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The FBI, The Cointelpro Papers

1099 Words5 Pages

Conflict, Racism and Politics: The FBI, the COINTELPRO Papers during the 1960’s American Civil Rights Movement. In my dissertation I intend to explore the issues surrounding the FBI and civil rights during the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, I will use the COINTELPRO Papers to provide the main foundation for my research. This will involve investigating how the FBI treated both Black and White Extremist groups such as the Black Panthers, The Nation of Islam and the KKK; and the more popular but less extreme groups such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. I will analyse the actions taken against each group, and compare the language used when keeping records on each of the groups. Analysing the COINTELPRO Papers …show more content…

In my introduction I would introduce the elements of my title, and explain how it will fit into my argument. I would then explore the relevant context, which would include what extremism meant in the U.S in the 1960s and early 1970s and background relevant to the FBI, the COINTELPRO Papers and the civil rights movement. I will also discuss the main authors on the subject, such as Kenneth O'Reilly and Ward Churchill. O’Reilly’s book gave me a large overview of the FBI and civil rights, but did not explore both sides to the argument (namely black and white extremist groups); while Churchill introduced the COINTELPRO Papers to me and helped detail the importance of the papers, and enabled me the want to explore further the ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ agenda of the FBI. The first main section of my argument will explore the FBI treatment of White and Black extremist groups, with the use of the COINTELPRO Papers to support my detailing. My second section will draw comparisons and explore the official agenda of the FBI as compared to what their actions present; I will also look at the outcomes of the investigation and the aspects that can be attributed to spying. The question of opposition will lead me onto analysing the civil rights department of the FBI, looking at the conflict presented through cases such as Mississippi Burning, the relevant FBI files which are not included in the COINTELPRO section, will also help me here …show more content…

The papers are vast in their numbers and the detail is high, however because the papers are released under the Freedom of the Information Act (1967) the information supplied by the papers can be redacted and one does not know for sure that all the information is released. I will treat these limitations in a paragraph, addressing the problem associated with the COINTELPRO Papers. Historians who have studied in this field use the COINTELPRO Papers in order to support their argument, the use reveals that the papers are broadly reliable and can form the basis of my argument. The COINTELPRO Papers will form the basis of my argument, but in specific cases I will look at separate FBI cases that are not under the umbrella of the COINTELPRO Papers, but still pertain to the FBI and civil rights. A particular example I will include will be the Mississippi Burning Case (MIBURN). Court cases involving the FBI during the civil rights in the 1960s will also be used to support my argument, The Medgar Evers Case and their involvement (or lack thereof) in the Emmett Till Case will both be used to support my argument within my

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