Malcolm X’s Family Announce $100 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleging NYPD, FBI and Others Covered Up Evidence
08 Aug 2023
Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump and the family members of the late Malcolm X, including his daughter and APB speaker Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz, recently announced their plans to sue the city of New York, the state of New York, the NYPD, the DA’s office, the FBI, CIA and others for $100 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. They allege the agencies being sued intentionally covered up evidence in the murder of the renowned civil rights leader.
Malcolm X was gunned down in 1965 at the former Audubon Ballroom—now the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center—in New York City while preparing to deliver a speech. He was shot 21 times.
There have been questions about Malcolm X’s death for decades. Three men were convicted of the crime with two being exonerated in 2021 after a two-year investigation by the Manhattan DA. It was determined they were wrongfully convicted.
"The connection between his death and federal and New York government agencies, including the NYPD, FBI and CIA has long been contested," Crump said at a news conference announcing the suit. "The governmental agencies had factual and exculpatory evidence that they fraudulently concealed from the family of Malcolm X and the men wrongly convicted of crimes surrounding the assassination of Malcolm X."
"For years our family has fought for the truth to come to light,” Dr. Shabazz added. “We want justice served for our father.”
Dr. Shabazz is an award-winning author, educator and producer. She has authored five historical novels, has served as project advisor for the PBS award-winning film, Prince Among Slaves documentary, and is currently producing a television series based on her latest two publications, X a Novel and The Awakening of Malcolm X, with Sony Pictures Television’s TriStar.
She is the chairperson of the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center (The Shabazz Center). In her work to preserve the legacy of her parents, she has dedicated herself to institution-building and intergenerational leadership development with the tenants of diversity, equity, and inclusion.