Malik Zulu Shabazz, the racist and anti-Semitic former leader of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) and current head of Black Lawyers for Justice (BLJ), traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, where he called for violence in the aftermath of the shooting that killed nine people at the Emanuel AME Church.
Hashim Nzinga (left) and Malik Zulu Shabazz (right) lead protestors in Charleston
On June 23, Shabazz organized a rally in front of the Emanuel AME Church billed as “National Rally #1 In Defense of the Black Church.” From the stage, Shabazz referenced Denmark Vesey, who in 1822 plotted a rebellion against slavery in which, according to PBS, he and others “planned to seize Charleston’s arsenals and guard houses, kill the Governor, set fire to the city, and kill every white man they saw.” Shabazz stated:
Denmark Vesey had a plan to kill all the slave masters in the state. Denmark Vesey had a plan to kill every last one of them and kill all their goddamn families, and we need some new Denmark Veseys today. We gotta complete what Denmark didn’t finish. He never finished his mission, but the real children of Denmark Vesey is [sic] out here today.
Shabazz has planned a second rally he is calling “Rally to Bury White Supremacy: Massive National Demonstration #2” scheduled at the same location on June 27. Hashim Nzinga, the current chairman of the NBPP attended the June 23 rally and is scheduled to attend this one as well.
While Shabazz attempts to portray himself as a civil rights leader, he continues to inject his bigotry and violent rhetoric into high-profile racially-charged events, inflaming already tense situations.
Previously, in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore, Shabazz organized protests and called for violence against law enforcement on Fox News Radio’s “The Alan Colmes Show.” Shabazz told Colmes that “those young Baltimore youth are liken to the Palestinians battling an Israeli occupier…some people might need to get hurt in self-defense.”
These statements echoed those he made on Black Power Radio, where he justified the burning down of a CVS and told his audience that “We’re gonna stop all of this goddamn talking and raise up an army and deal with you mother—ers.”
Similarly, after Michael Brown was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, Shabazz and other NBPP leaders traveled to Ferguson, aggravating the situation there. Shabazz led protesters in chants calling for the death of the officer who shot Michael Brown. Using a megaphone, Shabazz yelled, “Who do we want?” The protestors responded, “Darren Wilson!” Shabazz: “How do we want him?” Protestors: “Dead!”
In 2012, the NBPP, then under the leadership of Shabazz, also offered a $10,000 reward for the “capture” of George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in Florida.