History Book: Justice delayed

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, February 17th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Time now for the WORLD History Book.

It was 60 years ago that a controversial civil rights activist was gunned down in front of a crowd. The suspected killers were quickly arrested, but many people didn’t see what they thought they saw that day.

And only recently, a fresh look at the evidence uncovered the truth. WORLD’s Emma Perley has the story

WITNESS: I was sitting in the front row. I heard a rumbling behind me. My next impression—it all happened very rapidly if you can understand—is there’s a gunshot.

EMMA PERLEY: That witness has just seen a murder. As he tells his story to AP News, a crowd gathers around him, their mouths open in shock. They’re waiting to hear the fate of Malcolm X.

WITNESS: And I saw Malcolm had his hand up, he said stay cool, stay calm or something like that. And just then the gunfire went off, and I turned around quickly, and the next thing I saw was Malcolm falling back in a dead faint.

For months, Malcolm has been saying that someone is after him. After all, he’s spent years in controversial activism around the country—including in the heart of the segregated South. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr., who promotes nonviolent protests, Malcolm believes violence may be a necessary tool to end racism.

Malcolm is a devout Muslim, and for more than a decade, he was part of the Nation of Islam, an organization that blended black nationalism and the teachings of Islam.

Audio here from a 1963 interview with Malcolm at UC-Berkeley:

MALCOLM X: As Muslims, we believe that separation is the best way, and the only sensible way, not integration. But on the other hand, when we see our people being brutalized by white bigots, white racists, we think that they are foolish to allow themselves to be beaten and brutalized, and do nothing whatsoever to protect themselves. They should have the right to defend themselves against any attack made against them by anyone.

But in 1964, Malcolm becomes disillusioned with the Nation of Islam after its leader admits to molesting young girls. So, he splits from it, and publicly denounces the organization as a racist, pseudo-religion.

Malcolm knows now that he’s made the wrong people angry. So it’s no wonder that his life may be in even more danger.

Then, it happens. Malcolm and his family escape attempted murder on Valentine’s Day, 1965. Someone throws a fire bomb into their house, which explodes in the living room. Thankfully, no one is hurt.

But they wouldn’t be safe for long. A week later, on February 21st, Malcolm arrives at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City to give an address. His four daughters and his wife, Betty, sit in the front row. She has twin babies on the way.

Just as Malcolm takes the stage, the gunfire begins.

Betty immediately throws herself over her children. Audio courtesy of a CNN special report.

BETTY SHABAZZ: I heard shots, and I saw people crawling on the floor. I saw - and so I got down too. Then when I was looking out, and I saw someone look in amazement to the front, I knew they had shot my husband.

In the frenzy, the gunmen join the crowd stampeding towards the exits.

From a Smithsonian Channel documentary.

NEWS REPORT: Almost immediately after the shooting, New York City police apprehended two suspects, one identified by police as 22 year old Thomas Hagan. He was caught outside the building, was shot in the thigh by one of Malcolm’s bodyguards, and then beaten by anybody who could reach him with fist or foot.

Malcolm is taken across the street to the hospital, where he’s pronounced dead. He was shot 21 times.

Of the two apprehended, the wounded suspect Thomas Hagan is the most likely culprit because he’s a member of the Nation of Islam. Eyewitnesses give the police enough evidence to arrest two other men: Muhammad Abdul Aziz, and Khalil Islam who also belong to the Nation of Islam.

Muhammad Aziz is escorted by detectives at police headquarters after his arrest in New York, Feb. 26, 1965. Associated Press Photo, File

The police figure it’s an open and shut case. And yet, only Hagan actually confesses to the murder, saying that Aziz and Islam weren’t involved at all. In fact, Hagan insists that he and four other men were the real killers.

But a 1966 trial finds Hagan, Aziz, and Islam guilty, even though Aziz and Islam have alibis, and the eyewitness testimony is sketchy.

They’re locked away. 20-years-to-life.

Aziz and Islam maintain their innocence. They’re paroled in the late 1980s.

Then, in 2021, new evidence corroborates their claims.

From Good Morning America.

GOOD MORNING AMERICA ANCHOR: Two of the men convicted in his killing are set to be exonerated. This stunning development comes after a nearly 2 year long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney concluded that the FBI and NYPD withheld evidence that might have proved their innocence decades ago.

The FBI releases documents that prove Aziz and Islam had no connection to the murder after all. The news is too little, too late for Islam, who passed away in 2009. But 83 year old Aziz finally gets his name cleared after 55 years. He spoke with ABC News in 2022.

ABC NEWS: REPORTER: You’ve gotten your good name back.

MUHAMMAD AZIZ: Well, I never lost it. Other people did what they did with it, but I never lost my name. A good name is better than fine gold. So, this name is gold. Better than gold.

The FBI files revealed how nine undercover agents—who were witnesses to the murder—withheld evidence of the real attackers’ identities.

The Manhattan District Attorney formally apologized to Aziz’s, Islam’s and Malcolm’s families for the miscarriage of justice. But the FBI has so far refused to do the same. Malcolm’s family filed a lawsuit last year against the FBI, CIA, and NYPD seeking $100 million in damages.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Emma Perley.

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