Malcolm X: Encyclopedia II - Malcolm X - Assassination

Malcolm X - Assassination

In 1964, Life magazine published a famous photograph of Malcolm X holding an M1 Carbine and pulling back the curtains to peer out of a window. This photograph is a popular image on T-shirts and often appears with the slogan "By any means necessary." The photo was taken in connection with Malcolm's declaration that he would defend himself from the daily death threats which he and his family were receiving. The undercover FBI informants warned officials that Malcolm X had been marked for assassination. One officer undercover with the Nation of Islam is said to have reported that he had been ordered to help plant a bomb in Malcolm's car.

Tensions increased between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam. It was alleged that orders were given by members of the Nation of Islam leadership to kill Malcolm. On February 14, 1965, his home in New York City was firebombed. Malcolm and his family survived. Some say it was done by members of the Nation of Islam. No one has been charged in that crime.

A week later on February 21 in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm had just begun delivering a speech when a disturbance broke out in the crowd of 400. A man yelled, "Get your hand outta my pocket! Don't be messin' with my pockets!" As Malcolm's bodyguards rushed forward to attend to the disturbance, a black man rushed forward and shot Malcolm in the chest with a sawn-off shotgun. Two other men quickly charged towards the stage and fired handguns at Malcolm, who was shot 15 times. Angry on-lookers in the crowd caught and beat the assassins as they attempted to flee the ballroom, but the 39-year-old Malcolm was pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Although a police report once existed stating that two men were detained in connection with the shooting, that report disappeared, and the investigation was inconclusive. Two suspects were named by witnesses—Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson—but were known as Nation of Islam agents and would have had difficulty entering the ballroom on that evening.

Three men were eventually charged in the case. Talmadge Hayer confessed to having fired shots into Malcolm's body, but he testified that Butler and Johnson were not present and were not involved in the shooting. All three were convicted.

A complete examination of the assassination and investigation is available in The Smoking Gun: The Malcolm X Files, a collection of primary sources relating to the assassination.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Assassination", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki