Nearly 60 years after the assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X, his daughters have filed a sweeping $100 million lawsuit against the US government, New York City, and numerous former officials, alleging a complex conspiracy behind their father’s murder and its decades-long cover-up.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks to elucidate one of the most significant unsolved questions of the civil rights era: who was truly responsible for Malcolm X’s death?
Who was Malcolm X?
Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a pioneering civil rights leader who advocated for Black empowerment, self-determination, and human rights. Initially rising to prominence as a minister in the Nation of Islam, he later broke with the organization and, following a pilgrimage to Mecca, developed a broader approach to confronting racial injustice. Unlike many civil rights leaders of his era, Malcolm X argued that Black Americans should defend themselves against racism “by any means necessary” and pushed for human rights and pan-African solidarity rather than just civil rights and integration. His assassination at age 39 cut short a powerful voice for racial justice whose influence continues to resonate in modern social movements.
What do we know about his death?
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Initially, the murder was attributed to Malcolm X’s falling out with the Nation of Islam. While three men were convicted of the murder, two were exonerated in 2021 after having spent decades in prison, raising new questions about the true circumstances of his death.
The new lawsuit alleges that Malcolm X’s assassination was the culmination of a coordinated effort between federal and local law enforcement agencies to “neutralize” his growing influence. Citing a 1967 FBI memo, the plaintiffs claim government entities were striving “to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of [B]lack nationalist, hate-type organizations and groupings, their leadership, spokesmen, membership, and supporters, and to counter their propensity for violence and civil disorder.”
Why is this lawsuit being brought now, 60 years after his death?
The complaint draws heavily on evidence that has only recently come to light. In 2011, former NYPD officer Ray Wood wrote in an apparent confession letter that he had been ordered to help orchestrate a plan that would leave Malcolm X vulnerable on the day of his murder. He wrote the letter upon being diagnosed with stomach cancer, but survived for nearly another decade, declining to release it publicly during his lifetime, purportedly for fear of retribution. Wood claimed in the letter he was instructed to frame two of Malcolm X’s security team members for a fake plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty, ensuring they would be arrested and unable to protect Malcolm X during his speech. The FBI’s New York office acknowledged the release at the time, and said they were reviewing the confession.
Additionally, previously sealed FBI documents revealed that federal agents and informants were present in the Audubon Ballroom during the assassination but did not intervene. The complaint alleges that at least ten eyewitnesses to the murder were actually FBI informants, a fact they say was concealed for decades.
What role do the plaintiffs allege the government played in Malcolm X’s death?
The lawsuit details how Malcolm X was targeted through COINTELPRO, an FBI program aimed at disrupting the activities of an array of individuals and groups considered to be subversive. Led by then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, the movement targeted interest groups ranging from the US Communist Party to the civil rights movement. Relevant to Malcolm X’s assassination, the lawsuit quotes COINTELPRO documents stating the aim of “prevent[ing] the rise of a ‘messiah’ who could unify and electrify the militant Black nationalist movement.”
The complaint alleges that federal agencies, along with the New York Police Department’s Bureau of Special Services and Investigations (BOSSI), worked to infiltrate Malcolm X’s organizations, create internal conflicts within the civil rights movement, monitor his activities through extensive surveillance, withhold protection despite known threats to his life, and actively facilitate conditions that would allow for his assassination
Perhaps most significantly, the lawsuit alleges a decades-long cover-up of government involvement in Malcolm X’s death. The complaint describes how evidence was concealed, witnesses were manipulated, and investigations were deliberately misdirected. This alleged cover-up is also believed to have led to the wrongful convictions of Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, two of the initially convicted perpetrators whose names were later cleared after decades in prison.
Who are the plaintiffs and what remedies are they seeking?
The lawsuit is brought by three of Malcolm X’s daughters – Ilyasah, Gamilah-Lamumba, and Malaak Shabazz – who were young children when their father was killed.
The family seeks more than $100 million in damages and is pursuing claims under both federal civil rights laws and state law, including constitutional rights violations, wrongful death, fraudulent concealment of evidence, conspiracy, and loss of parental guidance and support.
This lawsuit represents more than just a family seeking justice for a personal loss. It raises broader questions about government surveillance and disruption of civil rights organizations, the accountability of law enforcement agencies, and the right of the American public to know the truth about historical events.
