Malcolm X’s three daughters joined civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump on Saturday to reveal what they say are evidence that the NYPD and the FBI conspired to kill him.
The civil rights activist and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan in February 1965.
Family members and Crump said the allegations were in a deathbed letter from a former police officer, Raymond Wood.
In the letter of January 25, 2011, Wood, who was on duty on the day of Malcolm X’s death, stated that he “participated in actions that were subsequently deplorable and detrimental to the advancement of my own black people.” “.
“Under the direction of my managers, I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit criminal acts,” Wood said in the letter.
Wood said he was coerced by his New York supervisors into luring members of Malcolm X’s security details to commit crimes that resulted in his arrest days before the deadly shooting.
“It was my job to lure the two men into a federal felony so the FBI could arrest them and keep them away from Malcolm X’s door security management on February 21, 1965,” Wood wrote. “At the time, I wasn’t aware that Malcolm X was the target.”
These arrests were part of the conspiracy between the NYPD and the FBI to kill Malcolm X, according to the letter.
Malcolm X was a human rights activist and prominent black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam, an African-American Muslim group that adopted black separatism during the 1950s and 1960s. An expert speaker, Malcolm X encourage blacks to fight racism by any means necessary.
The civil rights leader broke with the Nation of Islam shortly before his assassination in the ballroom, where he was preparing to address the Organization of African American Unity. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted in the shooting.
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Cy Vance began reviewing convictions last year.
Following Saturday’s press conference, Vance’s office issued a statement saying “the review of this matter is active and ongoing.” The NYPD also issued a statement saying it “has provided the district attorney with all available records relevant to this case” and “remains committed to assisting with this review in any way.”
Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, said she has always had uncertainty regarding her father’s death.
“Any evidence that provides a greater insight into the truth behind this terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated,” he told the news conference.