Photo Credits: Hannah Turner '24 Dwight Hall’s Muslim Leadership Lab…
From April 4th to April 6th, 2025, Dwight Hall’s Muslim Leadership Lab organized a conference in honor of what would have been Malcolm X’s hundredth birthday. Titled “MX100: Why Malcolm? Why Today?”—the conference included panels with community leaders and scholar-activists, archival exhibits about Malcolm X and Black liberation, a sonic soul listening party, and more.
The Muslim Leadership Lab at Dwight Hall (MLL) was founded by Program Director Abdul-Rehman Malik in 2018 with the mission of fostering Muslim civic life at Yale and across college campuses nationwide. “Celebrating the life and legacy of Malcolm X—El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz—and Dr. Betty Shabazz has been a core pillar of the Muslim Leadership Lab,” explained Abdul-Rehman. “Brother Malcolm and Sister Betty have shaped our understanding of how leadership must be built at the intersection of faith and social justice.”
In a lead-up to the MX100 conference, the Muslim Leadership Lab hosted a series of reading circles for The Autobiography of Malcolm X, taking “the time to savor Malcolm’s words–his transformation, his intellectual journey, his spiritual awakening–and to ask what they mean in our time.” One of the youngest participants in the reading circles was a sixth grader from New Haven Public Schools, whom Abdul-Rehman applauded for the insights he shared.
The MX100 conference itself was groundbreaking–“one of the only national convenings of its kind to bring together activists, artists, and scholars to explore Malcolm X through a broad and deep lens,” emphasized Abdul-Rehman.
“The goals of the MX100 series were to reflect on Malcolm X’s intellectual legacy and his continued impact on American culture, Black liberation movements, decolonial thought, and being human,” explained Dwight Hall Programming Fellow Yusuf Rasheed ’24. “This is in line with [MLL’s] goal of building the next generation of Muslim leaders who are empathetic, purposeful, and community-facing.”
A highlight of the MX100 conference was the 7th Annual Dr. Betty Shabazz and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Malcolm X Memorial Lecture. Members of the Yale and New Haven community heard from Sister Aisha Al-Adawiya, the “Queen Mother of Harlem” and a long-time activist for Black and Muslim rights. Sister Aisha was one of the first curators at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and a key organizer who helped save the Audubon Ballroom from demolition, ensuring that it would be transformed into the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center.
During her keynote address, Sister Aisha reflected on her friendship with Dr. Betty Shabazz, her identity as a Black and Muslim woman, and the future of Black and Muslim liberation. She was introduced by Abdul-Rehman, who presented a history of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz’s impact on Yale, from their own lectures at the university to the many student-run memorials, plays, and demonstrations honoring their work. He also highlighted the leadership that Sister Aisha has demonstrated, especially post-9/11.
In her keynote address, Sister Aisha emphasized the power of radical love. “I want us to focus on this aspect of [Malcolm X],” she said. “When we talk about radical love, we are not abandoning his staunch positions–that we have a right to be here and a responsibility to be here to speak truth to power.”
For Sister Aisha, this radical love can manifest in building coalitions and embracing one another despite differences. “When we build strong solidarity across the artificial boundaries that have been fed to us, then we are already winning,” she explained. “We [must] open our arms to anybody and stand firm against oppression. We are all a part of the human family, and I hope we can all find our passion and support organizations doing the work that needs to be done. . . The least we can do for Malcolm’s memory is to pick up the breadcrumbs he left us and follow.”
Sister Aisha further connected Malcolm X’s radical love to his religion. She noted that his Muslim faith is often obscured in modern conversations, even though it was a crucial part of his identity. She reminded the audience that his radical love grew from his deeply-held Islamic faith.
In addition to Sister Aisha’s lecture, the conference included panels on contemporary issues in Black and Muslim communities. For instance, Nadia Alahmed, Hamzah Baig, Alden Young, and Zareena Grewal discussed Malcolm X and international solidarity in a panel titled, “Malcolm, Gaza, and the Spirit of Bandung.” Elsewhere, Erik McDuffie, Ula Taylor, and C. S’thembile West discussed the relationship between Malcolm’s work and gender and sexuality, while Rasul Miller, Donna Auston, Samiha Rahman, and Martin Nguyen used their panel to teach about the role of spirituality and religion in Black liberation movements.
Yusuf called these panels one of the most successful parts of the conference. “The panels during the MX100 conference were a highlight because of the variety of topics that were discussed and the poignant and personal anecdotes that were shared,” Yusuf noted. “The participants we talked to afterward really appreciated the honesty of the panelists and the amount of new information they learned.”
Another highlight of the conference was the Listening While Muslim: MX100 Edition event, which was held in Dwight Memorial Chapel and built on the sonic soul listening parties Abdul-Rehman and Asad Ali Jafri have been developing since 2018. “It was electric,” said Abdul-Rehman, “an exploration not just of music, but of how culture moves people and movements. Dwight Chapel had never sounded better.”
Following the MX100 conference in early April 2025, the Muslim Leadership Lab also hosted its fourth annual Imam Hussain Lecture on Social Justice. The series seeks to center voices that are on the margins, uplifting the voices of mainstream Shia Muslim activists, artists, and scholars. This year’s lecturer was Dr. Marsin Alshamary, who delivered a talk on “Pilgrimage, Protest, and the Preservation of Memory,” examining “the political dimensions of pilgrimage, the moral act of protest, and the enduring role of memory in movements for justice,” noted Abdul-Rehman.
Ultimately, the Muslim Leadership Lab at Dwight Hall looks forward to building on the success of these events and growing its community of students, scholars, and seekers.
“As we look to the future, we remain committed to the work of nurturing hearts, sharpening minds, and supporting young people who are finding the courage to lead from where they stand,” emphasized Abdul-Rehman.
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The Muslim Leadership Lab exemplifies the Grow pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model, developing students’ intellectual, moral, civic, and creative capacities to the fullest through reading circles, conferences, lectures, and more.
You may stay up-to-date on MLL’s programming by following the program on Instagram. A full list of the MX100 Conference events and sponsors may be found here.
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