On this day in 1965, Malcolm X, an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist, was assassinated in Manhattan, New York City.
While preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity, Malcolm X was shot multiple times and killed by three members of the Nation of Islam, Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Khalil Islam, and Thomas Hagan, who was charged, tried, and convicted of the murder.
Malcolm X's conflict with the Nation of Islam had been intensifying, and he was repeatedly threatened with death by the organization throughout 1964.
The FBI recorded several conversations indicating that Malcolm X would be killed, and his house was destroyed by fire a night before a postponed eviction hearing.
Malcolm X relayed in an interview that he was a "marked man" and that the Nation of Islam was actively trying to kill him.
On February 21, 1965, Nation of Islam members shot and killed Malcolm X while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
The autopsy identified 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder, arms, and legs, including ten buckshot wounds from the initial shotgun blast.
The assassination of Malcolm X was one of four major assassinations of the 1960s in the United States, and speculation about the assassination has persisted for decades.
In November 2021, Aziz and Islam were exonerated, leaving the questions of who masterminded the assassination and whether leading members of the Nation or law enforcement agencies aided it.
In their Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Les Payne and Tamara Payne claim that the assassins were members of the Nation of Islam's Newark, New Jersey, mosque.
#ThisDayInHistory
February 21, 1965
I appreciate the duality of Malcom X, a complicated person with good intentions but often ruthless ways to achieve them. Some peoples hero and some peoples villain depending on how you look at him.
May his soul rest in peace. Such a beautiful, complex and powerful human being