Black History Month 2025
'cointelpro' - 4 results
Washington, D. C. - J. Edgar Hoover was alarmed by the success of the March on Washington. Martin Luther King, Jr. was seen as a communist threat by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Hoover had been Director of the FBI since 1924 (39 years). He saw King as a threat to national security. The Soviets (Russians) used the plight of Black Americans for diplomacy. They used lynching and segregation to expose American freedom and democracy.
In a comment, Hoover made these comments. 'I for one can't ignore the memos re King, [words redacted] et al as having only an infinitesimal effect on the efforts to exploit the American Negro by the Communists.'
W. C. Sullivan, of the FBI released a memo, after King's speech of two days before.
'Personally, I believe in the light of King's powerful demagogic speech yesterday he stands head and shoulders over all other Negro leaders put together when it comes to influencing great masses of Negroes. We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.'
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Harlem, New York - On Sunday, Malcolm X (or el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) was assassinated. It took place in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom (66th Street & Broadway). He was there to speak to the Organization for Afro-American Unity.
Malcolm X stood on the stage, faced the audience, and greeted those in attendance. After the greeting, someone in the 400-person audience yelled, 'Get your hand outta my pocket!'
Malcolm X, with his bodyguards, attempted to restore peace to the event. As Malcolm X stood on stage, a man, with a sawed-off shotgun, rushed the stage. The gunman shot Malcolm X one time in the chest. This killed Malcolm X.
With Malcolm X on his back, two other men charged the stage. Each fired a semi-automatic handgun at the body of Malcolm X. At 3:30 p.m., Columbia Presbyterian Hospital pronounced the death of Malcolm X.
Malcolm X was shot 21 times to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs. This included ten buckshot wounds from the initial shotgun blast. The man who shot first was never identified, nor prosecuted.
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- 1969
- December
- death
- Black Panthers
- massacre
- killed by police
- killed
- COINTELPRO
- Chicago
- Illinois
- Lyndon B. Johnson
Chicago, Illinois - Fred Hampton was killed, in bed, in his apartment. Chicago police workers killed him. Hampton was unarmed and asleep, and in bed.
On Wednesday, December 3rd, Fred Hampton taught a political education course. It was at a local church. Members of the Black Panther Party attended. This was the night before his death.
After the class, several Black Panthers went to his Monroe Street apartment to spend the night. This was routine after a course.
Besides Hampton, the group included Deborah Johnson, Blair Anderson, James Grady, Ronald 'Doc' Satchell, Harold Bell, Verlina Brewer, Louis Truelock, Brenda Harris, and Mark Clark.
William O'Neal waited for them, when they arrived. O'Neal was chief of security. There, the group ate a late meal, prepared by O'Neal. The time was around midnight.
O'Neal slipped drugs into Hampton's drink. It was the barbiturate sleep agent secobarbitol. Hampton consumed the drink during the dinner.
The drug sedated Hampton. It kept him asleep, during the police raid. O'Neal left at this point.
At about 1:30 a.m., December 4th, Hampton was on the phone with his mother. He fell asleep, mid-sentence.
At 4:00 a.m., a heavily armed tactical unit, of white males, went to Hampton's apartment. They were sent by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. They were joined by the Chicago Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
At 4:45 a.m., the tactical unit and Chicago Police shot first. They shot 90 times into Hampton's apartment. Only Mark Clark fired a shot, after being shot first.
Hampton survived the barrage. He was still breathing. The Chicago Police executed him. A point-blank shot was fired, that killed Hampton.
This was part of the FBI's Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO).
William O'Neal committed suicide on January 15th, 1990 (Martin Luther King Day). O'Neal ran into oncoming traffic on a Chicago expressway. An automobile hit and killed O'Neal.
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Media, Pennsylvania - Documents were stolen that exposed COINTELPRO. They were taken, at night, in a break-in, from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) field office.
COINTELPRO stood for COunter-INTELligence PROgram. It was a years-long government effort to disrupt, confuse, and spy on Black Americans and groups. It began at the start of the Black (later Civil) Rights movement, in 1956.
The break-in happened during the 'Fight of the Century' the same day. It was hoped the spectacle of the fight was enough to divert attention from the break-in. The plan was carried out by the Citizen’s Commission. They were never caught. Their names were not known until 2014.
Targets of COINTELPRO were Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, The Nation of Islam, The Black Panther Party, and Fred Hampton, to name just a few victims.
The FBI claimed COINTELPRO ended, in 1971.
Source:
COINTELPRO Exposed
FBI COINTELPRO statement
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