14 TH

E B

LA

CK

PA

NT

HE

R, S

AT

UR

DA

Y, F

EB

RU

AR

Y 12, 1977

Th

e P

ers

ecu

tion

An

d A

ssassin

atio

n O

f Martin

Lu

ther K

ing

Jr.

OP

ER

AT

ION

Z

RR

01.1

By

Do

n F

ree

d A

nd

Th

e P

eo

ple

's In

form

atio

n P

roje

ct

"Opera

tion

Zorro

— T

he P

ersecutio

n a

nd

Assa

ssinatio

n o

f Martin

Luth

er Kin

g" is a

so

on-to

-be relea

sed, in

-dep

th rep

ort o

n th

e slaying of the late civil rights leader w

ritten by noted author. researcher D

onald Freed and the

People's Inform

ation Project. F

ollowing, T

HE

B

LA

CK

PA

NT

HE

R p

resents P

art 1

of th

e ch

apter "W

ho S

lew th

e Drea

mer?

A S

pecu

la-

tion

." P

UT

1 "T

his la

nd

which

man

ha

s desw

am

ped

and

den

uded

and d

erivered in

two g

enera

tions.. .

wh

ere White m

en ren

t farm

s and

live like nig

gers a

nd n

iggers cro

p o

n sh

ares a

nd live

like anim

als. . . n

o w

onder th

e ruin

ed w

oods

don't cry for retribution.': The people w

ho have destroyed it w

ill accomplish its revenge. "

William

Faulkner

At th

e Plaza H

otel, Jack

Yo

un

gb

loo

d, th

e C

IA m

ercenary

, said th

at there w

ere two

dimensions in the K

ing conspiracy, "rednecks on th

e gro

und

" and, h

igh b

ehin

d th

e local

types, the executive planners calling the shots. T

he o

nly

real questio

n b

efore th

e natio

n n

ow

is w

heth

er Martin

Lu

ther K

ing

was ex

ecuted

by a m

ajor or a minor conspiracy.

Youngblo

od h

ad sa

id, "S

tart w

ith th

e

rednecks on the ground." P

oor W

hite S

outh

erners

have red

neck

s becau

se the su

n b

eats dow

n an

d b

urn

s them

. A

nd they wear w

ool hats because the cold wind

wo

uld

oth

erwise freeze th

em. T

he R

ays —

The m

ule-a

raw

n ca

sket lean

s the fu

nera

l procession of D

r. Martin L

uther King after

his a

ssassin

atio

n in

Mem

phis o

n A

pril 4

, 1968.

The R

ay brothers and millions like them

have been

misled

and set ag

ainst th

emselv

es. The

turned in on itself by economic. interests that

before the Civil W

ar, for instance, caused to be prin

ted an

d circu

lated m

illions o

f pseu

do

scientific books about Afro-A

merican inferior-

ity. T

hese n

oto

rious p

ropag

anda w

ork

s are current today in S

outh Africa.

Only

month

s after the d

eath o

f Dr. K

ing,

importan

t elemen

ts of th

e natio

nal m

edia

beg

an to

discu

ss, seriou

sly, "n

ew research

" p

urp

ortin

g to

pro

ve, o

nce ag

ain, th

at Black

people w

ere genetically inferior, intellectually. (In

1976, th

e same m

edia w

as constrain

ed to

rep

ort th

at the B

ritish stu

dies o

n' w

hich

this

racial argument w

as based had been .exposed as a fraud.)

Racism

is fueled

and p

erpetu

ated b

y an

econom

ic class that never needs to worry about

where o

n a b

us th

ey w

ill sit to rid

e to so

me

dreary, back-breaking temporary job.

