On
this day in 1964 years of resentment by FBI head, J. Edgar Hoover exploded into
the national news when Hoover called King, the “most notorious liar” in America.
The attack was a response to King’s criticisms of the FBI regarding its failure
to protect civil rights leaders from racist assaults. King was speaking of
how many ‘Freedom Riders’ and Black activists had been attacked and assaulted
by the KKK and law enforcement for trying to help Black voters in the South, particularly
in Mississippi.
Hoover
had long despised King for being a potential communist as well as a disruptive
force in society, Hoover distrusted change and no one was pressing for change
more than King. Hoover had ordered wiretaps of the civil rights leader the year
previous and was disgusted by both King’s extra-marital affairs and how he
spoke of public figures in front of crowds, such as Hoover himself, and how he
spoke of the same people in private with friends and advisors. King personally
had no animosity toward Hoover but felt he was an ineffective leader of the FBI.
After
the interview where Hoover called King a ‘notorious liar’ controversy ensued
that even pulled in President Lydon Johnson with calls for him to fire Hoover. This led
to a meeting in Hoover’s office on December 1, 1964, between Hoover and King and
his advisors Ralph Abernathy and Andrew Young, where Hoover basically dismissed
any issues and lectured the three men on the actual best way to achieve their
objectives without causing disruptive protests.
Sources:
https://www.historynet.com/encounter-j-edgar-hoover-lectures-martin-luther-king/
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