Malcolm X’s three daughters joined civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump on Saturday to explain what they believe was evidence that the NYPD and the FBI conspired to kill him.
The civil rights activist and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam was assassinated in February 1965 in the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.
The family members and Crump said the allegations were in a deathbed letter from a former police officer, Raymond Wood.
In the January 25, 2011 letter, Wood, who was on duty the day of Malcolm X’s death, stated that he “participated in actions that are regrettable and detrimental to the advancement of my own black people.”
“Under the guidance of my handlers, I have been instructed to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit criminal acts,” Wood said in the letter.
Wood states that he is being forced by his NYPD supervisors to lure members of Malcolm X’s security details into committing crimes that led to their arrest days before the deadly shooting.
“It was my order to lure the two men into a criminal federal crime so that they could be arrested by the FBI on February 21, 1965, and kept away from managing Malcolm X’s door security,” Wood wrote. “At the time, I was not aware that Malcolm X was the target.”
According to the letter, the arrests were part of a conspiracy between the NYPD and the FBI to have Malcolm X killed.
Malcolm X was a human rights activist and prominent black nationalist leader who served as spokesman for the Nation of Islam, an African-American Muslim group that embraced black separatism, during the 1950s and 1960s. Malcolm X, a skilled orator, encouraged black people to fight racism in any way.
The civil rights leader broke up with the Nation of Islam shortly before his assassination at the ballroom, where he was preparing to address the Organization of African-American Unity. Three members of the Nation of Islam were found guilty in the shooting.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office began reviewing the convictions last year.
After Saturday’s news conference, Vance’s office released a statement saying the “review of this matter is active and ongoing.” The NYPD also issued a statement saying it “provided all available records relevant to the case to the district attorney” and “remains committed to assisting with the review in any way.”
Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, said she had always had uncertainty about her father’s death.
“Any evidence that provides greater insight into the truth behind the horrific tragedy should be thoroughly investigated,” she told the news conference.