Michael Gabriel Hernandez
22 February 2020•Update: 23 February 2020
WASHINGTON
Malcolm X's daughter said in remarks published Friday she and her family are "grateful" that Manhattan's district attorney is reviewing her father's case.
"I think that I speak on behalf of my family, in this case, when I say that I’m grateful that Cyrus Vance, Manhattan district attorney, is considering to open this case and investigate who really killed our father," Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm's six daughters, said during an interview with the Democracy Now news website.
"I think I speak on behalf of many millions of supporters and followers in this country and around the world, when I say that we want to know not only who killed him, but why he was killed," she added.
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was gunned down in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom 55 years ago at the age of 39.
New questions have been brought to light surrounding his killing, and the conviction of two of three men tied to the Nation of Islam for the murder, following the release of the Who Killed Malcom X documentary on Netflix.
Thomas Johnson, Norman Butler and Talmadge Hayer were found guilty for Malcolm's slaying. But Hayer has maintained that while he was involved in the crime, neither Johnson nor Butler took part and are innocent.
The Netflix documentary explores the possibility that Hayer was assisted by other men, including William Bradley, a Nation of Islam member from Newark, New Jersey.
Bradley, who is also known as Al-Mustafa Shabazz, was "an infamous criminal" who "wore the assassination of Malcolm X as a badge of honor," Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, a historian who took part in the Netflix series, said in the Democracy Now interview.
"This was his street cred, that he was the one who took out Malcolm. And he would remind you of that," Muhammad said.
Malcolm's daughter added: "If he was not arrested, then obviously someone protected him."
"Someone protected him from going to jail. And someone protected him so much so that he felt invincible to continue to live in broad daylight, knowing that he had pulled the trigger, and, admittedly so, on my father," she said.
Bradley died in 2018.
The documentary, which follows up on criticism over the way Malcolm's case was handled, prompted District Attorney Cy Vance to launch a preliminary review of Malcolm's case. Additional steps may be taken depending on what the review discovers, according to multiple reports.
