Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / April 11, 1981, edition 1 / Page 5
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The Chronicle, Saturday, April II, iy81-Page 5 ’jf YllEW Who Killed Malcolm X? ' wnedout by ■ lion^ Inking fattita* [nportant to relax L faith and hope t true values and 1 of lift' randifd‘*‘“‘’ ( lost everything- Ion realize m Naomi C. McLean You have daily blessings e it or not, stopping for a few minutes, 'blessings will enable you to maintain vou have not fully realized, having If Is The Root Of All Other Faiths.” It understand having that faith and ex- P"’ t vou are doing now, the future will take Kwith of reaping tomorrow what for everyone to look upward and I we cannot go forward by looking the threshold of vast changes such as we dire but in spite, we should try hard to 'Cday with gratitude. It is so true, each day L rted to shocks that try our patience and op- L concerning these facts, the only way to Iposure is to think calmly, develop poise, -■Thank God,” situations aren’t worse. in strength and wisdom by observing the f'fu're our lot is cast in a time of ceaseless tur- ” of one kind or another continually sur- “'“refore we must find inner satisfaction. It *bv keeping in mind the spirit of adventure, l!l amazement at the goodness of life, a never- nnderraent that we are permitted to share the n, of home, the fellowship of friends, and the Ik when this is done, we shall face each new .ratitude, appreciating the fact our lives have ’such pleasant places. i to learn how to adjust ourselves to situations inistances. It can be done by developing faith, we face life in the attitude of genuine faith, our ,s will gain in meaning and significance, and aptothe best that is in us. llU' For more than 10 years now, 1 have been conducting journalistic investigations into the death of Malcolm X, And unlike the assassinations of John and Bobby Ken nedy, and Martin Luther King to some extent, the assassination of Malcolm X gets very little official notice. However, each new development - while seeming to further complicate the mystery - does seem to shed new light, and insights. Recently, the only man convicted of killing Malcolm, who admits that he is guilty, gave us his first filmed inter view. And the interview - after 14 years of silence - pro vided a new way of looking at the case. On February 21,1965, one of five men who were part of the team that assassinated Malcolm X was caught red- handed at the scene of the crime in Harlem. He was iden tified at the trial as 22-year-old Talmadge Hayer, also identified as Thomas Hagan; his new name is Mujahid Abdul Halim. Subsequently, two other men were convicted along with Hayer - Norman Butler, now Muhammad Abdul Aziz, and Thomas Johnson, now Khalil Islam. With hopes of freeing Butler and Johnson, Hayer con sented to this exclusive first interview. Hayer insisted at the trial that neither Butler nor Johnson were with him. Four others were, but he would not name them. Not only did he name them on the television program, but he explained the strategy. “That morning, 1 would say really, the night before, me and the other individuals that I mentioned, we had decided that we was going to move on Malcolm. We was going to kill him if we possibly could, on the 21st, and we drew up a strategy, how we was going to go into the ballroom, where we was going to sit, and what we was going to do. And, knowing that there would be a crowd there, we figured that it was a possibility that we could do it. That’s what we did.” Hayer now suspects that he could have been selected as a “pawn” because of his deep religious convictions. “Because of the conflict between Malcolm and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, most of the Muslims at that time just actually felt that Malcolm was slandering the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, that he was defaming him, that he was lying, and this led to me really getting in volved,” explained Hayer. “Do you believe that you were used? That your deep devotion for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was used to manipulate you?” 1 asked. “It’s possible. At the time, you know, no one could convince me that was the case, but 1 realize now that it’s possible. It’s very possible that I could have been a pawn. It’s very possible that someone just knew I was a good candidate to, you know, do this. TONY BROWN’S JOURNALJ and 1 could have been manipulated. “It’s hard for me to say, I couldn’t say who may have done this. 1 really couldn’t tell you who handed down the order to move on Malcolm. 1 was approached. Somebody approached the people who approached me, you know? And I can’t say who approached them.” Hayer’s admission has created some new questions and placed others in a new context. If he is telling the truth, the implications are frightening. It means that the Muslims were so infiltrated that many of those in the Na tion of Islam were government infiltrators who could commit crimes and destroy the Muslims simultaneously or individuals who could profit from crime in the name of their alleged faith. In short, the Muslim organization was exploited. My investigation could find no definite link to the Muslims, but a lot of new evidence that produced a lot of new questions. Who was the quote “thin-lipped, olive skinned man, with slanted eyes,” who followed Malcolm in Africa and Europe and fit the description of the mysterious second man allegedly arrested at the scene of the crime. Was there a third man arrested at the scene of the crime as the early editions of the New York papers said? If so, and he disappeared while in the custody of the police, was there government complicity in the murder? Hayer’s naming of his co-conspirators now even stirs up the tempest further. He says he’s not sure who above him in the Muslims gave the order — if indeed it was the Muslims. It’s possible that we may never know - for sure - who killed Malcolm X. But those who love freedom and justice should never stop trying. If what Malcolm stood for can be silenced by intimidating his intended beneficiaries into silence, then he lived — and died — in vain. He didn’t. The great actor Ossie Davis, in giving Malcolm’s eulogy, said: “Malcolm was our manhood, our living Black manhood. And in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves. Tony Brown’s Journal, the television series, is shown every Sunday, on WGHP-TV, Channel 8 at 11:30 p.m. A mural done by the great Mexican painter Diego Rivera for Rockefeiier Center was destroyed by order of its sponsors because Rivera inciuded a portrait of Lenin. The murai was reproduced in Mexico City at the Paiace of Fine Arts. Southern Bell is going to press with the new Winston-Salem Directory.The deadline is almost here. If you'd like to change your listing, call our business office now. Southern Bell 1 I Clifton Graves From page 4 I ,, I J J^fomrxtnpr j. My fellow “Reggies conclud- lie fight to save legal services must rically tie,d or liniked To the ever-'- grastroot rhbb'llization being 10 counler the cutbacks to Ihe torementioned social programs, inkage" is essential to survival if ; 10 avoid the “divide and ■ ” “fighting over crumbs games em constantly plays with the town and white poor, lose of us in Winston-Salem, we irly need to rally support in this ioncedely, there are segments of amiinity that would not give a the Legal Aid Society was phased )se who are agitated by certain lawyers, or who feel that some of eagues are overzealous in their of justice for the poor. To those Its we say only this: would you lened your doors to that poor traier from Rural Hall about to land?; would you have opened your door to the black welfare mother from Columbia Terrace who had been denied food stamps for the third time? Well, would you??? Granted, we are human and sometimes err, but our zeal emanates from our com mitment - our dedication to make equal justice under law a reality in America. It ain’t easy when you’re understaffed, underpaid and overworked, but we do the best we can...ask the thousands of our clients... To LSC supporters, the charge is sim ple; mobilize support in your churches, civic groups, fraternities and sororities; write your congressman, senator and mayor advocating the necessity to save not just legal services, but indeed the food stamps, medicaid and black-lung benefits programs as well. For if these programs either are eliminated or drastically cut, more than poor folk will pay the price! Think about If diere^ ahankto service jouneea tfiat we wm’t oer, Iwanttonear about We want to provide you with the best services such as our Interest Checking that Ni^hwestem Bank, tenkrng serwees you can find anywhere in RO. 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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April 11, 1981, edition 1
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