February 21, 2021 • 12 mins
On this day in 1965, Black nationalist leader Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City. / On this day in 1933, singer and musician Nina Simone was born in North Carolina.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, y'all, we're rerunning two episodes today. Enjoy the show. Hello, Hello, everyone,
Welcome to this Day in History class, where we bring
you a new tidbit from history every day. The day
(00:22):
was February nineteen. Malcolm X, an American activists and religious leader,
was preparing to speak at a rally for his organization
of Afro American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in New
York City. But as he was about to address the audience,
someone shouted a racial slur, then yelled, get your hand
(00:45):
out of my pocket. Malcolm X told them to be calm,
and his bodyguards moved to break up the commotion. But
as the bodyguards left Malcolm X's watch, a man with
a sawed off shotgun rushed the stage, shooting Malcolm X
in the chest. Two more men fired handguns at Malcolm X.
(01:06):
The crowd, made up of about four people, erupted in panic.
Malcolm X was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he
was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. Malcolm X had
told reporters the following just days before his death, I
(01:26):
don't worry. I'll tell you I'm a man who believed
that I died twenty years ago, and I live like
a man who is dead already. I have no fear
whatsoever of anybody or anything. As a champion for black rights,
Malcolm X was an advocate of armed self defense and
black nationalism. His views on separating black and white people
(01:51):
and other philosophies he had adopted during his time with
the Nation of Islam changed in the later years of
his life. After his pilgrimage to Mecca, he began speaking
out against the Nation of Islam, its principles, and its leader,
Elijah Mohammed. But Malcolm X still faced the resentment of
(02:11):
people who considered him violent and threatening, as well as
members of the Nation of Islam who disapproved of his
split with the movement. In fact, Malcolm X had been
receiving death threats and been assaulted by people in the
Nation of Islam. A week before Malcolm X was assassinated,
his house in East Elmhurst Queen's was firebombed. The attackers
(02:35):
through Molotov cocktails through the windows, but one bomb that
was supposed to go through the back of the house
hit the door and didn't make it Inside the house, Malcolm,
his wife Betty, and their four daughters made it out alive.
The house went up in flames and the blaze was
put out around three am. No one was charged with
(02:56):
the crime, but the Nation of Islam owned the house
Malcolm X and his family had lived in and they
were looking to evictim. Malcolm believed the Nation of Islam
was responsible for the attack, so a week later, when
Malcolm X was assassinated and three members of the Nation
of Islam were found guilty, the case was pretty much
(03:18):
open and shut. Talmas Hayer, Norman three Ex Butler, and
Thomas fifteen X Johnson were convicted of murder in March
of nineteen sixty six and sentenced to life in prison.
Heyer confessed to the crime, but Johnson and Butler maintained
their innocence. In nineteen seventy seven and seventy eight, Hayer
(03:42):
submitted affidavits that reaffirmed his statement that the other two
men who had been convicted weren't involved in the assassination. Instead,
the affidavits named for other men from the Nation of
Islam who helped commit the murder, but the case was
never real and in all three were eventually released from prison. But,
(04:04):
as it often happens when a major social or political
figure is assassinated, that's not where the story ended. In
the days and years after Malcolm X's murder, conspiracy theories
popped up left and right. People blamed the m YPD, FBI,
and CIA for not having an adequate police presence at
(04:26):
the Audubon ballroom. Others have accused current Nation of Islam
leader Louis Farakhan of Malcolm X's assassination, and still others
are convinced coin tal Pro, as the FBS counter intelligence
program was known, was the chief orchestrator of assassination. Coin
tel Pro have been targeting civil rights leaders and getting
(04:49):
informants to infiltrate their organizations. Many believe that Malcolm X's
assassins may still be on the loose, and in January nineteen,
a group of more than sixty U S citizens called
for a new congressional investigation into the assassination of Malcolm X,
as well as Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy,
(05:11):
and Robert F. Kennedy. After Malcolm X was assassinated, many
grieved him as they would a martyr, and many others
welcomed the end to his fiery rhetoric Malcolm X remains
a divisive figure in the history of the Civil rights
era in America. I'm Eves Jeff Coote, and hopefully you
(05:33):
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
I just think it's worth mentioning to that. Heyer, Johnson,
and Butler all later changed their names, but I didn't
really talk about that during the story. To avoid any confusion.
