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Source: National Geographic / NatGeo
The trailer for the next installment of National Geographic’s acclaimed series Genius focusing on the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X made its debut.
As the Dr. Martin Luther King holiday weekend begins, National Geographic has released the full trailer for the next installment of their award-winning Genius series focusing on the civil rights leader and another iconic figure in the struggle for social justice, Malcolm X. The series, entitled Genius: MLK/X, is the first time that it will explore the lives of two impactful figures at once, opening with the two’s only public interaction on Capitol Hill at a Senate hearing in 1964.
Genius: MLK/X features Kelvin Harrison Jr., the Screen Actors Guild Award winner for his role in The Trial of The Chicago 7 and the star of Chevalier as Dr. King. Aaron Pierre, the actor notable for his performance as Caesar in Barry Jenkins’ Amazon series, The Underground Railroad, and M. Night Shyamalan’s, Old, portrays the activist, Malcolm X.
The docudrama series zeroes in on the lives of the two iconic figures going back to their formative years where both were reared with a strong sense of family but also beset by tragedy that placed them on their respective journeys to realize their identities and to fight for change for their people and the world.
The limited series also stars Weruche Opia as Coretta Scott King, MLK’s wife, and Jayme Lawson as Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X. Genius MLK/X also takes time to fully detail their lives and identities in full as powerful civil rights activists carrying on their late husbands’ work. The series also features the late Emmy Award winner Ron Cephas Jones in one of his final roles.
Genius: MLK/X is produced by Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ron Howard, Brian Glazer, Francie Calfo and Kristen Zolner. Ambassador Atallah Shabazz is also involved with the series, having served as a consulting producer. It is also produced by Undisputed Cinema, Imagine Television, and 20th Television. The series will air weekly and debuts on National Geographic Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. ET/8 CT with two episodes, which will be available on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.
Check out the trailer for Genius: MLK/X below.
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Muhammad Aziz, a man who was wrongfully convicted in the 1865 assassination of Malcolm X, was exonerated of the crime back in 201. Now, Aziz is filing a lawsuit against the federal government over the FBI allegedly withholding proof of his innocence.
Muhammad Aziz, 85, filed the lawsuit in a Brooklyn, N.Y. federal court last week, adding a new chapter to his legal ordeal that landed him more than two decades behind bars. The estate of the late Khalil Islam, another man who was convicted in the assassination plot, also filed a lawsuit. Islam died in prison back in 2009.
Courthouse News Service reports that Aziz is alleging that former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover withheld proof that would have granted Aziz and Islam freedom. Adding to this, former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said during the hearing to clear Aziz and Islam that the FBI and NYPD. both hid witness records that may have cleared the men of any wrongdoing. Vance added that Hoover instructed witnesses in the case to not tell the police or prosecutors of their FBI informant status.
The lawsuits are naming more than a dozen people affiliated with the FBI and reportedly are seeking a combined $80 million in damages. The suit claims that Aziz and Islam were targeted due to their connection to the Nation of Islam despite being at home with their spouses at the time of the 1965 incident.
Thus far, Aziz and the estate of Islam have been awarded $36 million by New York City and the state.
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Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty
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Source: Spencer Platt / Getty
The president of Cuba made a special appearance in Harlem to pay homage to Malcolm X and show solidarity with the African diaspora.
On Monday (September 18), Cuban President Miguel Diáz-Canel visited the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Center in Manhattan. He is currently in town for the United Nations General Assembly, which began this week in New York City. The visit was an affirmation of the ties that Cuba has had with the people of Harlem since the late Fidel Castro first visited in September 1960. Castro, not wishing to follow the lead of other world leaders attending the General Assembly, opted to stay at the legendary Hotel Teresa on 125th Street which led him to meeting Malcolm X in person.
In his speech, President Diáz-Canel highlighted how the civil rights icon referenced the Cuban Revolution in several of his speeches. He also spoke glowingly of Malcolm X’s constant activity as a fighter for social justice for Black people in the United States, as well as his connection and involvement with the liberation movements on the African continent. Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz was in attendance, along with former New York City Councilman Charles Barron and other dignitaries.
To further mark the occasion, President Diáz-Canel also presented a commemorative bronze plaque featuring the faces of Fidel Castro and Malcolm X, which will be placed in the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. The building was formerly the site of the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965. The building was acquired by Columbia University which developed the center as part of a medical complex.
The Cuban President’s visit begins a busy week, as he is slated to speak before the General Assembly on its opening day Tuesday (September 19th) in addition to being the prime representative of the Group of 77. The G-77 is a coalition of 135 developing nations predominately representing the Global South who’ve joined together to enhance their negotiating capacity within the United Nations. As chair of the G-77, Diáz-Canel is expected to address the General Assembly on its lack of action concerning the climate crisis.
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Source: Spencer Platt / Getty
A man has come forward claiming proof of the New York Police Department’s involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965.
On Tuesday (July 25th), Mustafa Hassan appeared alongside attorney Benjamin Crump at a press conference where he detailed overhearing a comment made as NYPD officers were restraining Talmadge X Hayer, one of the assassins of Malcolm X outside of the Audubon Ballroom that confirmed to him that the department, as well as the FBI, knew that there would be an attempt on his life beforehand.
Hassan, 84, recounted the events of what took place at the Audubon, now The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. He was a member of the Organization of African American Unity, formed by Malcolm X in 1964, and a member of his security detail. He recalled that after the shooting, he managed to knock down Hayer. After checking on Malcolm X, he went outside to find Hagan being beaten up by crowd members and NYPD officers trying to step in. Hassan then said he heard one officer ask, “Is he one of us?”, referencing Hagan.
For Hassan, that confirmed the NYPD’s involvement. “No doubt in my mind,” he said. He also related from his sworn court affidavit that Eugene Roberts, a police undercover agent and informant had detailed seeing a “dry run” on Malcolm’s life just a week prior to the assassination. “The government was involved in the conspiracy to kill Malcolm X,” Crump said, going on to say that the comment may give Malcolm X’s family the basis behind their legal claim against the NYPD and federal government for damages. “It tells us they knew something was going down. They were saying is this guy with us because they knew they had planted Black people in there who were informants.
Two of the activist’s daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz and Quibilah Shabazz were also present at the press conference. Both were present at the time of the assassination. While Quibilah declined to comment, Ilyasah Shabazz said “We want the truth to be known. And justice to be served.” Crump stated that he hoped Hassan’s statement would compel the Biden administration to re-open the investigation into Malcolm X’s murder and how much of a role the federal government had in the incident. He also referenced the city’s $36 million settlement last October with Muhammad Aziz, and Khalil Islam, two men wrongfully convicted of the murder and exonerated.
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The family of Malcolm X announced on Tuesday (Feb. 21) intentions to file a $100 million lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and NYPD for conspiring to kill the great civil rights leader. Filed under the guidance of civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, the lawsuit was announced on the very day that Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965.
ABC7 reports that members of the family of Malcolm X gathered at the Shabazz Educational Center, which was formerly the Audobon Ballroom where the leader was shot and killed. Flanked by the family, Crump stated their intentions on gaining justice for their fallen loved one.
“Many things that will be put forth in our lawsuit that speaks to this factual evidence,” Crump said at a press conference held at the center. “We believe that now it could be substantiated based on the recent exonerations of those who were wrongfully convicted.
Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, two of the trio convicted in the death of Malcolm X, were exonerated of their crimes in 2021 after years of imprisonment. It was later revealed by former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance that an investigation headed by Vance and the attorneys for Aziz and Islam uncovered facts that the FBI and NYPD withheld evidence that would have cleared their clients of any wrongdoing.
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Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty
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