Who killed Malcolm X - Netflix (1 Viewer)

[The Military Workshop]

Other than the fact he was a black leader assassinated in the 60's I did not know much about Malcolm X. Have still not watched the Denzel Washington movie.

Whilst US forum members have probably read plenty about it I found this doco series very interesting.

He was the protege of Elijah Muhammed a radical Muslim leader, founder of the Nation of Islam, in the 60's. They had a major falling out and two days before he was killed X told an interviewer he thought he would be killed. His home had been fire bombed two weeks earlier.

The assassination took place in a hall in front of 400 people. One of the 5 killers was caught outside but the other four escaped. Two were subsequently arrested based on witness evidence but there was no other evidence to support the case against them. All were convicted but the one caught at the scene subsequently gave statements saying the other two were not involved. Those two got 20 years which they served.

NYPD had an undercover cop in the room facing the audience yet his presence was never revealed to the prosecution and he never gave evidence in the trial. The FBI had 9 informants in the room also.

The series follows a black Muslim looking into the case and his conclusion as to who the main shooter was. This was the culprit who used a sawed off shotgun but who was never arrested. This person lived in the area for many years after the shooting and it seemed to be common knowledge he was involved. Statements taken at the time indicated he was involved and he was even filmed just outside when the first culprit was being stopped by the crowd. However it was never properly followed up.

it would be fair to say the NYPD and FBI were not fans of X or EM and there was extensive surveillance going on both of them. However the crime scene was handled in a very casual way. They were however under pressure to make arrests.

It appears that once the police had got the two other "shooters" and built their case on them it would be inconvenient to actually go for the main shooter as this would raise doubt about the initial investigation.

The main culprit even appeared in a political add for Corey Booker who was surprised when this was pointed out to him.

It was X who recruited Muhammed Ali into the Nation of Islam.

As a result of this series NY DA office is looking into the case to see if an injustice has been done in relation to the two "shooters".

Might have to watch the movie if I come across it.

Worth a look as an interesting time in US history / politics.

 

[nysoldiers]

Thanks for the review, I will have to watch it. The Denzel movie was very well done, he is a great actor, but I always question the historical accuracy when it comes to Hollywood.

 

[Combat]

I watched the entire series. Mostly interested in the assassination part. It's somewhat uneven bouncing around between Malcolm's life and the assassination. A bit frustrating if you are interested in the case because they draw it out endlessly. And the evidence presented was not exactly overwhelming and mostly one sided in favor of innocence of those arrested (except for the one guy arrested at the scene). Basically some inconsistencies in witness descriptions and one of the assassins claiming that the police arrested the wrong accomplices. Many people want to graft onto these events a conspiracy narrative that satisfies their own agenda. The JFK assassination is the classic example. The basic evidence links Oswald to the assassination beyond any doubt but conspiracy theorists twist the various facts to suit their desired outcome (i.e. it was the mob, CIA, FBI etc). There is some of that here in a desire to blame the FBI and NYPD at least for arresting two of the wrong guys. It's never explained, however, why they think the FBI and NYPD allowed the wrong guys to be arrested and allowed the real assassins to go free. Or the evidence that led to the arrest of the two individuals who were convicted for the crime. That is just glossed over in an assumption that they were innocent. I think it is possible that they arrested the wrong guys but it's not clear cut as they claimed. It's entirely possible that the one assassin captured at the scene lied about the identity of his accomplices in an effort to deflect suspicion away from those involved. The interesting part about the interviews is how so many folks in the community knew that the suspected individual may have been the assassin but wanted it left alone. Pretty astounding.

 

[jazzeum]

I haven’t seen the show but may. When I was a teenager back in the late 60s, when the assassination was still relatively fresh, I studied Malcolm X intensively for a class project. The feeling then and my feeling now (based on what I know) is that Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam were behind the murder.

 

[tdubel]

i haven’t seen the show but may. When i was a teenager back in the late 60s, when the assassination was still relatively fresh, i studied malcolm x intensively for a class project. The feeling then and my feeling now (based on what i know) is that elijah muhammad and the nation of islam were behind the murder.

yuuuuup!

 

[joesgis]

I haven’t seen the show but may. When I was a teenager back in the late 60s, when the assassination was still relatively fresh, I studied Malcolm X intensively for a class project. The feeling then and my feeling now (based on what I know) is that Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam were behind the murder.

I did an extensive study and presentation on Malcolm X in college, and I was asked upon conclusion in front of the class who I thought was responsible for his murder. My response was the same conclusion you came to Brad. Malcolm X- such a fascinating person on many levels.

Joe

 

[ccdc11]

I haven't seen the netflix doc but have seen the Movie as well as read a few books on the subject. Malcom X was moving away from the Nation Of Islam and criticizing Elijah Muhammad openly. I have always believed it was the Nation Of Islam who was responsible for the killing.

 

[Combat]

I did an extensive study and presentation on Malcolm X in college, and I was asked upon conclusion in front of the class who I thought was responsible for his murder. My response was the same conclusion you came to Brad. Malcolm X- such a fascinating person on many levels.

Joe

This series doesn't dispute that the NoI was behind his assassination in some form. They contend, however, that two of the three arrested and convicted for the crime were innocent. One assassin was arrested at the scene after being shot himself. So there is no doubt of his involvement. Subsequently, he named his associates who he claimed did not include the two who were arrested and convicted for the crime. The criticism of the NYPD is that they knew Malcolm's life was in danger and did not take adequate measures to protect him. His home had been fire bombed just the week before his murder. The FBI is criticized for having information and informants who that could have cast doubt on the guilt of those arrested but never shared it with the prosecutors or defense in the trial. And that they instigated dissension between Malcolm and EM for their own purposes. They do not go into much detail as to the evidence against the two defendants who they claim are innocent. One is apparently still alive. The individual that they believe used the shotgun to kill Malcolm was apparently well known in Newark for that act. And there seemed to be little or no desire to bring him to justice under the premise that he had reformed later in life. Not much solace to those who spent decades in jail for his act, though. He died shortly before he could be confronted with the evidence.

 

[The Military Workshop]

I think one of the main issues for me was the NYPD undercover officer being a significant witness to a murder but NYPD preferred to keep his identity quiet. Whilst I understand the need to keep undercover cops identity secret this was a very high profile and public assassination of a significant political leader. The cop was a bodyguard and was so close to X that he was first to perform CPR. Yet he was allowed to go home after the killing without any statement taken. Somebody high up must have decided his undercover role was more important than being a witness. Same goes for the 9 FBI informants although I don't think in their case it would have been me necessary to reveal their informant role. It was one of their statements that revealed name of main killer.

Another point made by a retired NYPD officer was that the FBI was not good at sharing information with them and I guess NYPD with FBI.

I would have liked a bit more in depth look at the evidence / investigation as there were obvious problems with it.

Surprisingly X's Wiki entry says little about the poor investigation.