The Coretta Files

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First of all, it should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention that the FBI surveilled Coretta Scott King. She was, after all, the wife of the man that the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover most detested -- not only because of King's efforts on behalf of civil rights, but especially when he began speaking out publicly about his opposition to the Vietnam War.

It was heads-up work by Houston's KHOU-TV and its investigative unit to be the first to file a request for the documents under the FOIA. Seeing the actual documents, which are available on line at KHOU-TV's website is also a reminder that even in a democratic society, anything is possible.

But remember this -- the FBI's surveillance information was coming from someone inside King's inner-circle, someone presumably with access to her schedule and intimate knowledge of her political perspectives. Someone she trusted. The documents show that at least one informant (it's not clear how many there may have been) was a male. I asked KHOU-TV investigative reporter Mark Greenblatt if anywhere in the 500 pages of documents he obtained, was there a mention of who that source might be.

Of course, there wasn't.

But the whole disclosure, to my mind, renews the question of who is trustworthy within organizations that seek to make societal change, especially if that change is unpopular. The FBI gave us a statement that said they're out of the business of spying on U.S. citizens, but I think in the aftermath of Sept. 11, all bets are off.

I'm no conspiracy nut, but I can tell you from firsthand experience that more than 20 years ago with the Black Journalists Association of Southern California, we later learned that we too had been infiltrated by informants working for the government. Nothing ever came of it really. We were journalists looking for balanced coverage and job opportunities, not terrorists.

In the case of Coretta Scott King, the FBI concluded that she ultimately posed no threat to national security. That was the only reasonable conclusion to reach according to her nephew Isaac Newton Farris, who also appeared on our show today. It was still disheartening, he said, to think that you're being surveilled by the government. Your government.

That was then. This is now.

However, one can only imagine what might have happened to Mrs. King and her family had the FBI's surveillance of her "reasoned" that she was indeed, a threat.

Tony Cox

12:22 PM ET | 08-31-2007 | permalink

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