If you don't know the name Ernest Withers (pictured above), I can guarantee that you know of his work. Remember the famous and horrible picture of Emmett Till (pictured below)? Withers took that one. Consider nearly every well-known picture of Dr. Martin Luther King you can remember. Well, Withers probably took that one too. Ernest Withers had access to Civil Rights leaders like no other.
He was also found to have been an informant for the FBI.
The Commercial Appeal in Memphis conducted a two-year investigation in to the life of Withers, who died in 2007. The investigation found that Withers allegedly worked with two FBI agents to keep an eye on the Civil Rights Movement. Withers was known to have been very close to Dr. King and to have had his trust.
"It is an amazing betrayal," said Athan Theoharis, a historian, told the New York Times. "It really speaks to the degree that the FBI was able to engage individuals within the civil rights movement. This man was so well-trusted."
Reports say that from 1968 to 1970, Withers provided photos and other detailed information to the FBI about the schedules and whereabouts of Civil Rights figures.
Withers' identity was apparently released by accident.
In most of the FBI reports, references to Withers were blocked out, replaced by his informant number, ME 338-R, but on several occasions, agents forgot to remove his name.
Withers had eight children before he died, and some speculate that this might have been the reason he chose to accept money from the FBI. If that's the case, this would be a disturbing reminder of how our financial circumstances can ultimately impact our ability to be free. It might be presumptuous to think that Withers wanted to sell his friends out to the FBI, so I can only imagine that his financial situation played a role in his decision to undermine one of the most significant movements in African-American history.
The fact that Ernest Withers appears to have been an FBI informant not only rewrites quite a few history books, it also opens the door to another disturbing question: Who killed Dr. King and how did they know where he'd be at the time of his murder?
The fact that Withers "just happened" to be at the Lorraine Motel at the time of King's death as well as the fact that he'd gained so much of Dr. King's trust, makes us only contemplate the unthinkable.
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I'm from MS and names have been released here of prominent Mississippians who were informants... Mary Coleman oops did I let that slip. I do not trust the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. for the things they did to blacks in the past.
I use to have a 100 acre farm in waynesboro mississippi,The whites have the black people in mississippi undr control.I sold my farm and got the hell out of mississippi.Today i trust no one
My family is from Fayette and my great grandmother said the "white people" would just take your land. She talked about how her mother had lots of land with fruit trees and the "white folks" just took it away from her.
Yea Im from Columbus MS..i just move to GA and I keep trying to tell people. You not gone change MS until alot of that OLD south dies out but it wont cause it just stays in the family and keeps goin and goin..so thats why alot of black folk from MS only trust a small amount of white people as far as they can see them. And that old south mentality has been here and gone be here whether people like it or not. So I'm not surprised to here that there were black informants in the civil rights. The "government" has been playing us against each other for years. I'm telling ya thats how I believe and to me that mentality of "getting over" on us started right down here in the south. So like my daddy told me, You can work with them, play with them, but never put all your trust in them cause If its your neck on the line and one of there's necks on the line..who you think heads getting chopped off first?...think about it
justtryandgolive: Not only in Mississippi is this true but it is true throuhout the entire United States. It is just more open and the whites let you know how they all feel and see and don't like us. But this white supremecy in the United States is all over; for the most part the whites in the north and other parts of the south just put on a more false face! White people for the most part will always think they are better and should have more privilges than blacks. THAT'S WHY FOR THE MOST PART THEY CAN'T STAND NOW HAVING A BLACK PRESIDENT. And now that we do have a Black President more and more racism is on the scene, to let us as Black Folks know that this just should not be. They can't and will not get over it. It is impossible for this country to have a Black Man Over Them and Telling Them What To Do! Oh no this just is not so, and so they demonstrate by Arousing the old "Tea Party" movement again and any and all other old racists groups they can to let you know they simply hate blacks being in power. But the ironic thing about their uprisings is IT TOOK A BLACK MAN TO SHOW THEM AND TO TELL THEM HOW TO RUN THEIR COUNTRY WHICH THEIR OWN WHITE RACIST LEADER LED THEM DOWN TO THE SLAUGHTER HOOK LINE AND SINKER. What a paradiam if ever there was one okay. RLOL So you see black man and black woman God is still God and always will be God and He is the one who sits one up and puts one down and ain't a thing none of those racists mississippians or any other ians can do about it. Simply because they aren't the gods that they thought they were and are. God is even yet while I'm writing this missive putting Black Folks and People in the most Powerful Positions they could ever begin to imagine even right now. Just wait and see how they react when they have to come begging for their daily bread from Us Who Are BLACK. AND THIS IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN REAL SOON. EZEIKEL 21:25-27 PLEASE READ, THANK YOU.
The town isn't destitute, it's rural. This town is historic for electing the first black mayor in the state of Mississippi, Charles Evers, Medgar's brother. The people there are unified. It's okay with me, I don't have a problem with it, like I said my roots are from Fayette via Red Lick, MS near Port Gibson.
Both of my parents are from Fayette( I was born in a hospital in Natchez) and I have family that currently reside there whom I visit often ( I visited with my aunt in June). I know the history of the town and I know enough to know that the town is poor with very high unemployment and therefore lacking much needed resources. In fact, the town was recently featured on CNN for being one of the poorest towns in the nation. Stating that the town is impoverished in no way reflects on the quality of the people who reside there,nor does it speak to my personal feelings about the town of Fayette Mississippi.