Over th

e decad

es, natio

nal lead

ers like

Martin

Lu

ther K

ing

hav

e arisen to

con

fron

t th

is terrible h

um

an scan

dal. T

heir fate h

as alw

ays b

een th

e sa

me —

jaiI, c

hara

cte

r assassination, exile, death:

•The forerunner to the F

BI, the old B

ureau of In

vestig

ation, p

layed

the m

ajor ro

le in th

e destruction of the peerless B

lack heavyweight

champion, Jack Johnson, in the early years of

this cen

tury

. Th

e Bu

reau an

d its allies w

ere convinced that Johnson's physical and com

ba-tive prow

ess would "set a bad exam

ple to the N

egroes of the South, if they w

ere to perceive that a B

lack man w

as more than the equal of a

White m

an," to

use th

e new

spap

er languag

e _ _

types, th

e execu

tive 1.31E

MIlel

411C

011,M

+3

The o

nly

real questio

n b

efore th

e natio

n n

ow

is w

heth

er Martin

Luth

er Kin

g w

as execu

ted

by

a majo

r or a m

ino

r con

spiracy

. Y

oungblo

od h

ad sa

id, "

Sta

rt with

the

redneck

s on th

e gro

und."

Poo

r Wh

ite S

ou

thern

ers h

av

e re

d n

eck

s becau

se the su

n b

eats dow

n an

d b

urn

s them

. A

nd th

ey w

ear wool h

ats becau

se the co

ld w

ind

wo

uld

oth

erw

ise fre

eze th

em

. Th

e R

ay

s -Jam

es Earl, Jerry

, all of th

em —

are and w

ere poor S

outh

ern b

ord

er state Whites. B

ut th

ey

were m

ore th

an ju

st poor. T

hey

were casu

alties of A

meric

a's se

cre

t cla

ss war; a

part o

f the

body c

ount, v

ictim

s of th

e p

sycholo

gic

al

warfare an

d P

ropag

anda o

f pow

er interests.

Dr. M

AR

TIN

LU

TH

ER

KIN

G

The m

ule-d

raw

n ca

sket leads th

e funera

l pro

cession o

f Dr. M

artin

Luth

er Kin

g a

fter his a

ssassin

atio

n in

Mem

phis o

n A

pril 4

, 1968.

Th

e Ray

bro

thers an

d m

illion

s like th

em h

ave

been

misled

and set ag

ainst th

emselv

es. The

self-in

tere

st, the b

est in

tere

sts of th

e R

ays

dictated

that th

rw sh

ould

hav

e march

ed o

n

Wash

ing

ton

, Do

m., w

ith M

artin L

uth

er Kin

g

and h

is poor B

lack, In

dian

, Chican

o an

d so

me

White leg

ions in

the P

oor P

eople's M

arch!

Instead

, the h

istory

of th

e Am

erican p

ooris o

ne

long co

nvulsio

n o

f poor W

hite v

iolen

ce again

st B

lack people. This violence is not spontaneous;

the p

oo

r Wh

ite sh

ock

troo

ps a

re d

irecte

d,

contro

lled, an

d m

anag

ed, as in

any o

ther w

ay,

by men of w

ealth and power.

The ly

nchin

g m

ania

that to

re a

part th

e

Am

erica of Reconstruction flow

ed directly from

the en

trance o

f millio

ns o

f form

er slaves in

to

the sh

rinkin

g lab

or m

arket o

f first the ru

ral S

outh

and th

en th

e North

ern u

rban

centers.

Docu

men

tation rev

eals that th

e Ku K

lux K

lan

and o

ther a

rmed v

igila

nte

gro

ups w

ere

fin

an

ced

an

d p

rote

cte

d b

y la

rge fin

an

cia

l in

terests, North

and S

outh

. W

hen

Andrew

Carn

egie's m

iners w

ent o

ut

on strik

e, the fam

ous p

hilan

thro

pist, w

ho en

-dow

ed B

lack co

lleges, ru

shed

in B

lack "scab

" w

ork

ers to m

an th

e min

es, pittin

g th

em ag

ainst

Wh

ites. As th

e un

ion

mo

vem

ent so

lidified

, in

dustria

lists litera

lly d

rove h

undre

ds o

f th

ousa

nds o

f rura

l Bla

cks in

to b

ord

er a

nd

No

rthern

city en

claves, g

hetto

s, to p

rov

ide

pools/o

f cheap

labor. H

enry

Ford

the F

irst flo

od

ed th

e So

uth

with

ads o

ffering

assemb

ly

line jobs at $5 a day to poor Blacks. T

o this day in

Detro

it separate su

burb

s of B

lack an

d W

hite

work

ers are segreg

ated an

d sid

e by sid

e in a

state of co

nstan

t, often

vio

lent ten

sion.

