New evidence regarding the death of Malcolm X has emerged 56 years after day he was assassinated. In a letter, former undercover police officer Ray Wood implicated the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the assassination of the civil rights visionary. Wood explained that he "participated in actions that in hindsight were deplorable and detrimental to the advancement of my own Back people."
Specifically, Wood wrote that he was instructed to draw Malcolm X's security into a crime so that they could be arrested and pulled away from the Audobon Ballroom on February 21, 1965. However, Wood emphatically stated that he was not aware of what was going to happen at the ballroom on that fateful day. With security removed, armed assailants were able to enter the ballroom and kill Malcolm X.
"My job was to infiltrate civil rights organizations throughout New York City, to find evidence of criminal activity, so the FBI could discredit and arrest its leaders," Wood wrote.
"Under the direction of my handlers I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit felonious acts."
Wood issued this letter from his death bed in 2011. Nearly a decade later, the letter was made available to Malcolm X's children, Qubiliah, Ilyasah, and Gamilah Shabazz. Members of the Shabazz family are now working with attorney Benjamin Crump to reopen the case looking into the shooting of Malcolm X.
"The NYPD and the FBI were conspiring to discredit Black leaders and Black organizations," Crump told the Black Information Network.
In a recent statement, the NYPD asserted that they are committed to reviewing the case as new information becomes available.
"Several months ago, the Manhattan District Attorney initiated a review of the investigation and prosecution that resulted in two convictions for the murder of Malcom X. The NYPD has provided all available records relevant to that case to the District Attorney. The Department remains committed to assist with that review in any way," the NYPD stated.
The FBI has not yet issued a statement.
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