Abdullah H. Abdur-Razzaq (December 20, 1931 – November 21, 2014) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

activist and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

known for being one of Malcolm X's most trusted associates. Born James Monroe King Warden, he was known as James 67X among fellow members of the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

and, later, as James Shabazz, following his split from the organization.

Early life

Abdullah Abdur-Razzaq was born James Monroe King Warden in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and raised in the

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, from which he graduated with honors. He enrolled in the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

but transferred to Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania, after a year. He soon left that school as well to join the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. Following his discharge, he returned to Lincoln and graduated with honors in English in 1958. He received a master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

His work

In 1958, Abdur-Razzaq joined the

Mosque No. 7 } Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, formerly known as Mosque No. 7, is a Sunni Muslim mosque in Harlem, New York City. It was formerly a Nation of Islam mosque at which Malcolm X preached, until he left it for Sunni Islam in 1964. History Opened as Tem ...

, on 102 West 116th Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. As was the custom among Nation of Islam members, he abandoned his surname (still Warden at the time) as a vestige of chattel slavery and became the 67th James in Mosque No. 7. By 1960, Abdullah had been promoted to lieutenant in the Fruit of Islam. Subsequently, he was appointed circulation manager for New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

of ''

Muhammad Speaks ''Muhammad Speaks'' was one of the most widely read newspapers ever produced by an African-American organization. It was the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam from 1960 to 1975, founded by a group of Elijah Muhammad's ministers, includi ...

'', answerable directly to Malcolm X. Abdullah would split from the Nation of Islam soon after Malcolm X and join Malcolm in forming

Muslim Mosque, Inc. Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI) was an Islamic organization formed by Malcolm X after he left the Nation of Islam. MMI was a relatively small group that collapsed after its founder was assassinated. History Malcolm X announced the establishm ...

. Still known as James 67X, he was appointed the organization's secretary and captain of men. He took the name James Shabazz. Brother James, as he was sometimes referred, was also responsible for the formation of the

Organization of Afro-American Unity __NOTOC__ The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) was a Pan-Africanist organization founded by Malcolm X in 1964. The OAAU was modeled on the Organization of African Unity, which had impressed Malcolm X during his visit to Africa ...

, a secular organization that Malcolm X had also conceived, patterned after

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

's Organisation of African Unity, through which Malcolm X intended to charge the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with violating the human rights of its chattel slave descendants. Abdullah was a constant and willing aide to Malcolm X, in his capacity as head of Muslim Mosque, Inc. and as head of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He remained with, and vigorously assisted Malcolm X, until the leader's assassination on February 21, 1965.

Post-Malcolm X days

Abdullah spent the years following Malcolm X's murder raising a family and co-founding Al-Karim School (which would later become Brooklyn's famed Cush Campus Schools) with Ora Abdur-Razzaq. He later moved to

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, where he worked as a farmer. Returning to the U.S. in 1988, he earned a nursing degree, and he worked in as a nurse until his retirement in 2004. In his later years, Abdur-Razzaq's work as staff consultant for the

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) b ...

was invaluable in cataloging rare photographs, letters and accounts of Malcolm X's life and times. Furthermore, his expertise was widely solicited by journalists, authors, film makers and educators. In addition to his contributions to a wide array of published works, such as Bruce Perry's ''Malcolm X: The Last Speeches'', Abdur-Razzaq was featured in several television interviews and films, including '' Malcolm X: Make It Plain'' and

Gil Noble Gilbert Edward "Gil" Noble (February 22, 1932 – April 5, 2012) was an American television reporter and interviewer. He was the producer and host of New York City television station WABC-TV's weekly show '' Like It Is'', originally co-hosted with ...

's '' Like It Is''. The DVD version of Jack Baxter's documentary ''Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X'' includes an "Exclusive Interview with Abdullah Abdur-Razzaq, Malcolm X's closest associate".

Final years and death

In April 2013, Abdur-Razzaq returned to Lincoln University to speak about his memories and experiences working with Malcolm X. Abdullah died of natural causes on November 21, 2014, at the age of 82. He is survived by 11 children, grandchildren, and a large extended family.

References

External links

Frequently Asked Questions About Malcolm X
a website by Abdur-Razzaq * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdur-Razzaq, Abdullah H. 1931 births 2014 deaths People from Morningside Heights, Manhattan People from Brooklyn Converts to Islam Nation of Islam religious leaders African-American activists African-American Muslims African-American writers American writers Malcolm X Deaths from leukemia United States Army soldiers African-American nurses American nurses Religious leaders from New York City Activists from New York (state) Male nurses City College of New York alumni Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni Columbia University alumni Deaths from cancer in New York (state)