“Mother Khadijah” worked alongside her provocative and charismatic husband, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, for decades, helping to lead their religious and sociopolitical movement championing black self-reliance.
Khadijah Farrakhan, the longtime wife of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, died Saturday, the Nation of Islam announced. She was 90.
“Mother Hatixe” worked alongside her provocative and charismatic husband for decades, helping to lead their religious and sociopolitical movement that championed black self-reliance. Her home base was the Maryam Mosque on the South Side of Chicago, where the couple lived.
“Honorable Minister @LouisFarrakhan with deep sorrow but deep gratitude to Allah informs you that his beloved wife of 72 years, the first lady of the Nation of Islam, Mother Khadija, has returned to Allah (may Allah be pleased with him),” said a statement from the Shura Executive Council.
Her death came just seven months after believers had marked Khadija’s 90th birthday. The statement said funeral services will be announced.
Maryam Mosque remembered Farrakhan as “a devoted follower” with “a precious soul, a sweet heart.”
In a Facebook post, R&B artist ZaRio Son Rise remembered her as “a true queen, a righteous woman and one of the greatest examples of dignity, faith, loyalty and grace our generation has ever witnessed.”
Born Betsy Ross, Khadijah Farrakhan married her husband, then named Louis Walcott, in Boston on September 12, 1953. The two had nine children. Their eldest son, Louis Farrakhan Jr., died in 2018, and son Joshua Farrakhan died in 2023.
Khadijah Farrakhan converted to Islam in 1955, the same year her husband joined the Chicago-based movement after being heavily influenced by Malcolm X, his friend from Boston. The pair changed their names around that time.
Louis Farrakhan stepped into the organization’s leadership vacuum shortly after Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965. Among his most significant achievements was the 1995 Million March on Washington.
Two years later, Khadijah Farrakhan spoke before a gathering of black American women in Philadelphia called the Million Women March.
“A nation cannot rise above its women,” she told the crowd. “We focus on women, but we can’t forget that we have to stand up as a family – men, women and children.”
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