February 21 -- "GET YO HAND OUT MY POCKET!!!"

If you're familiar with Spike Lee movies, you know what the title of this one refers to.

If you're not, I will tell you that was what was yelled out just before Malcolm X was gunned down on 02/21/1965.

Yes, Malcolm was on the stage at a meeting speaking when a disturbance broke out, which opened the floor for someone to step right in and shoot him with a sawed-off, then two more with handguns made sure the job was done…

Onlookers grabbed and beat on one of the shooters, but the others got away. Three people were charged and arrested, one at the scene and two via eyewitness accounts. The two fingered by witnesses maintain innocence, but the one who was clearly guilty refused to name his co-defendants, so all did time. All have since been paroled or otherwise released as of last year.

Reasons for WHY he was killed remain varied and largely will see the aisle divided several directions based on race, religious affiliations (up to and including sects within said religion), and personal opinion on the man himself.
Some language used suggests the opinion that Malcolm, like Tupac Shakur, is dead largely at the hand of his own words and actions and the karmic comeuppance that they might have created. The only difference, though, is that I am willing to call Malcolm X a martyr for what he believed, as opposed to an entertainer whoring it up for personal gain. Others were tangibly helped by the work of Malcolm.

Damn, did I cover two deaths in a row?

I will try to cover something that does not cover someone shaking loose the mortal coil tomorrow… Perhaps even someone who is not even yet dead.