The daughters of famed firebrand leader Malcolm X are prepared to file a lawsuit against the New York Police Department and other agencies on the anniversary of his assassination.
Malcolm X, who changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was gunned down 58 years ago inside the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York, on Feb. 21, 1965. His three surviving daughters — Malcolm and Betty Shabazz had six daughters total — are accusing the NYPD, the FBI and the CIA of being complicit in a cover-up and helping to facilitate Malcolm’s assassination.
Ilyasah, 60, Attallah, 64, and Qubilah Shabazz, 62, are going to file a “notice of intent” to sue the aforementioned government agencies with the aid of famed attorney Benjamin Crump and co-counsel Ray Hamlin, according to Crump’s website and media outlets.
The three daughters and Crump — along with a legion of Malcolm X supporters — contend that the NYPD and FBI possessed and concealed factual and exculpatory evidence that could have exonerated the three men wrongly convicted in the assassination of Malcolm X.
Malcolm had just begun speaking to supporters on that fateful day when a group of men stormed to the front of the stage and shot the former Nation of Islam leader 21 times as his wife and daughters watched in abject terror.
Malcolm, who was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925, rocketed to international prominence in 1959 via a TV program called “The Hate that Hate Produced” where he exhorted Black Americans to separate themselves from Whites. Unlike the Rev. Martin Luther King, Malcolm and the Nation of Islam were strong proponents of retaliatory action against violent White segregationists who viewed Blacks as inferior and unworthy of equality.
The journey of the uncompromising and unapologetic leader is detailed in the certified classic The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which was written by “Roots” creator Alex Haley. It was adapted by Spike Lee into the 1992 film, X, starring Denzel Washington. Washington was nominated for an Oscar for his uncanny portrayal of Malcolm X.
