Final answer:
Malcolm X was the leader of the Black Power movement who was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam in 1965. He played a critical role in advocating African American empowerment and inspired subsequent leaders and movements that pursued racial justice and equality with a more militant stance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The famous and controversial leader of the Black Power movement who was assassinated was Malcolm X. He was a radical black leader and a prominent figure in the Nation of Islam. During the last year of his life, Malcolm X's perspectives began to shift as he expressed more interest in interracial cooperation after leaving the Nation of Islam. Tragically, his life was cut short when he was assassinated by supporters of the Nation of Islam in Harlem in 1965. His assassination occurred while he was speaking on stage at the Audubon Ballroom to a crowd of 400, where he was shot fifteen times at the age of 39. It's worth noting that the FBI was monitoring both Malcolm X and the individuals involved in his assassination, indicating they might have been aware of some details about the planned killing.
Malcolm X was integral to the civil rights movement for advocating empowerment and using the phrase 'by any means necessary' to highlight the urgency in the fight for African American equality. Shortly after his death, Stokely Carmichael and other leaders within the Black Power movement, like the founders of the Black Panther Party, continued his legacy, echoing his militant approach towards achieving racial justice.