Malcolm’s family wants new probe on his killing
Any evidence that provides greatest insight into the truth behind that terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated
NEW YORK (AFP) — The daughters of prominent Black activist Malcolm X have called to reopen the investigation into his murder in light of new testimony implicating the New York police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“Any evidence that provides greatest insight into the truth behind that terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated,” said Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X’s six daughters, during a press conference on Saturday.
Considered alongside Martin Luther King Jr. as one the most influential African Americans in history, Malcolm X was an outspoken Muslim advocate of Black rights, although critics said he preached racism and violence.
He was gunned down during a public speaking appearance in New York in February 1965.
When contacted Sunday by AFP, a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney said the office’s “review” of the case is “active and ongoing.”
During the press conference, a letter written by former New York police officer Raymond Wood, now deceased, was read out, in which he accused the NYPD and FBI of being complicit in the killing.
According to his cousin, Wood, who was Black and worked as an undercover operative, claimed to have approached Malcolm X’s entourage on orders from his higher-ups.
Wood said he set up two of the activist’s bodyguards, who were arrested only a few days before the murder.
On 21 February 1965 — 55 years ago to the day — El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X’s Muslim name, sans the two bodyguards, was shot dead by three gunmen as he prepared to give a speech in the Audubon Ballroom, a theater in Harlem, in the north of Manhattan.