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The Day of the Assassination
On that fateful Sunday, the Audubon Ballroom was packed with approximately 400 people eager to hear Malcolm X speak. As he began to address the crowd, a disturbance erupted in the audience. According to eyewitness accounts, a man shouted, "Get your hand out of my pocket!" or "N-word, get your hand out of my pocket!" In the ensuing confusion, a smoke bomb was thrown. As Malcolm X's bodyguards moved to quell the disturbance, a man rushed forward and shot Malcolm X once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men then approached the stage and fired multiple shots at him with handguns.
"It was so fast," recalled lasting eyewitness Abdur-Rahman Muhammad in an interview with The New York Times. "One minute he was there, the next he was falling." Another attendee, Mary Briscoe, told The Associated Press at the time, "I saw Malcolm fall back, and then I saw a man standing over him with a gun."
The Immediate Aftermath and Media Reaction
News of the assassination spread rapidly, dominating headlines across the country. The New York Times led with the headline, "Malcolm X Shot Dead at Rally Here; 3 Negroes Held." The Washington Post declared, "Malcolm X Slain by Gunmen at Harlem Rally." Media outlets grappled with how to portray Malcolm X, a figure who had been both reviled and revered. Many initial reports highlighted his controversial past and fiery rhetoric, often framing him as a symbol of racial separatism. However, as time went on, a more nuanced understanding of his evolution and his advocacy for human rights began to emerge.
Government Response and the Assassins' Conviction
The government's response to the assassination was swift, though some critics argue it was insufficient. Then-Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach stated that the FBI would "cooperate fully with local authorities" in the investigation. However, many in the Black community felt that the investigation was not thorough enough and that deeper forces might have been at play.
Three men were ultimately charged with Malcolm X's murder: Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler (later known as Muhammad Abdul Aziz), and Thomas 15X Johnson (later known as Khalil Islam). All three were members of the Nation of Islam, from which Malcolm X had acrimoniously split a year earlier. Hayer confessed to his role in the assassination, identifying Butler and Johnson as accomplices. However, Butler and Johnson maintained their innocence, claiming they were not present at the Audubon Ballroom.
Despite their pleas, all three men were convicted of first-degree murder in 1966 and sentenced to life in prison.
Exoneration and Lingering Questions
For decades, doubts persisted about the guilt of Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam. Hayer consistently testified that Butler and Johnson were innocent and named other individuals as his accomplices. These claims were largely ignored.
In 2020, the Manhattan District Attorney's office, in collaboration with the Innocence Project and other legal organizations, launched a re-investigation into the case. This led to a stunning development: in November 2021, a New York court officially exonerated Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, vacating their convictions. The re-investigation found that crucial evidence, including FBI documents and police reports, had been withheld from the defense during the original trial. This evidence included information that corroborated Abdul Aziz's alibi and pointed to other suspects.
"This is a case where the records show that prejudice won out over justice," said Judge Ellen Biben during the exoneration hearing. Cyrus Vance Jr., the Manhattan District Attorney at the time, stated, "We have reviewed this case at the urging of the Innocence Project and the attorneys for Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam, and we now understand that our office and the FBI and the NYPD were historically complicit in this wrongful conviction."
Khalil Islam died in 2009, but Muhammad Abdul Aziz, now 84, was present in court for his exoneration. "I don't need a court, or a prosecutor, or a piece of paper to tell me I'm innocent," Abdul Aziz said after the hearing. "I am an innocent man."
Current Theories: Who Really Killed Malcolm X and Why?
The exoneration of Abdul Aziz and Islam has reignited public interest in the assassination and amplified long-standing theories about what truly happened. While Talmadge Hayer's role is undisputed, the question of who his true accomplices were and whether other forces were involved remains hotly debated.
The Nation of Islam Theory: The prevailing theory at the time of the assassination, and one still held by many, is that Malcolm X was murdered by members of the Nation of Islam in retaliation for his public criticisms of Elijah Muhammad, the Nation's leader, and his departure from the organization. Hayer himself consistently named other Nation of Islam members as his accomplices.
Government Conspiracy Theory: Many believe that government agencies, particularly the FBI and NYPD, played a role in the assassination, either by directly orchestrating it or by failing to prevent it despite having prior knowledge of threats to Malcolm X's life. Critics point to the withheld evidence in the original trial, the extensive surveillance of Malcolm X by the FBI, and the agency's COINTELPRO program, which aimed to disrupt and discredit Black nationalist groups. Some argue that the government saw Malcolm X as a dangerous figure who could unite disparate Black movements and posed a threat to the established racial order.
Combination Theory: A more nuanced theory suggests a combination of factors: that disgruntled members of the Nation of Islam carried out the assassination, possibly with some level of awareness or even encouragement from government entities who wished to see Malcolm X neutralized.
The full truth of Malcolm X's assassination may never be definitively known. The exoneration of Abdul Aziz and Islam has exposed critical flaws in the original investigation and raised serious questions about systemic injustices within the American legal system. What is undeniable is the profound impact of his death on the civil rights movement and American society. His legacy continues to inspire discussions about racial justice, human rights, and the pursuit of truth.
Sources:
The New York Times archives (various articles from February 1965 and November 2021)
The Washington Post archives (various articles from February 1965 and November 2021)
Associated Press reports from February 1965
"Malcolm X: The Assassination" – The Assassination of Malcolm X (documentary)
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
Innocence Project reports and statements regarding the exoneration of Abdul Aziz and Islam.
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