The FBI Tried To Convince Martin Luther King Jr. To Kill Himself
Uncover the government-sponsored targeting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the FBI’s attempt to push him towards suicide with this investigation into the COINTELPRO program.
What Was Contelpro?
The FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) was a secret, government-sponsored program created in the 1950s to target individuals and groups viewed as a threat to national security, particularly activists associated with the civil rights movement.
This investigation focuses on the targeting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an iconic figure of the African-American civil rights movement, and the attempts by the FBI to push him towards committing suicide.
Contelpro was the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program, established in 1956. This program sought to target and disrupt people and organizations viewed as a threat to national security. It is most infamously known for targeting the African-American civil rights movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being one of its primary targets.
The FBI sent anonymous and highly personal letters encouraging suicide during this period in an effort to unsettle the leader of the civil rights movement.
Revelations From the Campaign to Discredit MLK
The events of the FBI’s attempt to make Dr. King take his own life are even more shocking when it was revealed that the campaign to discredit him had been government-sponsored. This meant that those in power were all too aware of the potential implications for their actions and still authorized a highly personal, psychologically damaging attack on someone that wanted only equality for all people.
The details of the FBI’s efforts, titled “COINTELPRO” or “Counterintelligence Program”, were revealed through the Freedom of Information Act. This included secretly wiretapping his homes and offices, attempting to associate him with communists, and even sending anonymous letters written by agents designed to weaken King’s influence and place suspicion among his staff.
These tactics ultimately failed to make King comply with their demands, but exposed the lengths that people in power will go to censor those they disagree with.
Fighting Against Civil Rights Infringements
Despite the FBI’s attempts to push Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. towards suicide, he never gave up the fight for civil rights for all citizens of the United States. In fact, the knowledge that his government was actively trying to tear him down and make his own struggle even more difficult only served to further motivate him and strengthen his resolve against infringement of civil rights.
He used his platform to speak out against discrimination and influence those in power to make crucial changes that improved the lives of African-Americans all across the country.
As a result of the FBI’s long history of infringing on civil rights, the agency began to implement significant reforms and improved practices in response to the pressure from pro-civil rights activists. The FBI now has strict protocols for investigations that involve infringements on civil rights, providing necessary accountability and oversight for their agents.
They also have a specifically designated body of agents that investigate and handle suspected violations of civil rights so they are quickly identified and addressed as soon as possible. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. showed us, we must never give up the fight against infringement on civil rights – it is through this kind of activism that effective change can be made in our society.
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