Targeted Prophet
When the name Malcolm X is
mentioned, bells of reverence ring seamlessly which then are followed by the
bittersweet legacy he left behind. Malcolm X was ultimately a prophet in the
eyes of his followers and it is no coincidence that he was gunned down after he
frequently denounced the inhumane agendas of hierarchy within our society
during his pinnacle. Over the years many, theories have been prompted as to why
a man of such high caliber was murdered with such brute force. The most obvious
being the color of his skin, but there’s much more to it than that with these
being the theories accumulated over the years:
1.
Was
Malcolm X murdered by the Nation of Islam?
2.
Was
his death ordered by the NYPD?
3.
Was
Malcolm X murdered by the CIA?
Together we will uncover the real
reason as to why one of the most prominent leaders in history had his life cut
short so savagely with there still being only one to blame fifty years later.
Malcolm X envisioned better days for
all people of color which was immensely evident throughout his many protests
and speeches while pushing the narrative of self-reliance, self-defense, and
unity. Often times calling out his fellow black leaders and whites within the
government, his profound ideas were more times than not overshadowed by the
blunt scheme in which he pushed his message allowing the media to demonize his
character. Black Agenda Report contends, “Malcolm broke with the taboos against
criticizing Black leadership within ear or eye range of white people, which in
the late Fifties and early Sixties was viewed as airing dirty linen in public”
(Ford). Many whites felt threatened by his large
presence and influence on not only black people but others facing oppression
within the country so they made it a priority to target him.
Aside from being an eminent civil
rights activist, Malcolm X was a notable advocate for the Nation of Islam
during the 1950s and 1960s that prided themselves on Black Nationalism and
Black separatism. After having a nonpareil encounter with, “the Hajj, or
pilgrimage to Mecca” on his voyage in 1964, Malcolm X discovered’ “an authentic
Islam of universal respect and brotherhood” (Tristam 1). Malcolm X would go
onto magnify in his autobiography, “In my thirty-nine years on this earth, the
Holy City of Mecca had been the first time I had ever stood before the Creator
of All and felt like a complete human-being" (1). After experiencing a
lesson as such, Malcolm was overcome with a feeling of disgust and betrayal
from Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. His practices condoned
racial hatred and separatism, while his own doings were much less than that of
what a real righteous Muslim leader should be. He fathered numerous children
out of wedlock with his own secretaries, he was covetous of Malcolm’s
prominence, and employed sadistic tactics towards anyone who spoke out against
his unwarranted behaviors as the so-called leader of the Nation of Islam (1).
Malcolm X would soon begin to speak out against the Nation of Islam ran under
Elijah Muhammad and Muhammad himself. On account of Malcolm’s prodigious
following, his actions would bring him great trouble putting him and his family
in the way of danger.
He would receive numerous death
threats, acknowledging none of them, because he lived as though he were already
a dead man. He publicly disclosed, “I’m a man who believes that I died twenty
years ago and I live like a man who is dead already. I have no fear whatsoever
of anybody or anything” (Golding 1). These assertions ceased merely nothing as
he was still a crucial threat to the Nation of Islam enabling him to travel
with multiple bodyguards and stay armed himself. The thing most saddening about
Malcolm’s last days is that he had numerous close friends who reached out to
him who tried to help bring him and his family to safety, but Malcolm had
already concluded that this matter would in no peaceful manner as he confided,
“This thing with me will be resolved with death and violence” (1). He made no
attempt to run from the fate he had already accepted for himself and he did so
because he knew he was dying for a cause much greater than himself and that’s
what made Malcolm X a legend, an icon, someone whose blueprint to life defied
every odd that was stacked against him. On the 21st day of February,
1965, Malcolm X would be savagely assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in
Harlem while his wife and children watched on. Malcolm X died a pioneer and a
believer that someday his people would see brighter days. He orated, “I am a black
man in a world dominated by white oppression and that is my philosophy. I would
like to get rid of that oppression and that is my total objective” (Kentake 1).