Heyer changed his name to Mujahi Abdulla Hallem, Johnson to
(05:54):
Khalil Islam, and Butler to Mohammed abdul Aziz. Thanks for
showing up. If you haven't gotten your fill of history
after listening to today's episode, you can follow us on Twitter, Instagram,
and Facebook at t d i h C podcast. We'll
meet here again tomorrow. Hi again everyone, I'm Eves, and
(06:24):
you're listening to this day in History class, where instead
of going back to the future, we go back to
the past. The day was February one, ninety three. Singer, musician,
and activist Nina Simone was born. Simone is remembered for
(06:47):
her unique musical style that blended several different genres and
often expressed social commentary. Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Wyman
and try On, North Carolina. Her mother was a Methodist
minister and domestic worker, and her father was a handyman
and preacher. She was the sixth of eight children. Music
(07:08):
was an important part of her life from the time
she was a child. She played piano in her mother's church,
and she took piano lessons with a woman named Muriel Mazanovich,
who influenced her love of bach In turn box music
influence Simon's drive to become a concert pianist. After she
graduated from high school, Simone began attending the Juilliard School
(07:31):
of Music. She planned on going to the Curtis Institute
of Music in Philadelphia, but the school rejected her application.
Simone believed that she did not get in because of
her race, but her family had already moved from North
Carolina to Philadelphia, so Simone stayed in the city and
gave piano lessons. Hoping to earn more money, Simone decided
(07:54):
to start playing piano and bars. In nine four, she
auditioned to sing at the mid to On Bar and
Grille in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She began singing and
playing piano for six hours a night there She mixed classical, gospel,
jazz and blues in her music, topping it off with
her deep vocals. She built up an audience of young
(08:16):
people at the bar and moved on to more upscale
clubs in Philadelphia. Her mother, deeply religious, disapproved of her
performing in bars, so she took the stage name Nina Simone,
based on the word Nina, a nickname she was given
by a boyfriend, and the name of the French actress
Simone Sor. Having had much success in bars, Simone hired
(08:40):
agent Jerry Fields, who connected her with beth Lehem Records.
In ninety nine, her debut album, Little Girl Blue was released.
The first single, I Loved You Porgie was a hit
and helped launch her career. You Buggy Dude, Let Me.
(09:05):
But Simone was unhappy with her experience at Bethlehem Records.
She soon signed with Colpis Records and released her first
album with them, The Amazing Nina Simone. From that point
she gained more success as a live performer. She performed
at the Newport Jazz Festival in Carnegie Hall. She married
Andrew Stroud and had a daughter in nineteen sixty two,
(09:28):
and she continued to perform in jazz clubs, though she
resisted the label of jazz singer. As she recorded more songs,
Simone began to merge her own style of music with
her political views. Her music was influenced by the Civil
rights movement and acts that took place during it, like
the Birmingham church bombing and the murder of Medger Evers.
(09:50):
The song Mississippi Got Damn expresses her anger over these
events and her advocacy of civil rights. Alabama's Got misshap
California's made me lose my rest. Everybody knows about fish
ship being dap and just ship, I know you can
(10:11):
feel it. Simone also became friends with Lorraine Handsbury, who
was also an artist who spoke up for civil rights
and other social causes at the time. Simone continued to
write protest songs such as Sunday in Savannah and to
Be Young, Gifted in Black m Good. She made friends
(10:48):
with other people in the movement, such as James Baldwin
and Langston Hughes, but throughout the nineteen seventies. In early
nineteen eighties, Simone lived abroad in places like Liberia, Belgium, Barbados, France,
and the Netherlands. She was disillusioned by American society and
the civil rights movement. On top of that, she left
(11:09):
her husband, who had been abusing her. She continued to perform,
but she was affected by bipolar disorder. She often had
outbursts on stage, and she faced many more personal difficulties
In her later years. She published an autobiography, released the
album A Single Woman, and had her music featured on soundtracks.
(11:31):
She spent the last years of her life at her
home in France. She died in two thousand three, just
a month after her passing. The Curtis Institute, which rejected
her application decades prior, awarded her an honorary degree. Since
her death, she has been the subject of a lot
of scholarship in films regarding her personal life, as well
(11:54):
as her contributions to music and the civil rights movement.
I'm Eve Jeff Cote, and hopefully you know a little
more about history today than you did yesterday. Looking up
our content a little more sophisticated than cat memes in
your feed. Connect with us on social media at T
D I h C Podcast, or if you would prefer
(12:17):
to email us, you can send us a message at
this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks for listening,
Mary History, to all, and to all a good night.
