Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

About the Ray Wood 'Confession' 
Zayid Muhammad
03 Mar 2021
About the Ray Wood 'Confession' 

The Malcolm X Commemoration Committee speaks on Ray Wood’s deathbed 'non-confession' to crimes committed before and during the great leader’s assassination.

“Wood continued to function as an undercover operative for at least six more years after Malcolm’s murder.”

The Malcolm X Commemoration Committee joins with everyone who calls for the reopening of the case of Malcolm X.  However, we are not and will not be among those looking to forgive and have any compassion for the late Ray Wood.

We call his confession his “non-confession” because of two lies he tells. One, that he was coerced into doing what he did, and two, he didn't know that Malcolm was the target.

His 'confession' suggests that he was a novice and wrongly pressured into doing what he did that ultimately had a hand in Malcolm's death.

In fact, it is well known that before he infiltrated Malcolm's Organization of AfroAmerican Unity (OAAU), he was an operative who infiltrated the Bronx branch of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). As such, it is also known that he was not simply an informant in that capacity. That he was in fact a provocateur seeking to provoke illegal activity to set up their leadership for prosecution, in particular their leader Herb Callender. There is also evidence that the Statue of Liberty plot, the plan that compromised key men in Malcolm's security, was first floated to the CORE chapter Woods had penetrated, and that it was Woods who promoted that idea among them then.

Beyond being outraged for his role in facilitating the assassination with the NYPD's Bureau of Special Services (BOSS), we are outraged that this "confession" asserts that he was "not aware that Malcolm X was the target." 

It is absolute insult to all of our intelligence.

“He was in fact a provocateur seeking to provoke illegal activity.”

Herman Ferguson and Yuri Kochiyama, both founding members of Malcolm's OAAU and our organization, have always said that they also saw Wood at the Audubon at the assassination and saw him being aided away from the scene by the police as if he may have been wounded from the shootout that ensued between Malcolm's soldier Rueben X Frances who heroically hit one of the assassin's, Talmadge Hayer, in the melee that ensued after Malcolm had been felled by the assassin team.

Of course, we must remind everyone how heroically important Brother Reuben was in all of this. Had not he been armed and ready on that fateful afternoon, all of Malcolm's killers would have gotten away scot free!

There is nothing innocent about Woods deeds here. Historian Garrett Felber reminds us that he received a promotion to Second Grade Detective for his work in the Statue of Liberty 4 case. Not something you would associate with someone facing coercion.

Woods would continue to function as an undercover operative for at least six more years, infiltrating the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) and the NY Chapter of the Black Panther Party.

“Wood received a promotion to Second Grade Detective for his work in the Statue of Liberty 4 case.”

Ray Wood was no one's innocent operative. He had in fact become an expert operative who produced desired results at critical times for his overseers. Deadly results at times as we are still reeling from the gravity of Malcolm's murder.

To be sure Woods 'work' in aiding Malcolm's assassination draws parallels to another New York operative, one whose provocations also got him decorated and on through law school, and that was Edward Howlette. Howlette played a similar role in jamming Herman Ferguson and his co-defendant Arthur Harris. They would be charged with conspiring to kill moderate civil rights leaders Roy Wilkins and Ralph Bunche. Both opted for exile. Ferguson exiled himself in Guyana for 20 years. He faced prison at 69 when he returned to New York in an effort to clear his name. Harris exiled himself to Scandinavia never to return. 

We do want young organizers to pay attention to what they must learn as Hollywood now seeks to soften the deadly work of another operative who aiding in the assassination of Fred Hampton. Your operational group discipline matters. Be wary of those, in the name of being the most militant, seek to have folks engage in actions outside of your discipline...The tough guys, the sexually loose or drug reckless among you, watch them, or better yet, use your discipline to purge them from your ranks. They may not be who they say they are.

“Be wary of those who, in the name of being the most militant, seek to have folks engage in actions outside of your discipline.”

Exonerate Walter Bowe, Bob Collier and Khaicel Sayyid now! Pay their families damages for what they went through. Pay the Shabazz Family damages for the NYPD's participating in the horrific trauma of setting up the spectacle slaughter of their father and our leader!