Alas, the death of the great Malcolm
X remains a mystery to this day and has received a negligible amount of
examination over the years, thus indicating that his death was more than that
of an assassination coming from his feud with the NOI. How could a man of such
high preeminence just be tossed to the shadows of history without any hard
evidence? Moreover, leading up to Malcolm’s last days he opposed a great threat
to the Nation of Islam and the federal government by way of his tenacious will
to unfold each of their devious agendas. Ultimately, led to his demise that
remains an enigma with the only hope of justice being the conspiracies that
linger on.
The first conspiracy insinuates that
Malcolm X’s death came at the hands of his fallout with the Nation of Islam
after Malcolm publicly exposed and criticized their leader Elijah Muhammad. He
frequently engaged in immoral acts that blatantly dishonored everything that
the NOI stood for (Tristam 1). As Malcolm X continued to speak out against the
deranged NOI, he brought upon himself many enemies and men who wanted him dead.
This type of unfavorable attention caused him to receive many death threats,
and on one occasion, his house to be immersed in flames while his wife and
children were present. A pivotal event such as this only made Malcolm more accessible
despite the security who followed him. Malcolm X had essentially become an icon
and Elijah Muhammad knew that if the situation wasn’t dealt with immediately
that the end was near for him and his associates but there was simply no antic
Muhammad could pull that put fear in the heart of Malcolm X because he
continued to stand tall. Unfortunately, Malcolm X’s tenure would sadly be cut
short on February 21, 1965 after he was viciously murdered by Nation of Islam
members at the Audubon Ballroom in front of his family and followers (Malcolm X
Assassinated 2009). Although there was a confirmed three men who took part in
the murder, only one man by the name of Thomas Hagan admitted to his acts.
Despite this, the death of Malcolm X is much deeper than the surface seeing as
though the FBI and the NYPD were keeping close tabs on Malcolm X shortly before
the time of his death. There’s no possible way that such agencies could allow
such a prominent public figure like Malcolm X to be gunned down by three men
with adept knowledge that he was being heavily targeted at the time which only
leaves room for foul play (Felber 2015).
The second conspiracy suggests that
the FBI and NYPD were involved in the murder of Malcolm X. While opposing a
threat to the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X opposed an even greater threat to the
government because not only was a vital figure for the Civil Rights Movement,
he was unceasingly aggressive in his attempt to undermine the imperialistic,
neo-colonialist system by which America was ran by (3). Felber affirms, “Malcolm formed two
independent groups in 1964: the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) and
Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI). A year later, he prepared to release a new political
program which would have likely included voter registration drives, local
organizing against police brutality, and a call for the United Nations to
denounce American racial practices as human rights violations” (3). The government was extremely
threatened by Malcolm’s efforts to generate prosperity and viability throughout
black communities because it essentially enabled their greatest fear which was
the ability for people of color to fortify themselves and the easiest way to
halt that would be to cut the source. An elite undercover unit associated with
the FBI and NYPD, the Bureau of Special
Services (BOSS), was not a fan of Malcolm X and conducted an illegal
campaign to take down Malcolm and the NOI (Hutchinson 2015). The NOI and
Malcolm’s organization, the Organization of Afro-American Unity, became flooded
with undercover agents who would soon be well informed about the threats made
on Malcolm’s life and made no attempt to address the situation and even more
disturbing, a non-Muslim was said to have offered Thomas Hagan several thousand
dollars for the assassination of Malcom X (4).
When Hagan took trial about the
thousands of dollars he was offered to assassinate Malcolm X, the jury and
prosecutors didn’t press him for names only specifying that someone affiliated
with the FBI knew that their hands would be clean regardless because the NOI
was out to get Malcolm just as bad as they were. The death of Malcolm X was
undoubtedly a case of foul play with the FBI and NYPD being the centerpiece of
the days that lead us to his murder and it’s evident through the mystery that
supposedly clouds his death today with little to no evidence in the
assassination of one of our most prominent leaders in history.
