Malcolm X

Malcolm X was an American Sunni minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement. He is best known for his controversial advocacy for the rights of blacks; some consider him a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans, while others accused him of preaching racism and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history.

Assassination

Much like other civil rights leaders (notably Martin Luther King Jr. and Fred Hampton) Malcolm X was shot dead, his assassination has spawned two notable conspiracy theories.

Events

On February 21, 1965, he was preparing to address the OAAU in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom when someone in the 400-person audience yelled, "Nigger! Get your hand outta my pocket!" As Malcolm X and his bodyguards tried to quell the disturbance, a man rushed forward and shot him once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun and two other men charged the stage firing semi-automatic handguns. Malcolm X was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm, shortly after arriving at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The autopsy identified 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs, including ten buckshot wounds from the initial shotgun blast.

Theory #1: Nation of Islam

All evidence points to a level of involvement by the Nation of Islam, an black Islamic group in the USA that Malcolm X was once a member of, but he had a notable falling out with the Nation after denouncing black nationalism and the rape culture within the organisation. The evidence

• The three gunmen who shot him were all members of the Nation of Islam, confessed to their crimes and implicated other members
• Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, has implied he may have triggered the assassination.
• The Nation of Islam had tried to kill him several times and sent him threatening phone calls.
• Elijah Muhammad, the then leader of the Nation of Islam, said he got what was coming to him, but denied responsibility.

Theory #2: FBI

Some have speculated that Malcolm X was killed by the FBI and New York City police as part of COINTELPRO, the evidence for this includes:

• The FBI had been spying on Malcolm extensively, and police had infiltrated the Nation of Islam.
• Police failed to provide protection for Malcolm, allowing the assassins to easily enter the ballroom.
• Police failed to preserve the crime scene.
• Earl Grant, a friend of Malcolm X, said: "About five minutes later, a most incredible scene took place. Into the hall sauntered about a dozen policemen. They were strolling at a pace one would expect of them as if they were patrolling a quiet park. They did not seem to be at all excited or concerned at all with the circumstances. I could hardly believe my eyes. Here were New York City policemen, entering a room from which at least a dozen shots had been heard, and yet none of them had his gun out! As a matter of fact, some of them even had their hands in their pockets.
• John Ali, national secretary of the Nation of Islam, was believed to have been an FBI undercover agent
• Malcolm X had confided to a reporter that Ali exacerbated tensions between him and Elijah Muhammad and that he considered Ali his "archenemy" within the Nation of Islam leadership.
• Ali had a meeting with Talmadge Hayer, one of the men convicted of killing Malcolm X, the night before the assassination.
• Several US government documents around Malcolm X are still concealed, despite calls for their release.