Since his assassination in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has been included in American history as a civil rights hero and a better prophet of tomorrow. But the new documentary has another complex picture of preachers and activistsMLK / FBI, Which premiered in both Toronto and New York last fall, hit theaters on January 15. Directed by Sam Pollard, the film confirms the FBI’s multifaceted surveillance of King at the behest of the agency’s founder and director, Jay Edgar Hoover. Using bugs and wire tapes, along with agents and informants on the ground, the FBI recorded – and eventually armed – an aspect of the king’s life that he carefully warned his followers. Hides from: His adultery with many different women.
Although audio tapes of these intimate contests will not be released to the public until 2027, details of their contents have appeared in previously published official documents. In particular, a firefighting report alleges that King raped another pastor, and did not intervene. Between his image and that of the person listening to the FBI tape, some conservative observers began speculating as to whether the so-called “cancellation culture” they often criticize was unimaginable and King’s cancellation. Will be forced.
Pollard told Yahoo Entertainment about the possibility of the cancellation. “We live in an age of social media where people are constantly trying to defame people and who they were and what they were all about,” he said. The term ‘canceled culture’ is hot and heavy. We’ve seen this happen with the idea of removing the names and statues of Confederate generals, and there may be some backlash against some black leaders. It will be expected in this country. But I think King will probably get away with it.
At the same time, Pollard acknowledged that the release of the tapes would re-examine King’s legacy, as he had “never had respect for the king and the movement,” as well as adults who had come of age. The house where he was revered. The director remarked, “Growing up in the African American community, I have always said that there were three paintings on our wall: Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Jesus Crust,” the director remarked. “I look at it this way: When I was 14, I was told that Abraham Lincoln was a great American president because he was a great savior. I’ve learned that since then was not So he hoped to free the slaves. He needed corpses for the civil war. Did he degrade Abraham Lincoln in my eyes? Not really, and I don’t think it will be with the king.
In fact, Pollard indicated that he had been informed of the king’s non-marital affairs long before he began work. MLK / FBI, And since then his information has been processed to gain a broader understanding of his life story. “I have known for years that he had illicit affairs. Now, what I can hear on these tapes will make me go ‘oh,’ but that won’t change my opinion of Dr. King. Remember, this is the 1960s, and there was a different idea about the relationship between men and women. I’m not trying to forgive him, but it was different. You can try to stop Dr. King’s foot on the fire and say, ‘He shouldn’t have done that’ and yes, you’re fine, but the relationship with the man and the woman was very different then. That’s all you can hear on these tapes [protest] The strategy was being implemented in cities like King Birmingham or Selma when he was in the room with people like Ralph Auber Granny and Andrew Young. You will also hear such discussions. “
As MLK / FBI Suggests that the existence of the tape is more controversial than the controversy surrounding them. Acting on his own authority, and later confirming the authenticity of President London B. Johnson’s administration, Hoover constantly monitored King’s activities and used the material in various blackmail attempts to force him to remain silent. What Copies of the tapes and transcripts were even sent to Corita Scott King, King’s wife, to end their marriage. Although these plans ultimately failed, it did not dampen Hoover’s deep-seated desire to tarnish King’s public image.
About Hoover’s motives for targeting Pollard King, he says, “Hoover grew up in the United States as a white man with certain values that were ingrained in him, and for black people to think.” Were not. ” “All of a sudden, a black man and a black community say, ‘We want to be part of the fabric of America, and not just sit on the front lines.’ It scared the crap out of people, and it’s clear that Hoover and the FBI were so scared that they tapped him on the wire and used the information to try to discredit and destroy him. Hoover died in 1972 – four years after King’s assassination – he never apologized for pursuing his personal revenge against King, and later agency leaders apologized to the family. Refused
Former FBI Director James Comey Pollard is among those interviewed MLK / FBI And his description of Hoover’s surveillance of King as the agency’s “darkest age” is the closest he’s ever expected to hear from an official apology. In fact, they say, “they should, but they won’t.” “And the lengths that the FBI has set to discredit Dr. Tahir King – don’t believe they don’t do that with some organizations today. Don’t believe they have the Black Lives Movement,” he said. There are no informants inside. Don’t believe that what they consider radical organizations is not bugging and monitoring. They are the American police and they are still doing it.
MLK / FBI The premiere on the circuit of the festival after the summer blacklife protests shed new light on the treatment of black workers by state and federal law enforcement. Now, the documentary is being released in general on the January 6 uprising in Washington, D.C., where many people noted the inequality, with many of the same agencies reporting on President Trump’s mass killings. But engaged with white supporters. Pollard and his associates released a statement on Twitter following the Capitol uproar, which forcibly linked the king’s past to ours. “We condemn this attack, because we condemn the values of white supremacy and dictatorial law that clearly motivate it,” the statement said. “It is very important that those who took part in yesterday’s riots be identified to the fullest extent of the law and not be given any special key permission because of their skin color.”
Now, considering the events of January 6, Pollard described the uprising as an example of American history repeating itself. “It’s a flashback to a lot of things that the United States has gone through, not just in the 1960s,” he said. We need to deal with the idea that America was built on some pretty horrible things, including the abolition of slavery and indigenous peoples. If you go back to the Tulsa Race Massacre, no one will stop them from destroying the black classes. Either law enforcement was with them or they were involved. We really want to get hold of it, and understand it. You can’t say as an American, “If I don’t like something, I’ll tear the country apart.”
Pollard also noted the apparent contradiction between the images of Trump supporters rioting at the Capitol’s footsteps in 2021, compared to the King’s footsteps at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. MLK / FBI. “The Kennedy administration was alarmed at the thought of all these people coming to Washington, but it was not violent and optimistic. You then left on January 6, and by promoting the voices of people like Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Donald Trump Jr., this group of people went on a mission to destroy the credentials of the next president of the United States. went. States need it anyway. It’s scary to think of contradictions here in America.
Despite the post-election violence, Pollard sees reasons to be optimistic about the start of the year, as soon as President-elect Joe Biden enters the Oval Office on January 20. “I’m sure he’s going to be the person who shows us how to get out of this epidemic, and help the economy heal. It will be difficult, and there will be people out there who feel they should never be our president, but they will bring a sense of harmony and unity to our country, because those who are not outside Biden. He is out to be the president of the people of the United States. We’ve been pushing for the last four years: we’ve had someone in office who’s never been about people.
Pollard’s attention was also drawn to the fact that on the same day that the rebels attacked the capital, the king’s home state of Georgia chose the Reverend Raphael Warnock – he was born a year after the king’s death and The congregation preached in the Ebenezer Baptist Church, since 2005 – as its first black senator. “Wednesday morning when I heard Warnock had won, and I said, wow,” he said. “Georgia has turned blue,” Pollard recalled. “I thought of the king’s sentence: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it turns to justice.’ It’s great that he won this seat, and hopefully he will continue the legacy of Dr. King and others. The Senate Chamber needs people of color.
MLK / FBI Premiere Friday, January 15 at Selected Theaters (get tickets) فینڈنگو) And on demand.
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