49 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
49 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
**Malcolm X** was an American Sunni minister and human rights activist
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who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement. He is best
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known for his controversial advocacy for the rights of blacks; some
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consider him a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for
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its crimes against black Americans, while others accused him of
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preaching racism and violence. He has been called one of the greatest
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and most influential African Americans in history.
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## Assassination
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Much like other civil rights leaders (notably [Martin Luther King
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Jr.](Martin_Luther_King_Jr. "wikilink") and [Fred
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Hampton](Fred_Hampton "wikilink")) Malcolm X was shot dead, his
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assassination has spawned two notable [conspiracy
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theories](Conspiracy_Theory "wikilink").
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### Events
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On February 21, 1965, he was preparing to address the OAAU in
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Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom when someone in the 400-person audience
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yelled, "Nigger\! Get your hand outta my pocket\!" As Malcolm X and his
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bodyguards tried to quell the disturbance, a man rushed forward and shot
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him once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun and two other men charged
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the stage firing semi-automatic handguns. Malcolm X was pronounced dead
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at 3:30 pm, shortly after arriving at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
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The autopsy identified 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder,
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arms and legs, including ten buckshot wounds from the initial shotgun
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blast.
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### Theory \#1: Nation of Islam
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All evidence points to a level of involvement by the [Nation of
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Islam](Nation_of_Islam "wikilink"), an black [Islamic](Islam "wikilink")
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group in the [USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink") that Malcolm X
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was once a member of, but he had a notable falling out with the Nation
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after denouncing black nationalism and the rape culture within the
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organisation. The evidence
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- The three gunmen who shot him were notable for
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### Theory \#2: FBI
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Some have speculated that Malcolm X was killed by the
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[FBI](Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation "wikilink") and New York City
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[police](police "wikilink") as part of
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[COINTELPRO](COINTELPRO "wikilink"), the evidence for this includes:
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- The FBI had been spying on Malcolm extensively, and police had
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infiltrated the Nation of Islam |