M For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the
(12:37):
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Hey, y'all, we're rerunning two episodes today. Enjoy the show. Hello, Hello, everyone,
Welcome to this Day in History class, where we bring
you a new tidbit from history every day. The day
(00:22):
was February nineteen. Malcolm X, an American activists and religious leader,
was preparing to speak at a rally for his organization
of Afro American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in New
York City. But as he was about to address the audience,
someone shouted a racial slur, then yelled, get your hand
(00:45):
out of my pocket. Malcolm X told them to be calm,
and his bodyguards moved to break up the commotion. But
as the bodyguards left Malcolm X's watch, a man with
a sawed off shotgun rushed the stage, shooting Malcolm X
in the chest. Two more men fired handguns at Malcolm X.
(01:06):
The crowd, made up of about four people, erupted in panic.
Malcolm X was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he
was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. Malcolm X had
told reporters the following just days before his death, I
(01:26):
don't worry. I'll tell you I'm a man who believed
that I died twenty years ago, and I live like
a man who is dead already. I have no fear
whatsoever of anybody or anything. As a champion for black rights,
Malcolm X was an advocate of armed self defense and
black nationalism. His views on separating black and white people
(01:51):
and other philosophies he had adopted during his time with
the Nation of Islam changed in the later years of
his life. After his pilgrimage to Mecca, he began speaking
out against the Nation of Islam, its principles, and its leader,
Elijah Mohammed. But Malcolm X still faced the resentment of
(02:11):
people who considered him violent and threatening, as well as
members of the Nation of Islam who disapproved of his
split with the movement. In fact, Malcolm X had been
receiving death threats and been assaulted by people in the
Nation of Islam. A week before Malcolm X was assassinated,
his house in East Elmhurst Queen's was firebombed. The attackers
(02:35):
through Molotov cocktails through the windows, but one bomb that
was supposed to go through the back of the house
hit the door and didn't make it Inside the house, Malcolm,
his wife Betty, and their four daughters made it out alive.
The house went up in flames and the blaze was
put out around three am. No one was charged with
(02:56):
the crime, but the Nation of Islam owned the house
Malcolm X and his family had lived in and they
were looking to evictim. Malcolm believed the Nation of Islam
was responsible for the attack, so a week later, when
Malcolm X was assassinated and three members of the Nation
of Islam were found guilty, the case was pretty much
(03:18):
open and shut. Talmas Hayer, Norman three Ex Butler, and
Thomas fifteen X Johnson were convicted of murder in March
of nineteen sixty six and sentenced to life in prison.
Heyer confessed to the crime, but Johnson and Butler maintained
their innocence. In nineteen seventy seven and seventy eight, Hayer
(03:42):
submitted affidavits that reaffirmed his statement that the other two
men who had been convicted weren't involved in the assassination. Instead,
the affidavits named for other men from the Nation of
Islam who helped commit the murder, but the case was
never real and in all three were eventually released from prison. But,
(04:04):
as it often happens when a major social or political
figure is assassinated, that's not where the story ended. In
the days and years after Malcolm X's murder, conspiracy theories
popped up left and right. People blamed the m YPD, FBI,
and CIA for not having an adequate police presence at
(04:26):
the Audubon ballroom. Others have accused current Nation of Islam
leader Louis Farakhan of Malcolm X's assassination, and still others
are convinced coin tal Pro, as the FBS counter intelligence
program was known, was the chief orchestrator of assassination. Coin
tel Pro have been targeting civil rights leaders and getting
(04:49):
informants to infiltrate their organizations. Many believe that Malcolm X's
assassins may still be on the loose, and in January nineteen,
a group of more than sixty U S citizens called
for a new congressional investigation into the assassination of Malcolm X,
as well as Martin Luther King Jr. John F. Kennedy,
(05:11):
and Robert F. Kennedy. After Malcolm X was assassinated, many
grieved him as they would a martyr, and many others
welcomed the end to his fiery rhetoric Malcolm X remains
a divisive figure in the history of the Civil rights
era in America. I'm Eves Jeff Coote, and hopefully you
(05:33):
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
I just think it's worth mentioning to that. Heyer, Johnson,
and Butler all later changed their names, but I didn't
really talk about that during the story. To avoid any confusion.