Making it most plain in conclusion, the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee does not wish to see anyone have any sympathy or prayers of compassion for this man and the dastardly deeds he has performed, and the lies he has told, including those in this confession. We do feel for his family, who must be embarrassed and ashamed for disgraceful deeds that they had nothing to do with. However, as far as we are concerned, Ray Wood, or Ray Woodall, one of his other aliases, can continue on in his journey to hell for all we care. Let justice for his victims and victims’ survivors be served, and may the chickens continue to come home to roost!

Zayid Muhammad is founding press officer of the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, P.O. Box 380-122, Brooklyn, NY 11238, www.MXCC519.org, 973-202-0745; 917-346-8142.

Zayid Muhammad is also a freelance writer and a people's performance artist (stage actor and poet). He is a highly respected “cub” of the legendary NY chapter of the Black Panther Party. 

Zayid Muhammad is currently the interim organizer for NCAP-Newark Communities for Accountable Policing, the coalition of organizations represented on Newark's new Civilian Review Board. In addition to his duties with the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, he does media for the People's Organization for Progress, and the Newark AntiViolence Coalition.

This article previously appeared in Patch.com. 

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at [email protected] 

Malcolm X

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
Malcolm X Presente!
19 February 2025
Every year, people around the world honor Malcolm X. Though he was taken from us prematurely, his memory and impact remain.
Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
Malcolm X, Black Nationalism and the Cold War
19 February 2025
United States intelligence agencies kept close watch over developments in the African American struggle for freedom, justice, equality and self
Ujima People's Progress Party
Reflections on the Legacy and modern-day impact of Malcolm X
05 June 2024
The contributions of Malcolm X to African liberation cannot be understated.
Black-Palestinian solidarity
Hanna Eid
Black-Palestinian Solidarity; Clearing the Fog
28 February 2024
While revolutionary Black organizations after the Panthers continued to support Palestine vocally, the realities of COINTELPRO and mass incarce
Prensa Latina
Cuban President Praises Malcolm X’s Legacy in New York
27 September 2023
Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel paid tribute to Malcolm X on the anniversary of his historic meeting with Fidel Castro.
Why Embracing Anti-Colonialism Made Malcolm a Marked Man
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
Why Embracing Anti-Colonialism Made Malcolm a Marked Man
22 February 2023
Malcolm X was a legendary revolutionary who is still loved by millions of people.
SPEECH: The Black Revolution is Part of World-wide Struggle, Malcolm X, 1964
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
SPEECH: The Black Revolution is Part of World-wide Struggle, Malcolm X, 1964
06 July 2022
Malcolm X reminds us of the deceit of liberals, the power of international thinking, and the coming of Black revolution.
Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh Remind Us of the Roots of White Supremacy in the Aftermath of Buffalo Shooting
Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh Remind Us of the Roots of White Supremacy in the Aftermath of Buffalo Shooting
25 May 2022
Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh shared a birthday.
Interview: Malcolm X and Young Socialist, 1965
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
Interview: Malcolm X and Young Socialist, 1965
01 December 2021
A 1965 interview with Malcolm X demonstrates how his encounters in Africa had a profound impact on his thinking about the domestic struggles of

More Stories


  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 9, 2025
    09 May 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe in World War II, and the disinformation that centers on the U.S.'s role and dismisses the pivotal Soviet role in that…
  • Book: The Rebirth of the African Phoenix
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Rebirth of the African Phoenix: A View from Babylon
    09 May 2025
    Roger McKenzie is the international editor of the UK-based Morning Star, the only English-language socialist daily newspaper in the world. He joins us from Oxford to discuss his new book, “The…
  • ww2
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Bruce Dixon: US Fake History of World War II Underlies Permanent Bipartisan Hostility Toward Russia
    09 May 2025
    The late Bruce Dixon was a co-founder and managing editor of Black Agenda Report. In 2018, he provided this commentary entitled, "US Fake History of World War II Underlies Permanent Bipartisan…
  • Nakba
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Meaning of Nakba Day
    09 May 2025
    Nadiah Alyafai is a member of the US Palestinian Community Network chapter in Chicago and she joins us to discuss why the public must be aware of the Nakba and the continuity of Palestinian…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Ryan Coogler, Shedeur Sanders, Karmelo Anthony, and Rodney Hinton, Jr
    07 May 2025
    Black people who are among the rich and famous garner praise and love, and so do those who are in distress. But concerns for the masses of people and their struggles are often missing.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us