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Almost 56 years since the day Malcolm X was murdered in New York City, lawyers and family members for the late black nationalist and civil rights leader have released new evidence they say shows the NYPD and the FBI conspired in his murder.
It comes in the form of a deathbed letter attributed to a former undercover NYPD officer who claimed to have been pressured by supervisors to incite two of Malcolm X’s security guards to commit crimes. crimes, a few days before the assassination of February 21, 1965.
The arrests prevented the two from managing the security of the doors to the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights on the day of the shooting, according to the letter.
The letter, written by Raymond Wood, was authorized for posthumous release by a cousin. It was read on Saturday at a press conference attended by three of X’s daughters and members of Wood’s family. No details on the circumstances and timing of Wood’s death have been provided.
“Under the direction of my masters,” the letter read, “I have been told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit criminal acts.”
Last year, the assassination was the subject of a six-part Netflix documentary, Who Killed Malcolm X ?, which revisited long-standing questions about the innocence of two of the three men convicted of the shooting. In 2011, an involved NYPD detective wrote, “The investigation was botched.”
The documentary prompted Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr to review the convictions in the case. Following Saturday’s press conference, Vance’s office said the review was “active and ongoing.” In a separate statement, the NYPD said it had “provided all available documents regarding this matter” to Vance and “remained committed to contributing in any way to this review.”
The FBI made no comment.
Malcolm X was shot seconds after stepping up to a lectern to speak. Days earlier, he told an interviewer that he believed members of the Nation of Islam were seeking to kill him. He was being watched by the FBI at the time. His house in Queens was burnt down the week before his death.
One of her daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz, told Saturday’s press conference that she had lived through decades of uncertainty.
“Any evidence leading to a better understanding of the truth behind this terrible tragedy must be fully investigated,” she said.
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