Community | January 16, 2010 | 25 comments

MLK's FBI files may soon see daylight

source: http://news.discovery.com/history/mlks-fbi-files-may-soon-see-daylight.html

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On Monday, Jan. 18, 2010, the United States will commemorate the achievements of civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King, Jr.

While today we look at King with great respect and admiration, any student of history will know that this wasn't always the case.

King's efforts to end racial discrimination were seen as a threat by segregationists, white supremacists and even the government of the United States.

For years, King was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly having connections to Communists -- a charge King repeatedly denied. The FBI even set up a task force, labeling King the "most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country." For J. Edgar Hoover, then the director of the FBI, King was almost an obsession.

Although the investigation turned up almost no evidence that King had any association at all with Communists, embarrassing details about King's sex life were uncovered, which would later be used against him.

While some of the documents related to the King investigation have been released (found here), there are still aspects of the case that have been kept out of the public eye. Out of the more than 16,000 pages tied to the investigation, a little over 200 are available to the public. The wiretap transcripts themselves remain sealed.

Today, USA Today reported on efforts being spearheaded by Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, among others, to have full contents of the investigation made available to the public.

More from USA Today on the legislation that Kerry is proposing:

The bill calls for creating a Martin Luther King Records Collection at the National Archives that would include all government records related to King. The bill also would create a five-member independent review board that would identify and make public all documents from agencies including the FBI.
While these files could certainly shed light into the FBI's paranoia surrounding King and his intentions, they could also set a precedent for the release of evidence in still-unsolved murders of other civil rights advocates.

Whether Kerry's bill will pass the House and Senate remains to be seen.

One side note: Today, Jan. 15, 2010, was King's birthday. He would have turned 81.

http://news.discovery.com/history/mlks-fbi-files-may-soon-see-daylight.html
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25 comments // MLK's FBI files may soon see daylight

  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • Yeah, well, there is released and there is "released." I am skeptical that whatever are perceived to be the most "sensitive" bits are truly going to become public...

    • 2 years ago
  • bking74
    • 0
      bking74  

    • Thanks to everyone who wished me a great MLK day. Also, Keithpounder your right on Saint Patty's day I do tend to drink and make an ass of myself. Diamayo, the accuracy of the article I posted is suspect and I did mostly out of a desire to see what sort of debate it would cause, instead it made me look like an ass......So, I say now with all sincerity Dr. King was a great man and not only did he earn the right to a holiday, I want to wish him a Happy Birthday!

    • 2 years ago
  • TopScruffy
    • 0
      TopScruffy  

    • i think this is more to expose and embarrass what the FBI did during the investigation. you gotta remember there was still segregation and extreme discrimination.

    • 2 years ago
  • VoyagerFilms
  • lolitanimatronic
  • Minus5scenePoints
  • bking74
    • 0
      bking74  

    • Subject: MLK Day
      Four Things you didn't know about 'Dr. Martin Luther' King:
      1. His name wasn't Martin Luther. It was Michael. It was decided 'Martin Luther' had a more prominent ring to it, so he went by that. He never legally changed his name. To this day, he lived and died as Michael King.
      2. While working on his dissertation for his doctoral degree at Boston University, he heavily plagiarized from another author who had done research on a subject similar to King's. An academic committee later found that over half of King's work was plagiarized, yet would not revoke his doctrine. King was dead by this time, and the committee ruled that revoking the title would serve no purpose. It was also discovered that King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech was also not his own. He stole it from a sermon by Archibald Carey, a popular black preacher in the 1950's.
      3. King was under FBI surveillance for several years (until he died) due to his ties with communist organizations throughout the country. King accepted money from the organizations to fund his movements. In return, King had to appoint communist leaders to run certain districts of his SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), who then could project their communist ideas to larger audiences. A federal judge in the 60's ruled that the FBI files on King's links to communism to remain top-secret until 2027. Senator Jesse Helms appealed to the Supreme Court in 1983 to release the files, so the current bill in the Senate to create the Martin Luther King Federal Holiday could be abolished. He was denied.
      4. One of King's closest friends, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, wrote a book in 1989 in which he talked about King's obsession with white prostitutes. King would often use church donations to have drunken sex parties, where he would hire two to three white prostitutes, occasionally beating them brutally. This has also been reported by the FBI agents who monitored King. King was married with four children.
      Monday was "Martin Luther King" Day. A day when this country came to a screeching halt so we can have parades and memorials to honor this man, a man that most of the world views as a saint for his role in the civil rights movement.
      No other public holiday in the United States honors a single individual. Of all the great leaders in our Nation's history - none of them have their own holiday. All of our great war heroes share Memorial Day. All of our great presidents share President's Day. Yet King - a man who was a phony, a cheater, a traitor, and a sexual degenerate - gets a day of his own.

