By Ellen Cans
Malcolm X, the human rights activist and outspoken figure in the civil rights movement, was gunned down in New York City’s Audubon Ballroom in 1965, at the age of 39.
Now, his family has released a letter from a deceased former NYC police officer, alleging that the NYPD and FBI were behind the Harlem assassination. Formerly, three members of the black separatism group were convicted for the fatal shooting, which occurred a year after Malcom X broke away from the Nation of Islam.
As reported by the NY Post, on Saturday, three of Malcolm X’s daughters released a letter, said to be written by Raymond Wood, a former undercover NYPD officer. The family members were joined by Reggie Wood, a cousin of the deceased officer. In the letter, Raymond Wood allegedly wrote that NYPD supervisors pressured him into enticing two members of Malcolm X’s security into committing crimes that led to their arrests days prior to Malcom’s killing. Those arrests of security guards made for lax door security at the hotel ballroom, and were part of a conspiracy by federal investigators and New York police to kill Malcom, the deathbed letter asserts. He claimed that his actions were made under duress and fear of retaliation.
As per MSN News, Reggie Wood said the former officer gave him the letter in 2011, believing he would die of a worsening cancer, with instructions that he keep the letter and release it after his death. He had ultimately gone into remission and lived until November 2020. “For 10 years, I have carried this confession secretly in fear of what could happen to my family and myself if the government found out what I knew,” Reggie Wood said.
The letter was released one day before the 56th anniversary Malcolm X’s death. Three daughters of Malcolm X, Qubiliah, Ilyasah, and Gamilah Shabazz, joined civil rights attorney Ben Crump on Saturday, in demanding that officials re-open the case in light of the “new evidence”.
A few months ago, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said that his office would reopen the case to investigate the long-held contentions by some historians that the wrong suspects were arrested. In response to letter, Vance’s office released a statement saying a “review of this matter is active and ongoing.” The NYPD said in a statement: “The NYPD has provided all available records relevant to that case to the District Attorney. The Department remains committed to assist with that review in any way”.
The FBI declined comment.