Heyer changed his name to Mujahi Abdulla Hallem, Johnson to
(05:54):
Khalil Islam, and Butler to Mohammed abdul Aziz. Thanks for
showing up. If you haven't gotten your fill of history
after listening to today's episode, you can follow us on Twitter, Instagram,
and Facebook at t d i h C podcast. We'll
meet here again tomorrow. Hi again everyone, I'm Eves, and
(06:24):
you're listening to this day in History class, where instead
of going back to the future, we go back to
the past. The day was February one, ninety three. Singer, musician,
and activist Nina Simone was born. Simone is remembered for
(06:47):
her unique musical style that blended several different genres and
often expressed social commentary. Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Wyman
and try On, North Carolina. Her mother was a Methodist
minister and domestic worker, and her father was a handyman
and preacher. She was the sixth of eight children. Music
(07:08):
was an important part of her life from the time
she was a child. She played piano in her mother's church,
and she took piano lessons with a woman named Muriel Mazanovich,
who influenced her love of bach In turn box music
influence Simon's drive to become a concert pianist. After she
graduated from high school, Simone began attending the Juilliard School
(07:31):
of Music. She planned on going to the Curtis Institute
of Music in Philadelphia, but the school rejected her application.
Simone believed that she did not get in because of
her race, but her family had already moved from North
Carolina to Philadelphia, so Simone stayed in the city and
gave piano lessons. Hoping to earn more money, Simone decided
(07:54):
to start playing piano and bars. In nine four, she
auditioned to sing at the mid to On Bar and
Grille in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She began singing and
playing piano for six hours a night there She mixed classical, gospel,
jazz and blues in her music, topping it off with
her deep vocals. She built up an audience of young
(08:16):
people at the bar and moved on to more upscale
clubs in Philadelphia. Her mother, deeply religious, disapproved of her
performing in bars, so she took the stage name Nina Simone,
based on the word Nina, a nickname she was given
by a boyfriend, and the name of the French actress
Simone Sor. Having had much success in bars, Simone hired
(08:40):
agent Jerry Fields, who connected her with beth Lehem Records.
In ninety nine, her debut album, Little Girl Blue was released.
The first single, I Loved You Porgie was a hit
and helped launch her career. You Buggy Dude, Let Me.
(09:05):
But Simone was unhappy with her experience at Bethlehem Records.
She soon signed with Colpis Records and released her first
album with them, The Amazing Nina Simone. From that point
she gained more success as a live performer. She performed
at the Newport Jazz Festival in Carnegie Hall. She married
Andrew Stroud and had a daughter in nineteen sixty two,
(09:28):
and she continued to perform in jazz clubs, though she
resisted the label of jazz singer. As she recorded more songs,
Simone began to merge her own style of music with
her political views. Her music was influenced by the Civil
rights movement and acts that took place during it, like
the Birmingham church bombing and the murder of Medger Evers.
(09:50):
The song Mississippi Got Damn expresses her anger over these
events and her advocacy of civil rights. Alabama's Got misshap
California's made me lose my rest. Everybody knows about fish
ship being dap and just ship, I know you can
(10:11):
feel it. Simone also became friends with Lorraine Handsbury, who
was also an artist who spoke up for civil rights
and other social causes at the time. Simone continued to
write protest songs such as Sunday in Savannah and to
Be Young, Gifted in Black m Good. She made friends
(10:48):
with other people in the movement, such as James Baldwin
and Langston Hughes, but throughout the nineteen seventies. In early
nineteen eighties, Simone lived abroad in places like Liberia, Belgium, Barbados, France,
and the Netherlands. She was disillusioned by American society and
the civil rights movement. On top of that, she left
(11:09):
her husband, who had been abusing her. She continued to perform,
but she was affected by bipolar disorder. She often had
outbursts on stage, and she faced many more personal difficulties
In her later years. She published an autobiography, released the
album A Single Woman, and had her music featured on soundtracks.
(11:31):
She spent the last years of her life at her
home in France. She died in two thousand three, just
a month after her passing. The Curtis Institute, which rejected
her application decades prior, awarded her an honorary degree. Since
her death, she has been the subject of a lot
of scholarship in films regarding her personal life, as well
(11:54):
as her contributions to music and the civil rights movement.
I'm Eve Jeff Cote, and hopefully you know a little
more about history today than you did yesterday. Looking up
our content a little more sophisticated than cat memes in
your feed. Connect with us on social media at T
D I h C Podcast, or if you would prefer
(12:17):
to email us, you can send us a message at
this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks for listening,
Mary History, to all, and to all a good night.
M For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the
(12:37):
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
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