Ultimately, it is apparent that
Malcolm X was targeted on a much larger scale than what was portrayed to the
public. Although he waged a war with the Nation of Islam, the major conflict
that essentially led to his demise was the one he held with a government. This
was time period in which the federal government set out a goal to destruct all
black organizations during the time leaving the bitterest of tastes in the
mouths of Malcolm X followers because he fell victim to the wicked ways of an
America that thrived on black oppression. Despite the trigger being pulled by
Muslim men, Malcolm X’s death came at the hands of a government who witnessed
the potential of something far greater than they knew they could control.
February 21, 1965, was the day we
lost not only one of the most prominent black activist leaders, but a prominent
leader in the broadest spectrum in Malcolm X, despite dissimilar views. There
is ultimately no doubt that Malcolm X lived his life for his people because he
knew that if change were to come for his people that there had to be someone
willing and able to what the next man wouldn’t (Kentake 2016). Malcolm X was
not a man for the faint of heart, he was every bit of blunt and fearless which
essentially led to his death but his passing bloomed the next celebrated black
figures for generations to come. It is unfortunate that we were all pillaged
from such a figure and the cost at which it was dealt came with an even greater
pain leaving just these conspiracies behind:
1. Was Malcolm X’s death a case foul
play at the hands of the FBI and the NYPD?
2. Did the NOI leader Elijah Muhammad
have Malcolm X assassinated for exposing his immoral acts as such an eminent
Islamic figure?
Despite there being one man by the
name of Thomas Hagan admitting to taking part in the assassination of Malcolm
X, the sparse amount of evidence indicates that there is something that they
still don’t want us to know. His legacy will forever remain.
Works Cited
P Ford, Glen. “Malcolm X Would Wage Righteous Struggle
Against Black America's ‘House Negro’ Leaders.” Black Agenda Report, 20
May 2015, blackagendareport.com/malcolm-x-wd-denounce-todays-black-leaders
S Tristam, Pierre. “How Malcolm X Became a Real Muslim.” ThoughtCo,
ThoughtCo, 13 Apr. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/malcom-x-in-mecca-2353496.
S Golding, Shenequa. “Malcolm X On Death: ‘I Have No Fear
Whatsoever Of Anybody Or Anything.’” Yahoo!, Yahoo!, 21 Feb. 2016, www.yahoo.com/entertainment/malcolm-x-death-no-fear-172200445.html.
S Kentake, Meserette. “The Last Days of Malcolm X.” Kentake
Page, 21 Feb. 2017, kentakepage.com/the-last-days-of-malcolm-x/.
P WrightPosted, Bruce C.T. “Who Really Killed Malcolm X? Amid
Conspiracy Theories, Louis Farrakhan Says He Didn't Do It.” News One,
Bruce C.T. Wright, 21 Feb. 2018,
newsone.com/3775612/malcolm-x-assassination-conspiracy-theories-who-really-killed-him/.
S “Malcolm X Assassinated.” History.com, A&E
Television Networks, 24 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/malcolm-x-assassinated.
S Felber, Garrett. “Malcolm X Assassination: 50 Years on,
Mystery Still Clouds Details of the Case.” The Guardian, Guardian News
and Media, 21 Feb. 2015, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/21/malcolm-x-assassination-records-nypd-investigation.
S Hutchinson, Earl Ofari. “Fifty Years Later, Questions About
Malcolm X's Assassination Remain.” The Huffington Post,
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Apr. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/malcolm-x-assassination-questions_b_6678448.html.
S Kashani, Maryam. “Lecture: X as Variable: Muslim
Invocations of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X).” American Islamic
College, 8 Nov. 2018, www.aicusa.edu/lecture-x-as-variable-muslim-invocations-of-el-hajj-malik-el-shabazz-malcolm-x/.
S MerdTV, por. “Aos Brasileiros Que Esperam Um Líder.” MerdTV,
20 Feb. 2015,
merdtv.wordpress.com/2015/01/18/aos-brasileiros-que-esperam-um-lider/.
S Poole, Steve. “"@NYTArchives: Malcolm X Assassinated
OTD1965. Pic.twitter.com/J0RnVeGhfe’ + Despard Hanged + Communist Manifesto
Published. 21Feb -Quite a Day.” Twitter, Twitter, 21 Feb. 2016,
twitter.com/regionalhistory/status/701487556135931909.
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