Cointelpro an acronym for counter intelligence program was a series of covert, and often illegal,2 projects conducted by the united states federal bureau of investigation fbi aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting. According to fbi researcher brian glick, fbi headquarters set policy, assessed progress, charted new directions, demanded. The most famous example is cointelpro, which was created in 1956 with the explicit intent to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of black nationalists. Mar 14, 2014 cointelpro was a counterintelligence program run by the federal bureau of investigation fbi from roughly 1956 to 1976. Edgar hoover, cointelpro included legal harassment, intimidation, wiretapping, infiltration, smear campaigns, and blackmail, and resulted in countless prison sentences and, in the case of black panther fred hampton and others, murder. Study in depth of the black panther party its origins, its gods. Cointelpro fbi suppression of black messiahs stop obama now. Through a secret program called the counter intelligence program cointelpro, there was a concerted effort to subvert the will of the people to avoid the rise of a black messiah that would mobilize the africanamerican community into a meaningful political force this documentary establishes historical perspective on the measures initiated by j. Cointelpro syllabic abbreviation derived from counter intelligence program 19561971 was a series of covert and illegal projects conducted by the united states federal bureau of investigation fbi aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic american political organizations. Spying on americajames kirkpatrick davis 1992 an exploration of all five cointelpro operations describes how.
In the 1960s, it was expanded to include a number of other domestic groups, such as the ku klux klan, the socialist workers party, and the black panther party. I think you ought to check these things out from your end before publishing names of cia in canada which are less than accurate. The first enemies hoover infiltrated was commies in the 50s and black power organizations in the 60s. I write this letter to you only after a long period of p. Cointelpro is the fbi acronym for a series of covert action programs directed against domestic groups. Black organizations rival for what that all the fbi did was set up situations. Jailhouse lawyers manual 1984, and author of war at home. In texas, a black activist says he is the first person to be targeted and prosecuted under a secretive u. The fbi, cointelprowhite hate, and the decline of ku. The fbis secret war on political freedom path finder press, 1987. According to fbi documents, one of the purposes of the cointelpro program was to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of the black nationalists. The fbi cointelpro program and the fred hampton assassination.
Introduction in august 1967, the fbi initiated a covert action program cointelpro to disrupt and neutralize organizations which the bureau characterized as black nationalist hate groups. Governments war against dissent cointelpro an acronym for counter intelligence program was the official name of the programmatic project conducted by the united states federal bureau of investigation fbi under statesponsored terrorist j. The first documentation that supported rushs insightful allegation surfaced in march of 1971 when the citizens commission to investigate the fbi broke into a small fbi office in media pennsylvania and expropriated over fbi documents. Cointelpro, in full counterintelligence program, counterintelligence program conducted by the federal bureau of investigation fbi from 1956 to 1971 to discredit and neutralize organizations considered subversive to u. It combined the efforts of the bureau and local police forces to track, harass, discredit, infiltrate, destroy, and destabilize dissident groups in the united states. In the 1960s, cointelpro s targets frequently included civil rights activists, both those who espoused nonviolence, like martin luther king, and those that hoover referred to as black nationalist hate groups, like the black panthers. Governments war against dissent sac, albany august 25, 1967 personal attention to all offices director, fbi offices receiving copies of this letter are instructed to immediately establish a control file captioned as above, and to assign responsibility for following and coordinating this new counterintelligence program to an experienced and imaginative special agent. The group, with its growing popularity and penchant for carrying guns and standing up against police violence, was a particular bugbear for the bureau. Wesley swearingen, south end press, 1995 the fbi v.
Aug 22, 2016 fbi records show that cointelpro resources targeted groups and individuals that the fbi deemed subversive, including anti vietnam war organizers, activists of the civil rights movement or black power movement e. Apr 18, 2017 irish and cuban nationalists were infiltrated and harassed, along with feminists, black nationalists, and the american indian movement. Cointelpro united states government program britannica. A march 4th, 1968 memo from j edgar hoover to fbi field offices laid out the goals of the cointelpro black. Program, or cointelpro in fbi newspeak, these opera tions combined.
