Malik Zulu Shabazz, attorney and national chairman of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, raised many issues dealing with black communities and struggles while talking about the respected black leaders of the past and present.

Shabazz spoke Monday night at the opening ceremony of the 13th Annual African American Leadership Conference in the Holmes Student Center’s Carl Sandburg Auditorium.

Shabazz discussed the hardships and struggles that leaders such as Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, Dr. Martin Luther King, Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X overcame to get the black community where it is today.

“We come in a legacy of leadership,” Shabazz said. “You must understand who you are.”

The African American Leadership Conference will make very important points about the black community, Shabazz said. He also raised questions about important black leaders in today’s society and told the audience one must know where they have been to make a difference in the world.

“Something’s going on in America and you need to wake up and pay attention,” he said.

Shabazz said by thinking on a higher level, the black community will demolish the inferiority.

“Hit the books but also know that you are the master of the book,” Shabazz said. “Approach it from the proper perspective of superiority, not inferiority.”

Shabazz also spoke about oppression and realizing the real causes of the struggles going on in America.

“Bush is the No. 1 liar on the planet,” Shabazz said. “His lies have impact and the power of what he says impacts millions of people.”

Shabazz also spoke about the lack of black knowledge on college campuses. Black students should become powerful students and take everything that is learned in college and apply it to what one learns about the black community, he said.

“They won’t tell you about yourselves in the library,” Shabazz said. “You can’t just look around the streets of DeKalb and Chicago and think you know what is going on in the world.”

Junior journalism major Phillip Moore said the conference was very knowledgeable.

“I definitely think that more people should go out and gain knowledge,” Moore said. “This experience was free for all to go to, so if we are all there when there is a party, we should choose to go to something like this.”

Sophomore graphic design major Markesha Halbert said the opening ceremony was inspiring.

“I think that it is a good experience for students of all nationalities to attend,” Halbert said. “Malik Shabazz speaks the truth.”