Domestic Terrorism at its finest: Cointelpro finds new life as patriot
I just finished the first book of Taylor Branch’s trilogy on America during the King years. It was a fascinating read that opened my eyes to many elements of the beginnings of what’s called the Civil Rights Movement of the 50’s and 60’s. Before I start the 2nd book of the trilogy, I think I’ll continue on with a book that I started last weekend entitled The COINTELPRO Papers : Documents from the FBI’s Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States by Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall.
I’ve been researching the FBI’s Cointelpro program since preparing a sermon for youth day earlier last month. The Counter Intelligence Program (known as Cointelpro) was officially created in 1956 to:
“to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize’ such groups and their ‘leadership, spokesmen, members, and supporters…and to gather information on the ‘unsavory backgrounds’ of group leaders.”
For those interested in non-fiction horror stories this is one frightening read. My research on Cointelpro paints a picture of a federal agency at times more powerful than the president and accountable to no earthly power, but the Director of the FBI. The most infamous Director was J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover and his FBI were known for the abuse of power and political persecution of anyone determined to be a “radical.” The FBI was even involved in the murders of revolutionaries like Fred Hampton and Mark Clark.
In my research, I realized that their targets included many of the persons who I deemed to be freedom fighters. Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Medgar Evers, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Martin King, Jr., Malcolm X and the list goes on and on. Three good books to read to learn more are Malcolm X: The FBI File , Martin Luther King, Jr.: The FBI File, and Black Americans: The FBI Files.
Cointelpro is said to have ended in 1971, but my research and this latest article from USA Today indicates that Cointelpro isn’t dead, but has been marketed under a different name. A name creatively chosen to evoke feelings of safety & pride while hiding a darker nature. What was Cointelpro of the 50’s and 60’s is now known as the Patriot Act to those in the 21st century.
Be careful my people: The government is listening to phone calls, reading your emails, intercepting your mail, reviewing your financial activity, liberally labeling who is and who isn’t a terrorist and watching our every step.
PRIVACY IS DEAD.
