The documentary, MLK/FBI (2021), persuades us to take a closer look at the man and the icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his shaky relationships within the U.S. government. The documentary is rich with crisp archival footage that draws us into the unsettling story of the FBI’s attempt to gather evidence on Dr. King that could be used to disempower him and, in turn, the civil rights movement. At the behest of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI investigated Dr. King, who was seen by J. Edgar Hoover as a “Black Messiah,” who threatened the stability of the country. This attempt at a smear campaign culminates into one of the F.B.I.’s darkest tactics–a letter sent to Dr. King containing a sinister message.
Interviews with important figures like Clarence Jones, David Garrow, and Andrew Young add commentary to the visuals, but the flow of the footage isn’t interrupted with the faces of interviewees until the very end. As director Sam Pollard takes us through this journey of conspiracy and social tumult, we learn the importance of separating the man from the civil rights leader as more vulnerable layers of Dr. King are brought to the surface.
From a broader perspective, we appreciate the larger significance of the FBI’s actions in a world brewing with racism and obduracy. Viewers may find that much of the rhetoric in our time is largely an echo of what was heard during the height of Dr. King’s influence.
The FBI Takes Notice of Dr. King
At the start of the documentary, we’re shown a clip of Dr. King being announced as “The moral leader of our nation.” This is an integral point of the documentary, as it lays the foundation of Dr. King’s public image, which contrasts the unseen facets of his personal life. Within the elegant opening of historical footage, there’s a photo of Dr. King at a lectern giving an impassioned speech with a Christian cross lit in the background, further emphasizing his righteousness. But while African Americans and even many White Americans were captivated and inspired by Dr. King, his own government was wary of the leader’s influence and charisma. J. Edgar Hoover, who headed the F.B.I for 48 years, summarized this widespread fear when he said “I fear the rise of a Black messiah.”
Although the F.B.I. lacked interest in Dr. King in the 50s, following Dr. King’s March on Washington speech, the F.B.I started to turn their focus to leader, labeling him in a memo “the most dangerous Negro in the future of this Nation.” They began by targeting Dr. King’s ties to a known communist, Stanley Levison. Dr. King responded to the allegations that he was a communist sympathizer by boldly stating, “It’s amazing that so few Negroes have turned to communism in the light of that desperate plight.” And when the attempt to link Dr. King to communism failed, they turned their attention to his lascivious escapades.
With a blend of real footage and old movie clips, the film illustrates the shady nature of the F.B.I.’s wiretapping of Dr. King’s house and hotel rooms, painting a picture of a conspiratorial bent that unsettles the viewer—mainly because it’s all true.
MLK Jr. and the Question of His Morals
As a Baptist minister and family man, Dr. King was held to such a high moral standard that Hoover strongly believed a smear campaign could easily succeed. With snippets of documents describing Dr. King as “degenerate” and engaging in “sexual aberrations,” which the F.B.I. carefully recorded from neighboring hotel rooms, the film teases the contents of the released documents while showing just how much manpower and time went into this operation.
But why the obsession with tearing Dr. King down? The film argues that this preoccupation with Dr. King’s sexuality is inextricably bound to the history of stereotypes about black men having aberrant, and dangerous degrees of promiscuity. A clip is shown of a Southern speaker, surrounded by confederate flags and declaring that Dr. King would mix men, White women, and Black women. By placing it in context, the film shows us how the stereotype of African Americans as deviants, which traces back to the reconstruction, provides the lens through which some Americans saw Dr. King.
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To bring a moderate voice to the issue, James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, says in response to the tapes of Dr. King’s exploits, “I have never met a perfect human.” This sentiment is echoed throughout the documentary, as we see a clip of his wife, Corretta, resolved to support her husband in the face of the allegations. Thus the film wants us to see Dr. King as flawed, but entirely deserving of his legacy.
How MLK/FBI is Relevant in 2021
Most viewers realize that Dr. King’s legacy was not tarnished by J. Edgar Hoover’s attempts to muddy his reputation. But the film succeeds in drawing us into the issue and enlightening us about the tumult and division of the era, which often feels like looking in a mirror that reflects our own time.
A reporter in one clip says to Dr. King, “the crisis atmosphere (of the civil rights movement) endangers the Negro’s cause by creating among the Whites a resentment.” Such rhetoric is familiar, though phrased differently today. Most notably, in the case of Black Lives Matter, it is not infrequent to hear the movement called divisive and violent. Such adjectives were spewed tenfold after the murder of George Floyd triggered the revitalization of the Black Lives Matter movement. We’re now seeing a second civil rights movement that comes with similar challenges to the ones in Dr. King’s time.
While MLK/FBI doesn’t necessarily contain too much new information, there’s a timeliness to this film that makes it essential for people to watch, especially young people. Those who are absorbed in current matters of racial divides and political upheaval can take a step back and examine history for a couple of hours and see just how tightly woven racism is in the fabric of America.
Check out the trailer of MLK/FBI documentary here:
MLK/FBI
Pros
- Great Editing
- Outstanding Direction
Cons
- Screenplay could have been better
