After 60 years, the assassination of civil rights icon Malcolm X has not been fully solved. Councilmember Nantasha Williams and Senator James Sanders Jr. both of Queens are determined to keep the investigation alive by pushing for the passage of the Malcolm X Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2020.
“Malcolm X was the main inspiration to me coming up. This was one of the things we could do to honor him,” said Sanders, who originally sponsored the bill. “We have to realize that not all of the civil rights horrors of days gone by took place in the South. This was one of the horrors of the North.”
Malcolm X was shot to death a total of 21 times by a group of men, in front of his wife and daughters, on February 21, 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam — then known as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson — and Mujahid Abdul Halim were convicted of his murder in March 1966 and sentenced to life in prison. For decades, that was the assumed end of the matter until new evidence exonerated the disgraced men.
Aziz and Islam maintained their innocence and were paroled in the 1980s. Halim had admitted to shooting Malcolm X but said neither Aziz nor Islam were ever involved, and was paroled in 2010. By 2021, the convictions of Aziz and Islam were dismissed after prosecutors said new evidence of witness intimidation and suppression of exculpatory evidence had undermined the case against them. Aziz went on to file a $40 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against New York City.
Early in 2020, prior to the pandemic and the death of George Floyd, Netflix launched a series called “Who Killed Malcolm X?” The series followed the journey of Abdur-Rahman Muhammad as he examined the theory that the police were ultimately responsible for Malcolm X’s death.
In 2024, new witnesses came forward with the legal assistance of civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Flint Taylor, alleging that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and federal government agencies had a hand in snuffing out Malcolm X’s life. Walter Augustus Bowe, 93, and Khaleel Sultarn Sayyed aka Ramakrishna, 81, were arrested a week before Malcolm X’s assassination, jailed for about 18 months, and had never spoken publicly. They said in signed affidavits that they were on Malcolm X’s security detail and that an undercover NYPD police officer had infiltrated the group.
Sanders framed his state legislation after the federal Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act (Emmett Till Act) of 2008, which allows for the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to address “cold case files.” Under the Emmett Till Act, the DOJ issued a report this week on the Tulsa Race Massacre that occurred in Oklahoma in 1921. The report documents the vicious attack on Tulsa’s Greenwood community, which came to be known as Black Wall Street. Through firsthand accounts and primary source materials, the DOJ found that as many as 10,000 white members of a drunken battalion and law enforcement systematically murdered hundreds of Black residents, burned their businesses and homes, stole their money and property, and escaped prosecution.
“The Act itself gives federal money to prosecutors to do these investigations and this would do the same,” said Sanders about his bill. He noted that the information in these alleged cold cases is fairly well known through documentaries and media, but the hope is to adequately fund a transparent investigation that won’t be obscured by invested parties.
Williams said she was deeply impacted after watching the Netflix documentary, which among other things revealed critical flaws in the investigation of Malcolm X’s assassination and highlighted the broader issue of unresolved civil rights crimes.
She recently put forth a resolution calling on the New York State Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul to finally sign the Malcolm X Act. Sanders was thrilled that the City Council would turn their attention to his bill.
“Moved by the need for justice and accountability, I reached out to my colleagues, Senator James Sanders Jr. and Assembly Member Clyde Vanel, to learn about their bill, the Malcolm X Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, in the New York State Legislature,” said Williams. “This initiative embodies a shared commitment to civil rights and honoring Malcolm X’s legacy by pursuing truth and justice for unresolved cases. Drafting a resolution is my way of supporting and amplifying their important work.”
Williams hopes that if the act gets passed and signed into law, it would represent a significant step toward justice and accountability, not just for Malcolm X but for countless other unresolved civil rights cases.
“I hope this legislation will spark a broader commitment to uncovering the truth about historical injustices, ensuring the families and communities affected can find closure and healing,” said Williams. “Beyond that, it’s about reaffirming our collective commitment to civil rights, truth, and transparency — values that Malcolm X fought for and that we must continue to uphold.”