On February 21, 1965, 55 years ago to the day, Malcolm X, whose real name is El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, fell under the bullets of three shooters during a rally in the middle of Harlem.
Three men had been sentenced in the wake - members of the
Nation of Islam from
which Malcolm X had disengaged earlier - but doubt has always hung over their guilt.
This Sunday, this doubt was amplified a little more.
The daughters of the African-American activist presented a letter written by a former New York police officer, now deceased, who accuses law enforcement, New York police and the FBI of complicity in the murder.
A testimony that the author, responsible at the time to infiltrate the activist's entourage, did not want to make public until after his death.
This officer's cousin accompanied some of Malcolm X's daughters to the press.
Raymond Wood's letter says his superiors pressured him to instigate two members of Malcolm X's security service to commit crimes which resulted in their arrest just days before the fatal shooting.
The arrests prevented the two from managing the security of the ballroom doors and were part of a conspiracy between the NYPD and the FBI to have Malcolm killed, the letter claims.
“Under the direction of my superiors, I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit criminal acts,” Wood's letter reads.
BREAKING: The daughters of Malcolm X held a press conference to release the confession letter they received from NYPD uncover officer, Ray Wood.
In the letter he admits to assisting the NYPD & FBI in orchestrating the Statue of Liberty bombing & assassination of Malcolm X. pic.twitter.com/ztyhF9iPzZ
- Alex Tiffin - FND, BPD (@RespectIsVital) February 21, 2021
Malcolm X did not benefit from any police protection on the day of his assassination, although he had been threatened several times and his house plasticized barely a week before.
An investigation already relaunched last year by a Netflix docu
A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney said Sunday that the "review" of the file was "in progress".
In February 2020, after the broadcast of a documentary on Netflix (“Who Killed Malcolm X?”), Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance asked his teams to review the case to determine whether or not the investigation should be reopened. .
The investigation conducted by the directors supported the hypothesis that the real culprits were still at large.
The New York police state for its part to have communicated to the prosecutor's office "all the archives related to this case".
The NYPD "stands ready to contribute to this review in any way."
The FBI office in New York did not follow up.
“Anything that sheds light on the truth about this terrible tragedy should be carefully considered,” commented Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X's three daughters.