Th

ere

was a

Po

pu

list mo

vem

en

t in th

is

country

. It was sp

lit alo

ng ra

ce lin

es a

nd

of In

vestig

ation

, play

ed th

e majo

r role in

the

destru

ction o

f the p

eerless Black

heav

yw

eight

cham

pio

n, Jack

Johnso

n, in

the early

years o

f th

is centu

ry. T

he B

ureau

and its allies w

ere

convin

ced th

at Johnso

n's p

hysical an

d co

mba-

tive p

row

ess would

"set a bad

exam

ple to

the

Neg

roes o

f the S

outh

, if they

were to

perceiv

e th

at a Black

man

was m

ore th

an th

e equal o

f a W

hite m

an," to

use th

e new

spap

er languag

e of th

at day:

•The to

werin

g a

rtist and a

thle

te P

aul

Ro

beso

n w

as placed

un

der v

irtual h

ou

se arrest by th

e FB

I after World

War II, an

d h

is mig

hty

MA

LC

OL

M X

lies o

n th

e flo

or o

f Harle

m

Feb

ruary 2

1. 1

9(1

5. K

neelin

g o

ver I

TH

E B

LA

CK

PA

NT

HE

R, SA

TU

RD

AY

, FE

BR

UA

RY

12, 1977 15

voice w

as stilled. H

is crime? E

mbracin

g

socialism as opposed to A

merican racism

and the capitalism

that he saw lying behind it.

*The suprem

e Black scholar of this century,

Dr. W

.E. B

. Du B

ois, was driven into A

frican ex

ile in h

is declin

ing

years. A

s with

Dr. K

ing

an

d D

r. Robeso

n, th

e charg

e was alw

ays

com

mu

nism

. Co

mm

un

ism an

d in

tegratio

n,

comm

unism and civil rights, com

munism

and voter reg

istration, co

mm

unism

and u

nio

n

org

anizin

g. B

lack an

d W

hite u

nity

equaled

co

mm

unism

to A

merican

corp

orate in

terests and their federal police, the F

ederal Bureau of

Investig

ation. T

o H

oover an

d h

is min

ions,

Martin L

uther King w

as another in a long line. of insurrectionary B

lack reds. *U

ntil h

is death

, Malco

lm X

- Is do

mestic

political enemy num

ber one to ti91. intelligence esta

blish

ment b

ecause

he c

ould

, in th

e

Directo

r's word

s, "Electrify

the B

lack m

ass-es," M

ore importantly, M

alcolm X

had moved

to a multiracial class perspective, poor W

hites and B

lacks to

geth

er, a

s had e

very

oth

er

martyred rights leader since old John B

rown.

The e

vid

ence in

dic

ate

s that a

ll majo

r W

estern E

uro

pean

intellig

ence serv

ices had

b

een w

arned

, by

the C

IA, to

refuse en

try to

M

alcolm because an assassination attem

pt was

imm

inen

t. On

the d

ay o

f his assassin

ation

in

Harlem

, his security was stripped aw

ay. Inside th

e mosq

ue M

alcolm

was g

unn

ed d

ow

n. T

he

body guard who bent over the dying leader to

"assist" his lab

ored

breath

ing w

as Eugen

e R

oberts, a Black undercover agent provocateur

for the New

. York "R

ed Squad."

