After 60 years, the assassination of civil rights icon Malcolm X has not been totally solved. Councilmember Nantasha Williams and Senator James Sanders Jr. each of Queens are decided to maintain the investigation alive by pushing for the passage of the Malcolm X Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2020.
“Malcolm X was the primary inspiration to me arising. This was one of many issues we might do to honor him,” stated Sanders, who initially sponsored the invoice. “We’ve to understand that not the entire civil rights horrors of days passed by passed off within the South. This was one of many horrors of the North.”
Malcolm X was shot to demise a complete of 21 instances by a gaggle of males, in entrance of his spouse and daughters, on February 21, 1965 on the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam — then referred to as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson — and Mujahid Abdul Halim have been convicted of his homicide in March 1966 and sentenced to life in jail. For many years, that was the assumed finish of the matter till new proof exonerated the disgraced males.
Aziz and Islam maintained their innocence and have been paroled within the Nineteen Eighties. Halim had admitted to capturing Malcolm X however stated neither Aziz nor Islam have been ever concerned, and was paroled in 2010. By 2021, the convictions of Aziz and Islam have been dismissed after prosecutors stated new proof of witness intimidation and suppression of exculpatory proof had undermined the case in opposition to them. Aziz went on to file a $40 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit in opposition to New York Metropolis.
Early in 2020, previous to the pandemic and the demise of George Floyd, Netflix launched a sequence known as “Who Killed Malcolm X?” The sequence adopted the journey of Abdur-Rahman Muhammad as he examined the speculation that the police have been finally answerable for Malcolm X’s demise.
In 2024, new witnesses got here ahead with the authorized help of civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Flint Taylor, alleging that the New York Metropolis Police Division (NYPD) and federal authorities businesses had a hand in snuffing out Malcolm X’s life. Walter Augustus Bowe, 93, and Khaleel Sultarn Sayyed aka Ramakrishna, 81, have been arrested per week earlier than Malcolm X’s assassination, jailed for about 18 months, and had by no means spoken publicly. They stated in signed affidavits that they have been on Malcolm X’s safety element and that an undercover NYPD police officer had infiltrated the group.
Sanders framed his state laws after the federal Emmett Until Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act (Emmett Until Act) of 2008, which permits for the Civil Rights Division of the US Division of Justice (DOJ), the US Attorneys’ Workplaces (USAOs), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to handle “chilly case information.” Below the Emmett Until Act, the DOJ issued a report this week on the Tulsa Race Bloodbath that occurred in Oklahoma in 1921. The report paperwork the vicious assault on Tulsa’s Greenwood group, which got here to be referred to as Black Wall Road. By means of firsthand accounts and first supply supplies, the DOJ discovered that as many as 10,000 white members of a drunken battalion and regulation enforcement systematically murdered a whole bunch of Black residents, burned their companies and houses, stole their cash and property, and escaped prosecution.
“The Act itself provides federal cash to prosecutors to do these investigations and this might do the identical,” stated Sanders about his invoice. He famous that the knowledge in these alleged chilly instances is pretty well-known by way of documentaries and media, however the hope is to adequately fund a clear investigation that received’t be obscured by invested events.
Williams stated she was deeply impacted after watching the Netflix documentary, which amongst different issues revealed essential flaws within the investigation of Malcolm X’s assassination and highlighted the broader difficulty of unresolved civil rights crimes.
She just lately put forth a decision calling on the New York State Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul to lastly signal the Malcolm X Act. Sanders was thrilled that the Metropolis Council would flip their consideration to his invoice.
“Moved by the necessity for justice and accountability, I reached out to my colleagues, Senator James Sanders Jr. and Meeting Member Clyde Vanel, to study their invoice, the Malcolm X Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, within the New York State Legislature,” stated Williams. “This initiative embodies a shared dedication to civil rights and honoring Malcolm X’s legacy by pursuing reality and justice for unresolved instances. Drafting a decision is my approach of supporting and amplifying their necessary work.”
Williams hopes that if the act will get handed and signed into regulation, it could signify a big step towards justice and accountability, not only for Malcolm X however for numerous different unresolved civil rights instances.
“I hope this laws will spark a broader dedication to uncovering the reality about historic injustices, making certain the households and communities affected can discover closure and therapeutic,” stated Williams. “Past that, it’s about reaffirming our collective dedication to civil rights, reality, and transparency — values that Malcolm X fought for and that we should proceed to uphold.”
