Fact vs Fiction: Godfather of Harlem season 4 episode 1 — who killed Malcolm X?

Godfather of Harlem season 4 is officially underway. Following an explosive Godfather of Harlem season 3 finale, things pick up with the murder trial of Malcolm X. Omar (Maurice Jones), in particular, worries about being railroaded in the trial and convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Thankfully, he has Elise (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) fighting in his corner.

Elsewhere, Bumpy (Forest Whitaker) is determined to walk the straight and narrow to honor Malcolm X’s legacy and protect his community. He’s given up his drug business, which has been music to Vincent Gigante’s (Vincent D'Onofrio) ears. The two men are on friendly terms, with Bumpy agreeing not to sell drugs and Vincent promising not to deal heroin in Bumpy’s territory.

Unfortunately for Bumpy, his commitment to legitimacy isn’t smooth sailing. No longer a drug kingpin, he’s not generating the revenue he once was and is finding it hard to raise the capital to pay for his dreams of building out Harlem. This leads to him leaning on his wife for advice, who needs a favor from Adam Clayton Powell (Giancarlo Esposito). But the congressman has his own problems.

Here’s what we found out as we looked into what was fact and fiction from Godfather of Harlem season 4 episode 1.

Who killed Malcolm X?

The fiction
The season premiere kicks off with the murder trial of Malcolm X fully underway. Omar and two other men are standing trial for the homicide. Betty (Grace Porter) takes the stand and delivers a scathing testimony against Omar in particular. She points the finger at him for the loss of her husband.

When Elise pays Omar a visit in jail, he tells her they offered him a plea deal for 15 years, and he wants to take it. Elise tells him not to, as it’s not fair to him or Malcolm. He seemingly doesn’t take the deal, but in a subsequent day in court a recording is played of Omar from last season, when he met with leaders of his old mosque and pretended to want to take Malcolm down. It doesn’t bode well for his defense.

The fact
The character of Omar was created specifically for the series. In actuality, in 1966, Thomas Hagan, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Kahlil Islam were all tried and found guilty of murdering Malcolm X. However, while Hagan eventually confessed to his part in the homicide, Aziz and Islam have always maintained their innocence. Looking to CNN, during Hagan’s 2010 parole hearing, he stated, "I have deep regrets about my participation in that. I don't think it should ever have happened."

Additionally, when explaining why he participated in the assassination, Hagan said, “It stemmed from a break off and confusion in the leadership. Malcolm X broke with the Nation of Islam, separated from the Nation of Islam, and in doing so, there was controversy as to some of the statements he was making about the leader. History has revealed a lot of what Malcolm X was saying was true.”

As far as Aziz and Islam, in large part thanks to the Netflix documentary, Who Killed Malcolm X?, an investigation was reopened that eventually exonerated them and cleared them of murder in 2021. Subsequently in 2022, Aziz and Islam’s estate were awarded $26 million from New York City and $10 million from the state of New York for their wrongful convictions.

Was Adam Clayton Powell kicked out of Congress?

The fiction
Bumpy learns from his accountant, Miss Willa (Whoopi Goldberg), that he doesn’t have enough capital to legitimately fund his dreams of building a housing community in Harlem, with the bank unwilling to give him a $3 million loan unless he puts up every piece of property he owns, including his penthouse and club. Feeling deflated, he shares the news with Mayme (Ilfenesh Hadera), seeking her advice.

Mayme replies that the government is giving out grants to businesses to help rebuild following the civil unrest demonstrations in Harlem. Bumpy doubts the government would want to help him. However, she thinks she can convince Adam Clayton Powell to set up a meeting with the new director of Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited (HARYOU), as the director is overseeing the distribution of funds in the community. She then mentions she can’t make her pleas to Powell directly for the funds, as he’s hiding out in Bimini after fellow congressmen censured (publicly condemned) him for fraud.

The fact
The real story behind Powell's battles with Congress is worse than just a censure. Taking things back to 1960, and referencing The New York Daily News, Powell accused a woman named Esther James of being in cahoots with corrupt members of the New York police on a public-affairs TV show. She demanded an apology, but he refused to give one, so she sued him for defamation and won $211,500 in compensatory and punitive damages in April 1963.

After failed appeals, and failing to pay James, as Time Magazine reports, Powell was held in civil contempt and criminal contempt, and a warrant was issued to arrest him.

Fast forward to the opening day of the 90th Congress on January 10, 1967. As stated by The United States House of Representatives, Powell was refused a seat by his colleagues in a vote of 363 to 65, citing his problems in New York and his “myriad of allegations of personal and financial misconduct.” Initially, there was a proposal to seat him and then conduct an internal investigation, but instead, he was denied a seat for five weeks while a bipartisan committee looked into the matter.

After the investigation, the House didn’t censure Powell, but voted to expel him from the 90th Congress. Ironically, six weeks later the constituents of Harlem voted to re-elect him to the exact same seat in a special election.

Having said all of this, it’s worth pointing out that given Powell’s race, his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement of the day and it being the 60s, he wasn’t exactly popular among all congressional members of that era.

Godfather of Harlem season 4 continues to air on Sundays on MGM Plus.