Should Malcolm X have public statues? What new poll finds 60 years after assassination

Americans are divided over whether or not there should be public commemorations of Malcolm X, who was assassinated 60 years ago today, according to new polling.

In the latest YouGov survey, 40% of respondents said the civil rights leader should have public “statues or memorials,” while 20% said he should not. A slim plurality of respondents, 41%, said they were not sure.

The poll, which sampled 4,974 U.S. adults, found opinions on the matter were strongly linked to partisan affiliation, race and age.

A majority of Democrats, 58%, were in favor of statues or memorials honoring Malcolm X, while a plurality of Republicans, 43%, said they weren’t sure.

A majority of Black respondents, 61%, also said they supported public commemorations, while a plurality of white respondents, 43%, said they were not sure.

Further, younger generations were more supportive than their older counterparts. Majorities of 18- to 29-year-olds and 30- to 44-year-olds — 53% and 52%, respectively — said they were in favor of memorials and statues. Meanwhile, 33% of 45- to 64-year-olds and 21% of those 65 and older said the same.

The poll was released on Feb. 20, the day before the 60th anniversary of Malcolm X’s death.

On Feb. 21, 1965, he was shot and killed in a New York City theater. Three members of the Nation of Islam — of which Malcolm X was once a spokesman — were later convicted of murdering him, according to the Associated Press. Though there have long been questions about whether someone else was to blame.

Malcolm X, who was 39 when he died, was a prominent civil rights activist and proponent of Black nationalism. His advocacy for racial separatism and self-defense often put him at odds with Martin Luther King Jr., who preached a message of nonviolence and racial integration, according to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.

Malcolm X compared to MLK Jr.

King — who was assassinated just three years after Malcolm X — was also included in the poll. Respondents were asked which of the men had done more to advance the civil rights of Black Americans.

Nearly half of respondents, 48%, said King, while just 5% said Malcolm X and 30% said both of them equally. An additional 15% said they weren’t sure, and 3% said neither.

Here, the responses also differed slightly based on partisan affiliation, race and age.

A majority of Republicans, 56%, said King had done more, while 47% of Democrats said the same. And a majority of white respondents, 53%, said King had done more, while a plurality of Black respondents, 42%, said both equally.

Lastly, a plurality of 18- to 29-year-olds, 36%, said both men had done equally to advance Black Americans’ civil rights, while two-thirds of those 65 and older said King had done more.

This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Should Malcolm X have public statues? What new poll finds 60 years after assassination."