Cointelpro black extremist part 22 of 23 cointelpro black extremist part 23 of 23. This is the federal bureau of investigation fbi main headquarters hq file on its counterintelligence program cointelpro against the socialist workers party swp from 196171. Cooperation between the federal bureau of investigation and local police departments in disrupting the black panther party. Ufouo black identity extremists likely motivated to. Cointelpronelson blackstock 1975 describes the decadeslong covert. In these programs, the bureau went beyond the collection of intelligence to secret action defined to disrupt and neutralize target groups and individuals. The fbis covert action programs against american citizens, final re. In the 1960s, the leader of the largest ku klux klan organization in the united.
In the wake of the raid, the minister of defense for the illinois chapter of the black panther party, bobby rush, stood on the steps of the bullet riddled bpp apartment and declared that j. Cointelpro the fbi began cointelpro short for counterintelligence programin 1956 to disrupt the activities of the communist party of the united states. The fbi has a history of targeting black activists. The surreptitious reincarnation of cointelpro with the cops. Get fbi updates vault home cointelpro black extremist. Fbi history, the formal counter intelligence programs cointelpro s of the period 19561971 were the first to be both broadly targeted and centrally directed. Fbi program to destroy the black panther party created date. For example, the fbi falsified letters in an effort to blackmail martin luther king, jr. The fbi is a huge agency, with offices in hundreds of places, and a diverse force of agents, including many blacks. This was the black panther party bpp, originally established as the black panther party for selfdefense in the san francisco bay. The fbi s war on black america 7574288480731470534.
Counterintelligence and the secret police at the national lawyers. Although limited in scope about twotenths of one percent of the fbi s workload over a 15year period, cointelpro was later rightfully criticized by congress and the american people for abridging first amendment rights. Local newspapers reported on these speeches and fbi director, j. Cointelpro targeted read morecointelpro counterintelligence program 19561976. Organizational secrecy and the fbis cointelproblack. The fbi s secret war on political freedom, exclusive documents from illegal counterintelligence programs the government was forced to reveal, edited by cathy perkus, introduction by noam chomsky, new york, monad press, 1975 fbi secrets. Cointelpro, fbi counterintelligence, covert operations, black. Pdf organizational secrecy and the fbis cointelpro.
The fbi has failed to explain why any of the identified foia. Its stated aim was the spying on, infiltrating, discrediting, disrupting and destruction of domestic. The right thought this was fabulous and even played hoovers greatest hits tapes at their parties. Another 3,000 people made the pilgrimage to pay their respects at the faith temple church of god to their shining black prince. Cointelpro the secret fbi program explained youtube. Introduction and summary cointelpro is the fbi acronym for a series of covert action programs directed against domestic groups. Includes both archival footage and contemporary interviews with people involved in the movement. States presumed that the federal bureau of investigation was a meritorious ally. Cointelpro, fbi counterintelligence, covert operations, black bag jobs, church committee. After cointelpro splintered the state realm in 1967, fbi informants.
The fbis covert action program to destroy the black. Vault home cointelpro black extremist cointelpro black extremist part 01 of 23. The fbi s war on black america is a documentary exploration of the lives and deaths of people targeted by the u. The fbis war on black america top documentary films. Cointelpro offers a treasure trove of opportunities to illustrate key concepts, including the rule of law, civil liberties, social protest, and due process, yet it is completely absent from. This document outlines the programs goals in attempting to limit the effectiveness of such groups.
