MLK/FBI

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is now a near-universally respected and beloved historical icon, but as Sam Pollard’s careful and silently infuriating 2020 documentary “MLK/FBI” shows, this was not always the case, especially during King’s lifetime. Christopher Bourne said in his review, “Based on historian and King biographer David Garrow’s book The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.: From “Solo” to Memphis, and largely sourced from recently declassified documents and unearthed film footage, MLK/FBI fills in many damning details of the FBI’s extensive surveillance of King, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover.” This surveillance, which was meant to personally disgrace King and neutralize the supposed threat of the civil rights movement, is described by one of the film’s interviewees, former FBI director James Comey, as “the darkest part of the FBI’s history.”

Bourne noted, “Pollard, a veteran documentary filmmaker who also edited several of Spike Lee’s films, masterfully weaves together this archival material with present-day interviews with historians and King colleagues (including Garrow and Andrew Young).” While fascinatingly laying out the vast scope of the FBI’s surveillance, he also shows how both government officials (including supposed friends like JFK, RFK, and LBJ) and general public opinion were mostly in agreement about the threat King was to American society. Bourne noted, “Much of the archival footage consists of clips from Hollywood films glorifying the FBI and depicting federal agents (or “G-men,” as they were colloquially termed at the time) as dashing heroes preserving the American way of life. Anti-Communist sentiment played a large role, and this was the initial tack the FBI’s actions against King took, focusing on Stanley Levison, a white Jewish lawyer and close advisor with ties to Communist groups.” King’s refusal to end his relations with Levison, even after being personally warned by JFK, was what led to the FBI’s wiretapping of King and his associates. Bourne noted, “While the FBI was pursuing their campaign to smear the civil rights movement as a Communist infiltration plot, fueled by Hoover’s fears of King becoming a “Black Messiah,” they happened upon evidence of King’s philandering and extramarital affairs. The FBI thereupon pivoted to using this as a means to personally ruin King’s reputation and discredit him in the eyes of his followers.”

“MLK/FBI” is a necessary and timely reminder that far from the often relaxing and clean “I Have a Dream” historical figure that he’s often shown as, King was a very divisive and controversial person in his lifetime – “the most dangerous Negro in the future of this nation,” as stated in an FBI memo – and who even lost many supporters when he spoke out against the Vietnam War. The film also has audiences asking unsettled questions regarding King’s assassination, mainly how anyone was able to kill him when he was under such heavy surveillance, and whether the FBI’s obsession with taking King down personally led them to overlook or intentionally ignore the many threats on King’s life. Bourne ended his review by saying, “But perhaps even more unsettlingly — particularly given the current president and attorney general’s attempts to smear current protests against police brutality, and especially Black Lives Matter’s prominent role, as dangerous sedition — MLK/FBI leads us to question whether the governmental overreach it depicts is as safely in the past as some would have us believe.”

I saw this documentary on Hulu and I was surprised at how much I didn’t know about MLK. What they teach us in school is not everything about his life. They leave out a lot of the details, which are shown here. I would recommend everyone to see this film if they have a Hulu or an AMC+. You will be amazed at how many details are in this and how much surveillance the man was under throughout his career. Check this out and see for yourself.

Alright, we have once again reached the end of “Black History Movie Month.” I hope everyone enjoyed this month and will see the movies I recommended. Stay tuned next month to see what other films I will be reviewing. Take care.