Lent 2021, Day 5: What’s done in the dark.

My friend Kandi sent me a link earlier this afternoon that demanded my attention. A confession letter from a former cop has just been released claiming a link between the NYPD and FBI in the murder of Malcolm X. From NBC New York:

A new letter alleging the New York City Police Department’s connection to the killing of civil rights leader Malcolm X was released to the public one day before the 56th anniversary of his death.

Three men were convicted in the case but now a cousin of Ray Wood — who was an undercover police officer at the time — has come forward alleging new evidence.

Malcolm X was shot to death at the Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965.

On Saturday, Wood’s cousin, Reggie, shared a confession letter the former cop signed on Jan. 25, 2011, claiming responsibility in ensuring the security detail of Malcom X was arrested days before the assassination.

“My job was to infiltrate civil rights organizations throughout New York City, to find evidence of criminal activity, so the FBI could discredit and arrest its leaders,” Wood stated in the letter. “Under the direction of my handlers I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit felonious acts.”

In his letter, the former officer claimed his actions were done under duress and fear of retaliation. He signed the letter and instructed his cousin to hold the information until after his passing.

Reggie Wood said the former officer confessed to his involvement in 2011 when he believed a worsening cancer would take his life. He ultimately went into remission and lived until November 2020.

“For 10 years, I have carried this confession secretly in fear of what could happen to my family and myself if the government found out what I knew,” Reggie Wood said.

Three daughters of Malcolm X – Qubiliah, Ilyasah, and Gamilah Shabazz – joined civil rights attorney Ben Crump demanding officials re-open the case in light of the “new evidence” Wood presented Saturday.

Read the rest of the story here. Last year, I watched the Netflix documentary, Who Killed Malcom X? (which I recommend), and I have read a number of biographies over the years about the man legendary actor Ossie Davis eulogized as “our own black shining Prince”. While his life, cut short as it was (like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he died at 39), has been far more impactful than his death, his public murder, even with convictions and prison sentences, has remained a haunting, hazy mystery.

Yet, over five decades later, new details keep being released.

At times, I seriously have doubted that truth can ever be revealed, at least in this life. I’m glad to be sent links to stories that prove my doubts wrong.

• Read the story of the former Nazi soldier who was just deported back to Germany, 76 years later, for the crimes he committed during WWII.
• Think over your past. Are there any things done in the dark for which you never sought repentance?