User:Taina.diva/Abdullah H. Abdur-Razzaq (formerly James 67X Warden)

Abdullah H. Abdur-Razzaq was formerly known as James Monroe King Warden.

He entered the Nation of Islam at Mosque #7, on 102 West 116th Street in New York City, under Minister Malcolm X. As was the custom of all others who entered the Nation of Islam, he abandoned the surname of Warden as a vestige of chattel slavery and became James 67X Warden: the 67th James in Mosque #7.

He was eventually promoted to Lieutenant of the Fruit of Islam, subordinate to Captain Joseph X. Gravitt (later Yusuf Shah). Subsequently, he was appointed Circulation Manager of the Muhammad Speaks Newspaper for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, thus directly answerable to Minister Malcolm X.

Subsequent to the schism between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, Malcolm formed the Muslim Mosque Inc and appointed Mr. Abdur-Razzaq Secretary of the organization, as well as Captain of the Men. Upon Malcolm’s instruction, Abdullah – then still known as James 67X – abandoned the 67X and took the name of James Shabazz.

Brother James, as he was called then, was held responsible for the formation of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). The OAAU was a secular organization which Malcolm had also formed – and patterned after Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s Organization of African Unity – through which he planned to charge the United States with the violation of the Human Rights of its chattel slave descendants.

Abdullah H. Abdur-Razzaq, then known as James Shabazz, was a constant and willing aide to Malcolm, both in Malcolm’s capacity as head of the Muslim Mosque, and as head of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He remained with, and vigorously assisted Brother Malcolm, prior to – and ever since – his vicious execution on February 21, 1965.

In recent years, Abdullah Abdur-Razzaq’s work as Staff Consultant for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has been invaluable in cataloguing rare photographs, letters and accounts of the great leader’s life and times. Furthermore, his expertise is widely solicited by journalists, authors, film makers and educators alike. In addition to his essential contributions to a wide array of published works, such as Bruce Perry’s Malcolm X: The Last Speeches, Mr. Abdur-Razzaq has been featured in several television interviews and films, including Make It Plain and Gil Noble’s Like It Is. The DVD version of Jack Baxter’s acclaimed Brother Minister documentary boasts, as a special feature, “Exclusive Interview with Abdullah Abdur-Razzaq, Malcolm X’s closest associate.”

Currently writing the definitive account of his days with Malcolm X, Mr. Abdur-Razzaq is also organizing a speaking tour that he intends to lead up to the publication of his long-anticipated memoir.