Questions linger 60 years after Malcolm X assassination
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — February 21, 1965 is a day that changed history.
Malcolm X was shot multiple times while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in New York.
Three men were convicted, but one of them, Talmadge Hayer, insisted the other two were innocent.
Historian Abdur-Rahman Muhammad said he found the real gunman, accusing a man named William Bradley of the crime.
“I could not sleep that night,” said Muhammad.
“I was really terrified to tell you the truth because what do I do with this information now? Many years I knew enough information about him to know that he lived in the Newark, NJ area, but I didn’t have enough information to peel back the veil and learn who his true identity is that William X. Bradley today is William X. Shabaaz.”
Muhammad’s research led him to Shabazz, a man who lived in Newark for years without ever being charged.
His findings, featured in a documentary, helped bring national attention to the case.
“Why would you want to bring this kind of negative spotlight, this could be very dangerous information,” said Muhammad.
“I was told I put these peoples’ lives in danger because of what I was publishing because of that ‘street justice.'”
In 2021, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, two of the men convicted, were exonerated.
Now, Malcolm X’s family has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the NYPD, FBI and CIA, claiming a cover-up.
“The lawsuit is an attempt to find more responsibility on behalf of the federal government and the NYPD,” said Muhammad.
Six decades later, the search for answers continues, and for Muhammad, finding the truth about Malcolm X’s assassination remains a mission.
“I was one person who took it to the end and because of that, two innocent men were exonerated and two families were made multimillionaires in their million dollar settlement against the city of New York,” said Muhammad.
Muhammad said the full story of Malcolm x’s death still hasn’t been told, and until it is, his family’s fight for justice won’t be over.
