Malcolm X Research Papers

On February 21st, 1965, Malcolm Little, better known as Malcolm X, was assassinated in Manhattan, New York by Talmadge Hayer (also know as Thomas Hager) and two other associates (whose identities are questionable) (Breitman, 1976, 63). Talmadge Hayer and his two suspected associates, Norman Butler and Thomas Johnson, were all members of the Nation of Islam (NOI), a group that Malcolm used to be a part of until a split in 1964. Malcolm X was the top minister of the Nation of Islam under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad, and was a very well regarded member of the group. The break between Malcolm and the NOI was caused by several factors, including Malcolm discovering Elijah’s adultery with several women (X, 2015, 301) and Malcolm’s speech

Being a member of the Nation would give Hayer strong reasoning to commit this murder after all that had transpired between Malcolm and the Nation. Whether he was ordered by the higher-ups in the Nation or did so on his own accord, Hayer killed Malcolm as a member of the NOI. Hayer stated in 1977 that he killed Malcolm because Malcolm had “gone against the leader of the Nation of Islam” (Newman & Eligon, 2010). While a radical does not speak for all members of a group, the hatred that led him to murder Malcolm must have come from inside the group itself. We can see the hatred through the drawings (Majied, 1964) and articles, including one where his own brother denounces him (X, 1964), and that the general consensus within the Nation was that Malcolm was a traitor. By leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm created a hatred towards himself by the people he had taught and ministered for years; Malcolm’s separation from the NOI was the key factor in his assassination. Had he not left (or been removed from) the Nation, the hatred felt towards Malcolm would have stayed as petty jealousy from those Elijah trusted less and not have evolved into the actual hatred that caused Malcolm’s