Edgar hoovers plan to improve democracy and security by infiltrating their enemies. Apr 26, 2018 the single most important thing to remember about fbi cointelpro and the cias william colby is that we were promised by the senate select committee that the atrocities are over. Cointelpro, counterintelligence program conducted by the federal bureau of investigation fbi from 1956 to 1971 to discredit and neutralize organizations considered subversive to u. Edgar hoover used the counter intelligence program cointelpro to surveil and discredit civil rights activists and members of the black panther party. Since then, we have had cointelpro 1976, cointelpro 1977 cointelpro 1985, cointelpro 2000, cointelpro 2014 cointelpro 20182019, etc. The cointelpro against the black panthers, part of the fbi s wider racial intelligence program, spanned many years and methods. Nevertheless, the fbi pushed goals four and five of cointelpro. A 1971 breakin at fbi offices revealed a conspiracyknown as cointelpro for the fbi to infiltrate, disrupt, and destroy a wide range of activist groups, especially civil rights organizations. Edgar hoover and the fbi were responsible for the raid, but at that time there was no hard proof and it was dismissed by the media as mere rhetoric. The fbis war on black america zinn education project. Jun 26, 2020 the fbi s cointelpro program targeting civil rights leaders like dr.
The document reveals a central purpose of cointelpro. Cointelpro 20182019 the fbi, nsa and msmm mainstream. It was covert and often used extralegal means to criminalize various forms of political. The fbis covert action program to destroy the black panther. Leaked documents suggest the fbi and british intelligence are. Jan 20, 2017 cointelpro fbi suppression of black messiahs marcus garvey patch black militants and a good part of the black community have been dreaming for a couple of hundred years of a black messiah who would exact retribution on america for past injustice. Edgar hoover, the fbi sought to fabricate a negative public image of african american. Organizational secrecy and the fbi s cointelpro black nationalist hate groups program, 19671971. The fbi has previously reported on bie retaliatory violence against law enforcement in two products, both of which had findings consist ent with this assessment. Leaked documents suggest the fbi and british intelligence. The vault cointelpro black extremist part 01 of 23. Through a secret program called the counter intelligence program cointelpro, there was a concerted effort to subvert the will of the people to avoid the rise of a black messiah that would mobilize the africanamerican community into a meaningful political force. Cointelpro was the fbis secret program to undermine the popular upsurge which. The surreptitious reincarnation of cointelpro with the.
Feb 11, 2021 and howard openly criticized the fbi for doing nothing to protect black citizens in mississippi. The file begins in 1967 and ends in 1971, and consists of 26 sections of documents organized in roughly chronological order. It was covert and often used extralegal means to criminalize various forms of political struggle and derail several social movements, such as those for. The fbi also sometimes referred to the program as a disruption rather than counterintelligence program. Victory, a loss, or a draw assessing the efficacy of the. At least 38 panthers were murdered by agents of this racist capiworkers vanguard. Ules this assessment is the first fbi analytic intelligence product to assess influences between the sovereign citizen extremist movement and the black identity extremist movement. The fbi s february 15, 2019, disclosure fails to satisfy the request for records about inquiries and reactions by the public and congress to the fbi s creation of a socalled black identity extremist threat category. Federal bureau of investigation cointelpro longrange. Cointelpro 20182019 the fbi, nsa and msmm mainstream mass.
Rather than enjoying a fine pdf taking into account a cup of coffee in the afternoon, then again they juggled. These documents exposed the fbi s supersecret and profoundly illegal cointelpro program and its focus in the 1960s on the black liberation movement and its. Decades ago, the fbi targeted black activists who were fighting for equality now, this sad chapter of history is repeating itself. Between 1956 and 1971, if somebody had an opinion or a job in politics, the fbi felt completely justified in crawling through that persons window and reading their mail. Edgar hoover and the federal bureau of investigation wanted to neutralize, a true black revolution in the united states. Pdf organizational secrecy and the fbis cointelproblack. Through examining fbi documents, students learn the scope of the fbi s cointelpro campaign to spy on, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt all corners of the black freedom movement. This is the federal bureau of investigation fbi main headquarters file on its counterintelligence program cointelpro against black nationalist hate groups, as the fbi called them. Freedom of information act request for fbi records on so.
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