1997 – Death of Betty Shabazz’s Daughter: Qubilah Freed

On May 16, 1997, Qubilah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, was cleared of federal charges in a controversial case alleging she plotted to kill Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. In 1995, Shabazz had been charged with conspiring to hire a hitman—later revealed to be an FBI informant. The case drew national attention due to its political implications, complex family history, and FBI surveillance tactics reminiscent of COINTELPRO. On May 16, 1997, after entering a deferred prosecution agreement and completing psychological counseling, she was officially cleared. The ordeal reflected broader patterns of state entrapment and trauma experienced by the children of Black activists. Though the case ended quietly, it left a lasting scar on the Shabazz family and raised deeper questions about justice, healing, and generational accountability within the context of America\’s fraught racial legacy.