What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals • Hacker News Board

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#21

Post by maxerickson » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:13 PM UTC

mynameishere wrote: post #17

Eventually we'll know what's in his file: The FBI spied on Martin Luther King Jr. in an unsuccessful effort to prove he had ties to Communist organizations. In 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy granted an FBI request to surreptitiously record King and his associates by tapping their phones and placing hidden microphones in their homes, hotel rooms and offices. A 1977 court order sealed transcripts of the surveill…

It's likely that people still alive are also recorded on the tapes. Whatever else it does, the court order also protects their privacy.

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#22

Post by JoeAltmaier » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:14 PM UTC

Mikeb85 wrote: post #19

It continually amazes me that Americans can perpetuate the myth that their government is a democratic, moral force in the world given everything they have done, and are still doing...

That's actually the best hope for America, the expectation that we should do good, do the best we can.

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#23

Post by Estragon » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:15 PM UTC

alukima wrote: post #10

I spent an obsessive night searching through documents via online 'reading rooms'. I don't have the links anymore but theres mounds of documentation showing intelligence agencies doing shady shit like this to try to break up civil rights groups. Fun look ups are 'blank panthers', 'san francisco', 'socialist', any black leader. San Francisco seems like a broad term but there's so much interesting stuff, they were watc…

The word to search for is COINTELPRO. Tim Weiner's Enemies: A History of the FBI goes into some detail about it, and its notes probably provide pointers to the relevant documents.

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#24

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:16 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #22

Mikeb85 wrote: post #19

It continually amazes me that Americans can perpetuate the myth that their government is a democratic, moral force in the world given everything they have done, and are still doing...

That's actually the best hope for America, the expectation that we should do good, do the best we can.

[deleted]

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#25

Post by johnny99 » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:16 PM UTC

Snopes has a good explainer largely debunking one of the nastier pieces of misinformation circulating about MLK, which touches on FBI surveillance of him:

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/mlking.asp

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#26

Post by ep103 » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:16 PM UTC

alukima wrote: post #10

I spent an obsessive night searching through documents via online 'reading rooms'. I don't have the links anymore but theres mounds of documentation showing intelligence agencies doing shady shit like this to try to break up civil rights groups. Fun look ups are 'blank panthers', 'san francisco', 'socialist', any black leader. San Francisco seems like a broad term but there's so much interesting stuff, they were watc…

they still do this. Occupy was absolutely insane on this level, and we were small fish comparatively.

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#27

Post by codezero » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:18 PM UTC

Wow the redacted parts read like modern day news article comment sections. I wonder, was it meant to look like it was sent from a crazy person, but to include specific facts to scare MLK, or is this aligned with the typical kinds of personality attacks done by people at the time?

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#28

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:18 PM UTC

mynameishere wrote: post #17

Eventually we'll know what's in his file: The FBI spied on Martin Luther King Jr. in an unsuccessful effort to prove he had ties to Communist organizations. In 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy granted an FBI request to surreptitiously record King and his associates by tapping their phones and placing hidden microphones in their homes, hotel rooms and offices. A 1977 court order sealed transcripts of the surveill…

[deleted]

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#29

Post by rooster8 » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:20 PM UTC

Mikeb85 wrote: post #19

It continually amazes me that Americans can perpetuate the myth that their government is a democratic, moral force in the world given everything they have done, and are still doing...

Any system as large and complicated as this one will have failures. Our job is to learn from the past and try to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Re: What an Uncensored Letter to M.L.K. Reveals

#30

Post by KerrickStaley » Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 11:20 PM UTC

mynameishere wrote: post #17

Eventually we'll know what's in his file: The FBI spied on Martin Luther King Jr. in an unsuccessful effort to prove he had ties to Communist organizations. In 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy granted an FBI request to surreptitiously record King and his associates by tapping their phones and placing hidden microphones in their homes, hotel rooms and offices. A 1977 court order sealed transcripts of the surveill…

What Dr. King did or did not do isn't the point: the point is that the FBI abused its power (in a drastic fashion) in an attempt to suppress and damage King's political speech.