The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, CIOGC is proud to commemorate Malcolm X Day in Illinois. An effort lead by the Council and State Senator Jackie Collins in 2015. On Thursday, May 19th, 2022, the Council presented its first Malcolm X legacy award to mark this day in Illinois.
The event titled, “Honoring the Life and Lasting Legacy of Malcolm X El Hajji Malik El Shabazz,” with three panelists and topics featured about the impact of Malcolm’s leadership.
The Council believes the focus of Malcolm X Day will be for all citizens in Illinois to honor the human rights values that he embodied. According to the Council those who worked on the resolution in 2015 represented African American, Arab, South Asian, and Eastern European communities among others. The idea of a Malcolm X Day grew out of a CIOGC-sponsored event called “Malcolm X: The Voice That Lives Within Us” that was held at the end of March 2015, as part of Black History Month, this event helped educate the larger Muslim community about the full story of Malcolm X’s life.