*The F

BI covered up the m

urder of the three civ

il rights w

ork

ers in M

ississippi —

carried

out b

y p

olic

e o

fficers —

until P

resid

ent

Ken

ned

y an

d h

is bro

ther p

ersonally

took

charge of the investigation. *A

ccording to an FB

I informant, the B

ureau had a

dvance k

now

ledge o

f the h

orrib

le

bom

bin

g m

urd

er of th

e four little g

irls in th

e B

irmin

gh

am ch

urch

durin

g an

org

anizin

g

ririvc in

cniro

rl th

n !prin.:" rrin

vo

rt-In-n

t in +

ho

t

came S

outh to work w

ith Martin L

uther King,

she was m

urdered by a carload of White night

riders. One of the m

en is a confessed FB

I agent provocateur.

*The conspiracy that cut dow

n the Southern

civil rights organizer, Medgar E

vers, involved ex

tremist g

roups so

heav

ily in

filtrated b

y. th

e F

BI th

at the B

ureau

boasted

over th

e years at

PA

UL

RO

BE

SO

N, o

ne o

f the g

reate

st artists in

U.S

. histo

ry, was b

lacklisted

due

to h

is oppositio

n to

racism

and ca

pita

lism.

every

Co

ng

ression

al bu

dg

et hearin

g th

at they

w

ere in control of these so-called "White H

ate G

roups."

•1

n

on

a

Mu

, nrrsve 1. in

destruction of evidence just as in the murder of

Presid

ent K

enned

y? W

hat o

f the attem

pts at

sexual blackmail —

that continue to this hour —

in o

rder to

disru

pt th

e Co

ng

ression

al investigation into K

ing's homicide?

Political assassination is as old as the state.

The m

ethods, to

o, are tim

e-honored: people in high places use very ordinary m

en, indeed, as their instrum

ent of execution; men w

ho, often as not, are them

selves victims of the existing

system.

Who, re

ally

, did

Martin

Luth

er K

ing

threaten

? Surely

not th

e likes o

f James E

arl R

ay, en

joyin

g lo

ve an

d life, p

erhap

s for th

e first tim

e, in Canada and M

exico. Ray, a m

an w

hose

life b

y e

very

Obje

ctiv

e c

riterio

n

completely contradicts the profile of the lone

and fanatical political assassin. What could be

mo

re ho

llow

than

this stale an

d stereo

typ

ed

fanatic k

iller boiler p

late — n

urtu

red b

y th

e F

BI and its allies as a m

otive for Lee H

arvey O

swald after D

allas, and applied mechanically

to Jam

es Earl R

ay an

d S

irhan

B. S

irhan

to

explain

their "m

agnicid

es," to u

se anoth

er w

ord coined by the media.

The q

uestio

n is elem

entary

: There are an

d

hav

e been

fanatics w

ho h

ave k

illed —

and

then

pro

claimed

their resp

onsib

ility an

d v

in-

dication by history. Lee H

arvey Osw

ald, James

Earl R

ay an

d S

irhan

Sirh

an w

ere charg

ed

and painted as, respectively, a lone comm

unist fan

atic; a lone racist fan

atic; a lone A

rabic

fanatic. B

ut n

one o

f these m

en b

ragged

or

trumpeted any m

egalomaniacal rhetoric as to

why th

ey h

ad to

slay fam

ous m

en —

for th

e "m

asse

s," or th

e "W

hite

race," o

r the

"anti-Zionist" -cru

sade. In

stead, each

pro

-claim

ed h

is innocen

ce or m

anip

ulatio

n b

y

others. Thus, at one stroke every official book,

report and study which explains the crim

es as th

e re

sult o

f fan

atic

al a

nd

lon

ely

zeal, is

overtu

rned b

y th

e re

fusa

l of th

e a

lleged

assassins to speak the lines assigned to them in

the FB

I's scenario.

du

bo

n H

otel B

allro

om

after fa

tal sh

oo

ting

on

his distraught w

ife BE

TT

Y SH

AB

AZ

Z.

