A new chapter in education began in Southeast Washington as students, educators, community leaders and city officials gathered to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the newly modernized Malcolm X Elementary School @ Green, a $67 million investment in the future of Ward 8 children.
The Sept. 21 celebration brought community leaders, residents and living legacies together, including the late civil rights leader’s daughter, Ambassador Attallah Shabazz and his widow, Dr. Betty Shabazz (also known as Betty X); the Department of General Services (DGS); local leaders like D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White (D); and D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) officials and students.
For Principal Zara Berry-Young, the new building represents more than improved facilities, but an environment where students can imagine possibilities beyond their immediate surroundings.
“We want them to know they can believe in themselves and be anywhere and do anything in life,” Berry-Young said, emphasizing the school’s commitment to developing globally minded students.
Mayor Bowser described the project as the fulfillment of a promise to the community.
“Today, we are celebrating this beautiful new school and we’re also celebrating the community and history behind it,” Bowser said in a press release, later expounding on the idea during the Sept. 20 ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We made a promise to this community that we would breathe a new life into this building, into this community of learning.”
With a multimillion-dollar transformation, the modernized campus at 1500 Mississippi Avenue SE nearly doubled in size, expanding from 42,000 to 85,000 square feet. Further, the school now features bright classrooms, advanced technology, artistic murals, a child care center, a demonstration kitchen and energy-efficient infrastructure.
Bowser also highlighted the school’s child care center, part of a broader effort to expand early childhood education opportunities within DCPS buildings.
Ambassador Shabazz, the eldest of Malcolm X’s six daughters, delivered emotional remarks reflecting on her parents’ commitment to education, community and self-determination.
After praising the school’s welcoming atmosphere and commitment to nurturing children and families, the actress and motivational speaker challenged conventional interpretations of her father’s famous phrase, “by any means necessary,” describing it as a call to purposeful action, personal responsibility and collective achievement rather than confrontation.
“This is what we need,” Shabazz said. “We need a place that cares for the whole family, all parts of it.”
The celebration also called for reflections on the evolution of growth and preservation in Malcolm X Elementary’s history.
DCPS Interim Chancellor Dr. Kim Jackson praised the school’s academic progress, including significant gains in mathematics proficiency and the more than 35 community partnerships providing families with resources beyond classroom instruction.
Fifth grader Jalea Leggett thanked city leaders for investing in her school’s future, while fellow classmate Aiden Evans invoked Malcolm X’s belief that education opens doors to opportunity.
Meanwhile, White recalled a time when deteriorating conditions put the school at risk for closure more than a decade ago, citing structural concerns, leaking ceilings and malfunctioning announcement systems.
To see the school now, added DGS Director Delano Hunter, is to see an institution built in the image of its namesake, with the use of public art fusing history, culture and storytelling to offer students a powerful visual in their everyday learning environment.
“When you walk into this school, you can see that every part of it was designed with our students and this community in mind,” Hunter continued. “We worked alongside our partners to deliver a modernized school that honors the rich history of this campus, and we are especially proud of how the DGS Percent for Art program brought that history to life through artwork that is now part of the everyday experience for anyone, really even before they walk through the doors.”
Adding to the significance of the occasion was the unveiling of a bronze sculpture of Malcolm X created by artist Jay F. Coleman. Titled “Malcolm the Educator,” the sculpture portrays the civil rights leader during a more mature period of his life, reflecting his experiences as a father, educator and world traveler.
For Coleman, the sculpture serves as an opportunity to invite youth to build a deeper understanding of the civil rights icon, all the while emphasizing the importance of reading and preserving Black history in an increasingly digital world.
“This is going to be here long after I’m gone, long after any of the principals are here,” said Coleman, a D.C.-based artist. “I wanted something that was timeless, which was why I chose bronze.”
For a community that fought to preserve its neighborhood school, the ribbon-cutting represented more than the completion of a construction project. It was a celebration of perseverance, educational equity and the continuing legacy of Malcolm X.
