News outlets around the globe report that Thomas Hagan, the only man to admit to shooting controversial black leader Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), has been released from prison in Manhattan. On February 1965, while giving a speech at Harlem's Audubon Ballroom in New York, the former Nation of Islam leader was gunned down in front of his family.
Investigators said three men carried out the assassination plot. Two other men were convicted, but Hagan maintained that they were not the men responsible.
After spending 45 years in prison, Hagan is now 69 years old. He pleaded for his freedom last month for the 17th time, report news sources, and wants to be a substance abuse counselor now that he's free.
Today's news may fire new interest in Malcolm X, a man who, despite turning his life toward the path of peace and racial harmony before his death, is still used by political activists such as talk show host Glenn Beck, as the image of black militancy. In 1964, X/Shabazz turned away from the Nation of Islam and began speaking of racial tolerance, and this split is reportedly the reason he was killed.
Hagan has said that he regrets his involvement in killing the leader and that he was misguided:
"I understand a lot better the dynamics of movements and what can happen inside movements, and conflicts that can come up, but I have deep regrets about my participation in that," said Hagan, adding that he had earned a master's degree in sociology since his conviction. (AP Story)
The website Brother Malcolm, offers detailed information about Malcolm X, including a chronology of life events. In addition, his life has been examined in multiple books as well as Spike Lee's famous movie, Malcolm X, in which Denzel Washington had the lead role, and the PBS documenatary Make It Plain.
Here is a list of seven books about the man Malcolm X also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (same man who wrote Roots) This book is a classic, first published 1965.
- Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers, published 1994. From the School Libary Journal: "Myers organizes Malcolm X's life into four stages: his childhood; his adolescence; his period of working under Elijah Mohammad; and his life after breaking with the Nation of Islam."
- On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X by Louis A. DeCaro, Jr.
- The Assassination of Malcolm X by Allison Stark Draper (reading level grades 5-8)
- Conspiracy theory? The Assassination of Malcolm X by George Breitman, Herman Porter, and Baxter Smith. From Booklist review 1977, "The authors collaborate to "raise the question of police/government collaboration in the assassination and to call for a new investigation...As part of their proof, an FBI counterintelligence directive on the subject of Black militant groups is appended.."
- Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X by Michael Eric Dyson.
- One new book, The Cambridge Companion to Malcolm X, to be released May 2010
The African-American Books Examiner also recommends this book of Malcolm X's speeches, Malcolm X: the last speeches by Malcolm X; Bruce Perry, editor.
In the video below, Malcolm X explains why he left the Nation of Islam and says his life was threatened. He said he would protect himself if assassins came to his house.
In the next video, Martin Luther King, Jr., responds to the assassination of Malcolm X.
Read more about Hagan's release and Malcolm X's assassination at CNN.
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