech, 1962). Shabazz’s work and message build on that idea, emphasizing awareness, responsibility, and purposeful action in shaping the world students are inheriting.
Ann Sherman-White, director of Equal Access and Campus Community and director of the Unity Center, said the timing of Shabazz’s visit carries particular relevance for Eckerd’s campus and the broader community. “Our community, both Eckerd and beyond, is in a potentially transitional period in time,” Sherman-White said. “So when we have found ourselves in that same transitional realm, we needed someone to motivate, articulate, and show us how to step out of this.”
As Eckerd prepares to host Shabazz, the event offers students and community members a chance to engage directly with global perspectives on diversity and human rights in a campus setting. For more information about the event, visit this link.
Share Your News with Us
To share news with the Power Broker, connect with reachout@powerbrokermagazine.com. To sign up for our twice-weekly e-newsletter, visit www.powerbrokermagazine.com; and to join our online conversation, subscribe to our YouTube channel at Power Broker Media Group – YouTube.
