Who really was the mastermind behind the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King? The evidence shows that James Earl Ray pulled the trigger of the rifle, but with the release of some FBI documents, it seems that Ray was not the only one watching Dr. King’s every move. The FBI believed that Dr. King was a Marxist and believed in everything Marxist stood for, which feared the United States government because of the Cold War that was happening between the Eastern Bloc and Western Bloc. The 1968 documents that were released to the National Archive tried to make Dr. King look like a communist. With Dr. King’s Marxist views, but remember he only engages in non-violent action, the FBI wanted to make Dr. King look like a threat to the country. The documents show all personal and detailed information about the people Dr. King worked with, where he worked, what he did, and how he spent money in the organizations that he was a part of. This is very personal information that the FBI is micromanaging, arguably to the point of being a stalker. The FBI would only be tracking every move of people who were seen as a threat to the well-being of the country. Which is confusing because Dr. King was non-violent, so there are not many threating acts he could do that would harm the country while being non-violent.[1] Sit-ins, protests and boycotts do not harm anyone. The police actually harmed more of the civil right activist than vice versa. The only reason Dr. King’s followers would act violently was in retaliation of what had been done to them. It seems that the FBI was looking into the wrong people, they should have been looking into the local police forces. Also, the FBI is part of the national security of the country, so the equality Dr. King was advocating for was somewhat happening in the north. The FBI should have done its part to ensure that Dr. King and his followers got what they were entitled to for being a United States citizens. The FBI must have thought there was more to Dr. King’s strategy than non-violent that caused them to keep close tabs on King’s every move. Ray was the killer of Dr. King, but if he had not done it would the FBI have found a way to assassinated Dr. King? Or, did the FBI give Ray hints into where Dr. King would be on that night in order kill Dr. King because the FBI knew that Ray was watching his every move?
Phillips, Kristine. “In the latest JFK files: The FBI’s ugly analysis on Martin Luther King Jr.,
filled with falsehoods.” Washington Post, November 4, 2017.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/11/04/in-the-latest-jfk-files- the-fbis-ugly-analysis-on-martin-luther-king-jr-filled-with- falsehoods/?utm_term=.fb2fb4440f97
[1] Kristine Phillips, “In the latest JFK files: The FBI’s ugly analysis on Martin Luther King Jr., filled with falsehoods,” Washington Post, November 4, 2017.
You ask some very interesting questions about whether or not that the FBI was involved with helping the assassination. Sadly, I believe we may never know. The government will never admit to helping end his life because America idolizes King. I am not saying it is bad that we do applaud him for his work. For some whites that did not do anything that lived through that time supporting him now because it makes them feel better. It is plausible that the FBI could have helped James Earl Ray but since they were watching I think they should have been able to stop Ray.
ReplyDeleteI have done extensive research into the assassination of King and the factors involved. It is still unclear whether the shot itself was actually fired by Ray or another shooter, and there is no definite confirmation that Ray actually fired the shot that killed King. However, I've come to understand that it doesn't actually matter that much who fired the final shot. Not only the FBI, but the Memphis Police Department, the CIA, and U.S. Army Intelligence were conducting surveillance on King at the time of his death. Although there are many unconfirmed rumors and conspiracy theories surrounding the events around his death, the facts of the matter are that several government agencies were very closely monitoring his every move when he was assassinated. An undercover FBI agent and MPD officer was actually in his entourage in Memphis, and was personally with him the day he was killed. The massive presence of these agencies around him makes it logically impossible that they did not know about, if not have arranged, the attempt on his life, and were intentionally bystanders who did nothing to interfere. Whether or not the FBI, James Earl Ray, or a MPD officer fired the shot, multiple government agencies were still directly responsible for the death of King.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a really interesting question. Theoretically, if the FBI was watching King so closely I feel like they would be able to stop his assassination. We may never know what really happened, and I would argue that it might be dangerous to speculate about King's death. I think that turning his assassination into a conspiracy theory could overshadow his legacy. If the conspiracy theory were to grow, I feel like King's legacy and work would be tainted with the question of who really killed him. Therefore, I think that it's more important to focus on sharing King and other Civil Rights Movement leaders' achievements and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we shouldn't let the details of his assassination detract from King's legacy. However, I think it's also very important to understand that the empowerment of minorities and specifically black people was such a threat to the U.S. government that it was necessary to for them to ensure the deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and other civil rights figures in order to wound the movements that they all fought for. The ideas that King preached, and that we must carry on, directly threaten the traditional, white power structure that has always dominated the U.S. We must acknowledge this in order to carry forth the dreams that King believed in, and in order to protect the lives and careers of the activists who do so.
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