    • 2 years ago
  • eldamon
    • 0
      eldamon  
    • bking74:

      The MLK holiday is going to be very long day for you I gather. Try to relax and consider the opposing point of view to your argument, in the spirit of unity and peace.

    • 2 years ago
  • Daimyo
    • 0
      Daimyo  
    • bking74:

      Well, no actual sources were provided and so its a he-said she-said rumor. Also, you sound pretty ignorant to the fact that though not perfect, people of color have the same rights as non-colored people and this country is better off having MLK around.

      People always simplify things when they have no idea what it was like living back in that time frame. In my opinion, I think that some people are soooo frustrated about the fact that the world has and will always be changing, that they try to poison any positive movement with rumored lies and bullshit.

      EVERYONE HAS SKELETONS IN THEIR CLOSET (Yes, even you). Now go out and have a great MLK day!

    • 2 years ago
  • keithponder
    • 0
      keithponder  
    • bking74:

      The prophet Jesus has 2 days, Easter and Christmas, and he's not even from this country. Based off of what you're whining about, I have every right in the world to compare the holidays of both of these great men to each other. Who knows ? Maybe 2,000 years from now, people will be saying that Dr. King rose from the dead too, after having his head blown off. .

      At least people don't go and chop down evergreen trees (this tree is green all year round until you kill it)that then start the dying process, and then start acting like a bunch of fools in shopping malls for a month before King Day.

      Imagine that. You actually cop down and kill a tree called an "evergreen", just to celebrate the "birth of our savior ? Does that sound like it kind of ass backwards ?

      BTW, anything else you feel like complaining about that really isn't worth mentioning. ?

      Oh, I forgot about some guy named St. Patrick. You take the day off and drink green beer all day honoring that smuck.

    • 2 years ago
  • TopScruffy
  • bking74
    • 0
      bking74  
    • bking74:

      Thanks to everyone who wished me a great MLK day. Also, Keithpounder your right on Saint Patty's day I do tend to drink and make an ass of myself. Diamayo, the accuracy of the article I posted is suspect and I did mostly out of a desire to see what sort of debate it would cause, instead it made me look like an ass.

    • 2 years ago
  • Minus5scenePoints
    • 0
      Minus5scenePoints  

    • Such a great human being. Gez, could he speak. And such a good person!
      Now, like JFK, there's some theory that they were offed by someone hired by the U.S government or something a long those lines.
      I've herd some people think MLK was killed that way, but i think it was yet again, fear and ignorance.

    • 2 years ago
  • Einsam_Data_Old
  • VoyagerFilms
  • keithponder
  • magic6435
  • bking74
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  
    • magic6435:

      He can still shave with a Mach 3; he just can't make 20 million dollars pitching the product based on his image. Given the statistics on how many men and women cheat on their spouses during the course of their marriage, I would agree that the hypocrisy is palpable (stones, glass houses). On the other hand, Gillette is writing the check, so I guess they can expect whatever package they want for their money.

    • 2 years ago
  • magic6435
    • 0
      magic6435  

    • "even the government of the United States."

      Are you fucking kidding me? I can see the next article now. "many people hate Jews even Hitler"

    • 2 years ago
  • kate_santeria
    • 0
      kate_santeria  

    • This article helps prove my point that history needs to be REWRITTEN. I'm talking throw out old history books and write what REALLY happened in them and teach that to students.

    • 2 years ago
  • magic6435
  • unthought89
  • Maeveeo
    • 0
      Maeveeo  

    • I fine it really funny that some people are still in the DARK about this GREAT MAN who the
      U.S. tried to disrespect & feared at the same time , i wonder how he would feel now ! ?
      Happy Birthday Dr KING ! Rest Well !

    • 2 years ago
  • JonRaymond
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