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Malcolm X Would Have Been 97. Here’s how he’ll be honored in Sacramento this weekend

Sacramento community groups this weekend are honoring the life and legacy of Malcolm X, a leader during the civil rights movement who fought for liberation and self-empowerment for Black people.

The second annual Malcolm X Festival is free and is scheduled to take place Sunday at 1913 Del Paso Boulevard, from noon to 6 p.m.

The event will feature food, clothing and other small business vendors. There will also be a poetry slam contest with a $500 grand prize.

“When we do these events and we talk about Black economics, we’re going to have a bunch of Black businesses from food to retail to resources,” said community activist Berry Accius. “This is just a culmination of what Malcolm X was all about.”

Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, and would’ve been 97. He changed his name to X when he decided he no longer wanted to be referred to with a name traced to the family who once enslaved his ancestors, according to his autobiography.

He was an individual who imagined a life greater for Black people than what their quality of life had been in the 1950s and 60s. Malcolm X sought to teach Black and African American people about economics and generating wealth.

He was self-determined to liberate Black people and that’s the legacy that Sacramento residents look to carry on.

Other community events honored X over the past week, too.

The Neighbor Program recognized leaders in the who express his principles. Barbara Range of the Brickhouse Gallery was awarded the Shabazz Award for her lifetime dedication to the community.

Range was also a recipient of the Self-Determination award last year during the inaugural Malcolm X Festival.

Nearly 400 people showed up to last year’s event.

Accius said this year will be in honor of Dana Maeshia, who passed away in September. Maeshia was a co-organizer of the inaugural Malcolm X Festival. She also was one of the recipients for the Malcolm X Self-Determination Awards.

Held at 1913, a Black-owned event and career center, the Malcolm X Festival is said by organizers to bring economic resources to the Del Paso community.

“This has culture, vibrancy, and life that you will see nowhere else in the city,” said Candace Brooks, owner of 1913. “It culminates the teachings of Malcolm X, Black economics, and its supporting and benefiting our community directly.”

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