THREE daughters of civil rights leader Malcolm X are suing the FBI, CIA and New York Police Department over his murder.
They accused the agencies of involvement in his assassination as part of a $100 million lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday.
APMalcolm X speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., May 16, 1963[/caption]
Daughter of Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz speaks during the press conference this morning
APMalcolm X’s daughters Malikah Shabazz, left, Attallah Shabazz, second from left, Malaak Shabazz, third from left, and Gamilah Shabazz[/caption]
It claims they were aware of and were even involved in the assassination plot against Malcolm X – and failed to stop his death.
At a press conference on Friday morning the family’s lawyer Ben Crump said: “We believe that they all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X, one of the greatest thought leaders of the 20th century”.
He said a “cover-up” by the agencies “spanned decades, blocking the Shabazz family’s access to the truth and their right to pursue justice”.
“We are making history by standing here to confront those wrongs and seeking accountability in the courts,” Crump added.
He said the family hopes federal officials read the filing “and learn all the dastardly deeds that were done by their predecessors and try to right these historic wrongs.”
Malcolm X was assassinated almost 60 years ago when he was shot multiple times in New York City on February 21, 1965.
He had become a prominent public figure as the national spokesperson of the Black separatist movement the Nation of Islam (NOI).
But in 1964, the year before he died, he publicly broke ties with the organisation.
He also softened some of his stricter views on racial segregation which sparked anger inside the NOI and led to death threats.
Aged just 39, he was about to speak to the Organisation of Afro-American Unity when the shots were fired.
Three members of a the NOI – Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Khalil Islam and Thomas Hagan – were convicted of the murder but in 2021 Aziz and Islam were exonerated.
Malcolm X’s death was one of four prominent assassinations in 1960s America.
It came two years after the shooting of President John F Kennedy in 1963 and three years before the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert F Kennedy in 1968.
Speculation over whether law enforcement agencies – especially the CIA or FBI – were involved in his death has swirled for decades.
Who was Malcolm X?
Malcolm X, a Black rights activist, Muslim minister and civil rights leader, was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19 1925.
He was a child of the system after his father died in a suspicious accident and his mother could not care for him due to hospitalisation caused by a nervous breakdown.
As a young adult, he moved to New York City and fell into illicit activities, eventually being sentenced to 10 years in prison for larceny and breaking and entering.
While in prison, Malcolm X was a voracious reader which shaped his philosophy and intentions after prison.
During his time behind bars, he joined the Nation of Islam, a Black separatist movement within which he would work as a minister.
He rebranded himself as Malcolm X in line with the Nation of Islam tradition, which viewed last names as a through-line to slaveholders.
In the 60s he distanced himself with the NOI and its leader – later embracing the civil rights movement.
He later founded the Islamic Muslim Mosque Incorporated and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU).
These days he is honoured and recognised for his contributions to civil rights in many cities across the US on Malcolm X Day on May 19.
However he is a controversial figure – with many accusing him of antisemitism over the years.