New York, February 23 (RHC)-- New York State Senator James Sanders has called for state and federal authorities to reopen the investigation into Malcolm X’s assassination, a half-century after the charismatic Muslim leader was shot dead in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

According to The Guardian, Sanders made the remarks during a ceremony on Saturday afternoon held at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center in Washington Heights, Manhattan, to commemorate the 50th death anniversary of the civil rights leader.

More than 300 elected officials, professors, religious leaders and community organizers attended the ceremony in Harlem, where the 39-year-old Muslim leader, whose full name was El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was shot to death as he was preparing to address a large crowd on February 21, 1965.

At the ceremony, Sanders said: "They thought they could get rid of him, but he’s alive today.” He went on to say: “I saw him leading a march in Ferguson, I saw him in Staten Island," referring to the last year nationwide demonstrations over the shooting deaths of two African Americans, Michael Brown and Eric Garner -- killed by white police officers.

Malcolm X was a powerful voice for racial equality in the late 1950's and early 1960's -- a beacon of light promoting equality and self-love for African Americans in a country plagued by racial segregation. He preached self-empowerment to African Americans first for Elijah Muhammad's “Nation of Islam” organization, and then broadened his message to the empowerment of all oppressed peoples after turning to true Islam following his pilgrimage to Mecca.

As his audience and power grew, he also attracted the attention of U.S. authorities, which targeted him for assassination. Malcolm X was killed while speaking in a situation that most experts now agree required the complicity of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and other law enforcement agencies.