Malik Zulu Shabazz

Malik "Zulu" Shabazz
Born	Paris Lewis 1966 (age 50–51) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Lawyer, political activist, lecturer

Malik Zulu Shabazz (born Paris Lewis in 1966) is an American attorney and former National Chairman of the New Black Panther Party. As of 2013^[update], he is the current National President of Black Lawyers for Justice, which he co-founded.

Shabazz announced on an October 14, 2013 online radio broadcast that he was stepping down from his leadership position in the New Black Panther Party and that Hashim Nzinga, then national chief of staff, would replace him. He is an occasional guest on television talk shows.

Shabazz was born in 1966 as Paris Lewis and raised in Los Angeles. Shabazz says his father, James Lewis, was a Muslim who was killed when Shabazz was a child. Shabazz was raised by his mother, whom he describes as a successful businesswoman. His grandfather, who introduced him to the Nation of Islam, was also a strong influence.

Shabazz graduated from Howard University and Howard University School of Law. In 1994, Shabazz was fired from a position with then Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, who criticized Shabazz for statements "regarding other people's cultural history, religion and race that do not reflect the spirit of my campaign, my personal views or my spirituality."

In 1995, while he was a law student, Shabazz ran his first unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the Council of the District of Columbia. In 1996, Shabazz founded Black Lawyers for Justice. In 1998, Shabazz was named "Young Lawyer of the Year" by the National Bar Association, the nation's leading black lawyers' association, and ran, unsuccessfully again, for a seat on the D.C. Council.

Shabazz first came to widespread public attention in 1994, when Unity Nation, a student group he founded at Howard University, invited Khalid Abdul Muhammad, chairman of the New Black Panther Party, to speak. Introducing the speaker, Shabazz engaged in a call and response with the audience:

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