Malcom X, born Malcom Little on May 19th, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. After his father’s passing and his mother’s hospitalization, Malcom bounced around from house to house, he was committed many crimes and was sentenced to 8-10 years in prison in 1946. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, where he changed his name to Malcom X. After his parole in 1952, he became a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam, soon becoming the face of it. He was an advocate for Black empowerment, wanting Black and white people to remain separate, he also heavily criticized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his way of handling racial crisis. After some disagreements with the Nation of Islam and its leader Elijah Muhammad, X publicly renounced his affiliation with the Nation of Islam and founded the Islamic Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI) and the Pan African Organization of Afro- American Unity (OAAU.) Days after his assassination, Elijah Muhammad told the annual Savior’s Convention that “Malcom X got just what he preached…” He denied any involvement with his murder.
On February 21st, 1965, Malcom X was assassinated in Manhattan, New York at the Audubon Ballroom. He was preparing to address the Organization of African American Unity, some on the audience yelled causing a disturbance, a man ran towards X and shot him in the chest with a shotgun, and two other man fired handguns. X was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm after he arrived at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. His autopsy revealed that he had suffered 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs, and ten back shot wounds from the initial shotgun shot. Three men, Talmadge Hayer, Norman Butler, Thomas Johnson, were tried and convicted of his murder in March 1966 and sentenced to life in prison. These men were said to be members of the Nation of Islam.
Many people believed that Louis Farrakhan had something to do with X’s murder because of statements he had previously made. In a 1993 speech Farrakhan said, “We don’t give a damn about no white man law if you attack what we love. And frankly, it ain’t none of your business. What do you got to say about it? Did you teach Malcolm? Did you make Malcolm? Did you clean up Malcolm? Did you put Malcolm out before the world? Was Malcolm your traitor or ours? And if we dealt with him like a nation deals with a traitor, what the hell business is it of yours? You just shut your mouth and stay out of it. Because in the future, we gonna become a nation. And a nation gotta be able to deal with traitors and cutthroats and turncoats. The white man deals with his. The Jews deal with theirs.” Several years later in a 60 Minutes interview Farrakhan acknowledged that some things he may have said, possibly led to the death of X but he denied that he had X killed. “ I acknowledge that and regret that any word that I have said caused the loss of life of a human being” he said.
In 2021, Butler and Johnson were exonerated by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. Butler was paroled in 1985, Johnson was released from prison in 1987 and passed away in 2009. Hayer was paroled in 2010. Many people attended his funeral including people like John Lewis and Bayard Rustin. His eulogy was given by Ossie Davis who described him as “our shining black prince who didn’t hesitate to die because he loves us so.” He is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. After his death, Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier’s wife, Juanita Poitier founded the Committee of Concerned Mothers to raise money for a home for his family and for an education for his children.
After his death, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, wrote a telegram to X’s wife Betty Shabazz saying, “While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view, and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems that we face as a race.” This past year in November 2024, X’s family filed a civil lawsuit claiming that the New York Police Department, the C.I.A., and the F.B.I. played a role in his killing alleging they knew about the planned assassination and failed to intervene. The family is seeking $100,000,000 in compensatory damages.
It has been 60 years since the assassination of a son, husband, father, friend, and leader in the Black community. Malcom X’s legacy continues to live on as people are still fighting for change in the Black community. His death is unfortunate but his sacrifice and intentionally to create change should never go unnoticed. 60 years ago today, the world lost a legend and everyone should honor and acknowledge that.
