IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 863 

Reaffirming the importance of ensuring justice is provided to Malcolm X 

and the need to reopen the investigation into the assassination of this 

profound and fearless civil rights leader. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2020 

Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. OMAR, Mr. CARSON

of Indiana, and Ms. TLAIB) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the importance of ensuring justice is provided 

to Malcolm X and the need to reopen the investigation 

into the assassination of this profound and fearless civil 

rights leader. 

Whereas Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925 and 

was a leading steward and voice of inspiration for the 

civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s; 

Whereas Malcolm grew up in poor urban neighborhoods, 

spent the remainder of his childhood in a series of foster 

homes after the death of his father and institutionalization of his mother, and despite being an extremely intelligent and ardent student at the top of his class, dropped 

out of school after being told by his teacher that he could 


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•HRES 863 IH 

never fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer because he 

was Black; 

Whereas after dropping out of school, Malcolm eventually 

turned to drugs and crime and spent years in prison, but 

fortunately used that time as a period of self-enlightenment and reform; 

Whereas by the time Malcolm was released from prison, he 

was a changed man and a devout follower of Islam, who 

changed his surname to ‘‘X’’ in order to signify his family’s unknown African tribal name that had been lost 

when they were given their slave master’s name ‘‘Little’’, 

before he eventually adopted the Muslim name El-Hajj 

Malik El-Shabazz; 

Whereas Malcolm X dedicated his newfound freedom to advocating for African Americans and to sharing his faith, 

quickly becoming a national spokesman for the Nation of 

Islam, and was later appointed as a minister; 

Whereas Malcolm X was a skillful orator whose beliefs as a 

Black Muslim made him a controversial figure who was 

more radical than the mainstream civil rights movement, 

but his ability to continue learning and evolving led to 

changing his views on Black nationalism and becoming a 

proponent of international Black consciousness and integration; 

Whereas despite constantly receiving death threats, being a 

target for assassination, and barely escaping his home 

that was firebombed while his wife and children were inside, Malcolm X continued to fearlessly dismiss the ongoing dangers to his family and himself; 

Whereas, on February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated 

while delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom, which 


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was located in the Washington Heights neighborhood in 

Manhattan; 

Whereas Talmadge Hayer, also known as Thomas Hagan, is 

one of three individuals charged with the assassination of 

Malcolm X, along with Norman ‘‘3X’’ Butler and Thomas ‘‘15X’’ Johnson; 

Whereas even at the time of their initial arrest, there was 

widespread belief that Mr. Johnson and Mr. Butler were 

not involved with Malcolm X’s assassination and had 

been erroneously convicted at trial; 

Whereas such sentiments deepened following Mr. Hayer’s 

sworn testimony, which was conspicuously disregarded, 

during trial in which he stated that he and four other assailants carried out the assassination of which Butler and 

Johnson were not involved, an assertion that Hayer subsequently reaffirmed in two affidavits; 

Whereas because Hayer’s testimony went unheeded, criminal 

justice activists such as the Innocence Project have determined that the initial trial proceedings presumably led to 

the unjust detention of two young men for two decades; 

and 

Whereas the recently released Netflix docuseries titled ‘‘Who 

Killed Malcolm X?’’ serves as a serendipitous reminder of 

the injustices surrounding this case by demonstrating the 

gaps in prosecutorial and investigative processes and the 

attestations against the four coconspirators named in 

Hayer’s affidavit, further compelling the need for the Department of Justice to assist the New York County District Attorney’s Office, which has publicly committed to 

revisiting the case: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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1 (1) recognizes that Malcolm X will forever be 

2 remembered for preaching an unvarnished assess3 ment of the injustices and punitive treatment that 

4 African Americans have endured at the hand of sys5 temic racism for centuries and effortlessly fusing to6 gether elements of both moral clarity and oratorical 

7 articulation in his advocacy for racial equality, mobi8 lizing tens of thousands of activists and inspiring a 

9 broader cultural revolution; 

10 (2) recognizes that Malcolm X was a leading 

11 figure in a movement that fundamentally changed 

12 our country, who historians and scholars consider to 

13 be one of the most influential leaders of the civil 

14 rights movement and who was a true voice of the 

15 community’s pent-up frustrations and anger, inspir16 ing and motivating the African-American community 

17 to be courageous and challenge White authority, no 

18 longer allowing themselves to be defined in inferior 

19 or derogatory terms; 

20 (3) expresses that it is in the best interest of 

21 Malcolm X’s family, Mr. Butler, the Johnson family, 

22 historians, the broader African-American commu23 nity, and the entire country to reinvestigate the as24 sassination of Malcolm X; and 


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1 (4) urges that the Department of Justice and 

2 local law enforcement dedicate the resources this 

3 matter demands in the pursuit of clarity, justice, 

4 and resolution. 

Æ 


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