Lincoln, Neb. ? Malcolm X is among seven people being considered for induction into the Nebraska Hall of Fame, the hall’s commission has announced.

The commission will hold public hearings in each of the state’s congressional districts in September and October. The commission may then select one finalist for induction in 2009.

In addition to Malcolm X, the civil rights advocate born in Omaha, other potential inductees include: baseball player Grover Cleveland Alexander, a native of St. Paul; Charles Bessey, a horticulturist and University of Nebraska professor; Georgia Arbuckle Fix, the first female graduate of the Omaha Medical College; World War II landing craft inventor Andrew Jackson Higgins of Columbus; William M. Jeffers, president of the Union Pacific Railroad; and aviator Evelyn Sharp of Ord.

Former U.S. Sen. Kenneth Wherry, who made a name for himself removing homosexuals from the federal government in the 1940s and early ’50s, was not on the list.

Wherry won out over Malcolm X in a 4-3 vote in 2004, but Attorney General Jon Bruning later ruled the commission’s vote violated open-meeting laws, so the vote was nullified.

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans. The 23 members, whose busts line the halls of the state Capitol, include the famous and not-so-famous, such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Boys Town founder Rev. Edward J. Flanagan and author Willa Cather.