7 days ago4 min read

Why I’m helping Malcolm X’s daughters sue the U.S. government Malcolm X set the stage for me and many others who were called to continue the fight against injustice.

By Ben Crump, civil rights attorney

Published by MSNBC Nov. 21, 2024, 7:15 PM EST

Ben Crump pictured at Press release with Malcom X' Seminole daughter. — Click image to watch video

Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) was more than a leader — he was a force, a relentless advocate who confronted an entrenched culture of injustice with courage and strength. Malcolm X set the stage for me and many others who were called to continue the fight against injustice. His fight was cut short by a horrific assassination carried out in front of his wife and children, followed by a cover-up that his family believes involved some of the most highly regarded agencies in our country at the time. Malcolm X spent his life calling for justice for his Black brothers and sisters; now is the time we return the favor, working to earn justice for Malcolm regarding his brutal end.

Malcolm X spent his life calling for justice for his Black brothers and sisters; now is the time we return the favor.

On Nov. 15, I joined some of our nation’s foremost attorneys in filing a lawsuit on behalf of the Shabazz family, seeking to uncover the truth surrounding Malcolm’s assassination on Feb. 21, 1965, in New York City. Through this lawsuit, we plan to prove in court the accusation that government agencies, including the FBI, the CIA and the New York Police Department, actively facilitated and then covered up Malcolm X’s assassination through several coordinated actions. The FBI and the NYPD, we believe, were aware of multiple credible threats to Malcolm X’s life. Despite this, they took no action and ensured he remained vulnerable to attack in the days leading up to his murder. (The NYPD and the CIA did not respond to request for comment about the lawsuit. The FBI said in an email that its standard practice is not to comment on pending litigation.)

We believe the FBI and the NYPD engaged in a cover-up after the assassination, concealing key documents, manipulating witness testimony and wrongfully prosecuting innocent men to divert attention from their own roles in his death. Our case is being brought forward in the wake of a public apology from former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., who, in November 2021, acknowledged that Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, two of three men who’d been convicted of murdering Malcolm X, hadn’t committed the crime.

Vance said there were “serious, unacceptable violations of law and the public trust” in the handling of the case. “This points to the truth that law enforcement over history has often failed to live up to its responsibilities,” Vance said then. “These men did not get the justice that they deserved.”

But neither did Malcolm X or his family. Vance’s apology, which followed investigations by his office’s Conviction Integrity Unit and the Innocence Project, reinforces the need to fully address the government’s role in Malcolm X’s death. Bit by bit, we’ve spent the last three years building our case.

A disturbing pattern of governmental actions aimed at silencing influential Black leaders was exemplified in programs like COINTELPRO, a covert FBI initiative that actively sought to “neutralize” Black activists, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We will argue that newly uncovered documents and recent admissions show complicity involving the FBI, the NYPD, the CIA and other agencies that failed to protect Malcolm X and actively covered up their role in his assassination.

A disturbing pattern of governmental actions aimed at silencing influential Black leaders was exemplified in programs like COINTELPRO.

It’s long been known that a week or so before Malcolm X’s assassination, for example, a member of the Bureau of Special Services and Investigations, or BOSSI, a covert intelligence unit within the NYPD, reported having witnessed what appeared to be a rehearsal for the assassination. But neither the NYPD nor any other agency took steps to intervene or to protect Malcolm X, which, in our view, makes the NYPD either complicit or negligent.

We will argue that the NYPD weakened Malcolm X’s security presence by arresting members of his security team in a government-orchestrated sting days before Malcolm was murdered. Also, the NYPD officers who typically monitored his events were curiously not assigned to report to the Audubon Ballroom, where he was assassinated soon after he rose to speak.

We plan to show how FBI informants played a role in infiltrating Malcolm X’s circles, sowing discord, escalating tensions and laying the groundwork for a successful assassination.

While this case is chiefly about achieving justice for Malcolm X and his family, it also stands as a powerful demand for dignity and transparency in the actions of our government. Malcolm X’s life and work represented a fearless pursuit of truth, empowering communities to demand accountability.

This case seeks to dismantle the pattern of secrecy and dishonesty that for nearly six decades has surrounded Malcolm X’s murder. No government agency should be above the law, and the truth cannot be buried forever. Holding institutions accountable is essential for not only restoring dignity to Malcolm X’s legacy but also affirming that every American deserves a government that upholds justice, not one that conspires in the shadows.

This is about more than the past; it’s about shaping a future in which families like the Shabazzes can trust that the full story will be told and that wrongdoing will be exposed.