Roberts, a B

lack undercover agent provocateur for the N

ew Y

ork "Red S

quad." • T

he FB

I covered up the murder of the three

civil rig

hts w

ork

ers in M

ississipp

i — carried

o

ut b

y p

olic

e o

fficers —

un

til Pre

sident

Ken

ned

y an

d h

is bro

ther p

ersonally

took

charge of the investigation. • A

ccording to an FB

I informant, the B

ureau had a

dvance k

now

ledge o

f the h

orrib

le

bo

mb

ing m

urd

er of th

e fou

r little girls in

the

Birm

ingham

church

durin

g an

org

anizin

g

driv

e insp

ired b

y th

e Kin

g m

ovem

ent in

that

city. • W

hen a White union activist, V

iola Liuzzo,

PA

UL

RO

BE

SO

N, o

ne o

f the g

reatest

artists in

U.S

. histo

ry, was b

lacklisted

due

to his opposition to racism and capitalism

.

every

Co

ng

ression

al bu

dg

et hearin

g th

at they

w

ere in control of these so-called "White H

ate G

roups. •In

Chicag

o, w

hen

a Black

—, y

outh

gan

g

refused to be provoked intig • fraticide against th

e Black

Pan

ther P

arty lead

ership

, the F

BI,

working through the C

hicago police and a paid agent provocateur, sim

ply shot Panther deputy

chairman F

red Ham

pton in cold blood. T

he p

oin

t of th

is blo

od

y h

istory

of o

fficial co

mplicity

in v

iolen

ce again

st civil rig

hts

leaders is a

s terrib

le a

s it is simple

. The

qu

estion

befo

re a frigh

tened

natio

n is —

did

the F

ederal Bureau of Investigation conspire in

the murder of D

r. Martin L

uther King, Jr.?

The ev

iden

ce is dam

nin

g. T

he F

BI sin- veil-

lance — photo and electronic —

was all over

Martin

Luth

er Kin

g as late as A

pril 3

, yet w

e still d

o n

ot k

now

who o

r where th

e agen

ts w

ere at the time of his death. W

hy would they

cover up for men the likes of Jam

es Earl R

ay, w

ho have no power at all?

Why w

as a majo

r share o

f the h

om

icide

inv

estigatio

n p

ut in

to th

e han

ds o

f the F

BI's

Atla

nta

"get K

ing

" squ

ad

? A

gen

ts wh

o

"jumped for joy" w

hen the news of the m

urder w

as flashed

? Ag

ents w

ho

had

hig

hly

placed

inform

ants and provocateurs in every extrem-

ist gro

up in

their reg

ion, th

is by th

eir ow

n

repeated admission?

_ W

hat e

ntity

had th

e p

ow

er to

cause

Mem

ph

is Po

lice Directo

r and

ex-F

BI ag

ent

Fran

k H

ollo

man

to v

irtually

strip K

ing o

f his

last remaining security?

Why the revealed collusion of the F

BI w

ith frie

nd

ly jo

urn

alists a

nd

au

tho

rs in th

e

pro

pag

ation o

f the "lo

ne n

ut" th

eory

of D

r. K

ing's death? And w

hy the withholding of and

trum

peted

any m

egalo

man

iacal rheto

ric as to

why th

ey h

ad to

slay fam

ous m

en —

for th

e "m

asse

s," o

r the "

Wh

ite ra

ce,"

or th

e

"anti-Z

ion

ist" crusad

e. Instead

, each p

ro-

claimed

his in

nocen

ce or m

anip

ulatio

n b

y

others. Thus, at one stroke every official book,

report and study which explains the crim

es as th

e re

sult o

f fanatic

al a

nd lo

nely

zeal, is

overtu

rned b

y th

e re

fusa

l of th

e a

lleged

assassins to speak the lines assigned to them in

the FB

I's scenario. T

he FB

I admits to conspiring w

ithout letup to destroy D

r. Martin L

uther King's m

arriage, his m

ovement, his character. D

id they destroy h

is life, too

, or sim

ply

let the k

illing

un

fold

, help it along? TO

H C

ON

TINU

ED

the g

reat B

lack scnotar W

ho w

as fo

rced in

to a

n A

frican exile b

y U

.S. reactionaries.