Ilyasah Shabazz, a daughter of Malcolm X, second from right, speaks during a news conference at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Family members of Malcolm X announced their plan to file a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the New York Police Department, the FBI and other government agencies for withholding evidence in the assassination of the minister and civil rights leader.
In a news conference on the 58th anniversary of Malcolm X’s killing, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump joined one of Malcolm X’s daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz, to announce the legal claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, the location then known as the Audubon Ballroom, where he was shot.
“Today, we will celebrate our father’s life and legacy with the community because it is something that my mother did every year for as long as I can remember with my sisters and just the larger community, we will also seek justice for a man, a very young man, who was only 39 years old, who gave his life for human rights,” said Shabazz who as a 2-year-old was present with her mother and sisters when her father was shot. “For years, our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder. And we’d like our father to receive the justice that he deserves.
“The truth about the circumstances leading to the death of our father is important not only to his family but to many followers, many admirers, many who look to him for guidance, for love. And it is our hope that litigation of this case will finally provide some unanswered questions.”
Crump said the claim, which names the state and city of New York, the District Attorney of New York County, the New York Police Department and others, aims to right a historic wrong not just for his family but “for his people and this world.”
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little but who changed his name to Malik el-Shabazz, was killed on Feb. 21, 1965, at age 39 while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom. He was shot 21 times by a group of men in front of his wife and daughters. Muhammad Aziz, formerly known as Norman 3X Butler, and Khalil Islam, then Thomas 15X Johnson, were arrested and convicted for the killing.
The men were exonerated in November 2021 after a reinvestigation uncovered evidence that supported their alibis and innocence had been withheld at the time of trial, the Innocence Project announced in 2021. The government paid the men $26 million in a settlement. They spent a combined 42 years in prison. Khalil died in 2009.
“While I do not need this court, these prosecutors, or a piece of paper to tell me I am innocent, I am glad that my family, my friends, and the attorneys who have worked and supported me all these years are finally seeing the truth we have all known officially recognized,” Aziz said at the time. “I hope the same system that was responsible for this travesty of justice also take[s] responsibility for the immeasurable harm it caused me.”
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