@ Lane What do you mean high unemployment? The town is RURAL there are NO industries there. There are NO factories in Fayette. They still have a Bills Dollar Store...I thought Bills Dollar Store went out of business long ago. Actually, the biggest thing in Fayette is being located next door to Lorman, MS where Alcorn University is located. A lot of people who still reside in Fayette have acreage. They may not have money but they do own Real Estate. Matter of fact my mother owns 17 acres she purchased from great grandmother "years" ago and it’s just sitting there because no one wants to move to the “country”. My mom was drilling on the land to see if there was any oil. People in Fayette, may not have money but they do own their own homes and the acreage it sits. If you are going to tell the truth tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
To the folks discussing LAND and RESOURCES and how they are TAKEN AWAY thank you for telling your stories. BLACK FOLK need to LISTEN to the way that we are MANIPULATED ECONOMICALLY and CUT OUT all the STYLING, PROFILING and BLING-BLING CRAP and start LEARNING ABOUT OWNING things outside of CLOTHES and CARS so that we will be a little more in CONTROL OF OUR OWN ECONOMIC DESTINY. ECONOMICS and not GHETTO-NOMICS is the PATHWAY TO TRUE FREEDOM.
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Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
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By: ARNEADER on 9/14/2010 1:28AM
I'm from MS and names have been released here of prominent Mississippians who were informants... Mary Coleman oops did I let that slip. I do not trust the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. for the things they did to blacks in the past.
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By: wisdom on 9/14/2010 6:10AM
I use to have a 100 acre farm in waynesboro mississippi,The whites have the black people in mississippi undr control.I sold my farm and got the hell out of mississippi.Today i trust no one
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By: ARNEADER on 9/14/2010 12:22PM
My family is from Fayette and my great grandmother said the "white people" would just take your land. She talked about how her mother had lots of land with fruit trees and the "white folks" just took it away from her.
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By: justtryingtolive on 9/15/2010 10:12AM
Yea Im from Columbus MS..i just move to GA and I keep trying to tell people. You not gone change MS until alot of that OLD south dies out but it wont cause it just stays in the family and keeps goin and goin..so thats why alot of black folk from MS only trust a small amount of white people as far as they can see them. And that old south mentality has been here and gone be here whether people like it or not. So I'm not surprised to here that there were black informants in the civil rights. The "government" has been playing us against each other for years. I'm telling ya thats how I believe and to me that mentality of "getting over" on us started right down here in the south. So like my daddy told me, You can work with them, play with them, but never put all your trust in them cause If its your neck on the line and one of there's necks on the line..who you think heads getting chopped off first?...think about it
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By: Trudy on 9/15/2010 11:53AM
justtryandgolive: Not only in Mississippi is this true but it is true throuhout the entire United States. It is just more open and the whites let you know how they all feel and see and don't like us. But this white supremecy in the United States is all over; for the most part the whites in the north and other parts of the south just put on a more false face! White people for the most part will always think they are better and should have more privilges than blacks. THAT'S WHY FOR THE MOST PART THEY CAN'T STAND NOW HAVING A BLACK PRESIDENT. And now that we do have a Black President more and more racism is on the scene, to let us as Black Folks know that this just should not be. They can't and will not get over it. It is impossible for this country to have a Black Man Over Them and Telling Them What To Do! Oh no this just is not so, and so they demonstrate by Arousing the old "Tea Party" movement again and any and all other old racists groups they can to let you know they simply hate blacks being in power. But the ironic thing about their uprisings is IT TOOK A BLACK MAN TO SHOW THEM AND TO TELL THEM HOW TO RUN THEIR COUNTRY WHICH THEIR OWN WHITE RACIST LEADER LED THEM DOWN TO THE SLAUGHTER HOOK LINE AND SINKER. What a paradiam if ever there was one okay. RLOL So you see black man and black woman God is still God and always will be God and He is the one who sits one up and puts one down and ain't a thing none of those racists mississippians or any other ians can do about it. Simply because they aren't the gods that they thought they were and are. God is even yet while I'm writing this missive putting Black Folks and People in the most Powerful Positions they could ever begin to imagine even right now. Just wait and see how they react when they have to come begging for their daily bread from Us Who Are BLACK. AND THIS IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN REAL SOON. EZEIKEL 21:25-27 PLEASE READ, THANK YOU.
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By: Lane on 9/15/2010 9:46PM
I have family from Fayette too. The town is pretty much destitute, very sad situation.
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By: ARNEADER on 9/15/2010 10:19PM
The town isn't destitute, it's rural. This town is historic for electing the first black mayor in the state of Mississippi, Charles Evers, Medgar's brother. The people there are unified. It's okay with me, I don't have a problem with it, like I said my roots are from Fayette via Red Lick, MS near Port Gibson.
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By: Lane on 9/16/2010 12:51AM
Both of my parents are from Fayette( I was born in a hospital in Natchez) and I have family that currently reside there whom I visit often ( I visited with my aunt in June). I know the history of the town and I know enough to know that the town is poor with very high unemployment and therefore lacking much needed resources. In fact, the town was recently featured on CNN for being one of the poorest towns in the nation. Stating that the town is impoverished in no way reflects on the quality of the people who reside there,nor does it speak to my personal feelings about the town of Fayette Mississippi.
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By: ARNEADER on 9/16/2010 1:11AM
@ Lane What do you mean high unemployment? The town is RURAL there are NO industries there. There are NO factories in Fayette. They still have a Bills Dollar Store...I thought Bills Dollar Store went out of business long ago. Actually, the biggest thing in Fayette is being located next door to Lorman, MS where Alcorn University is located. A lot of people who still reside in Fayette have acreage. They may not have money but they do own Real Estate. Matter of fact my mother owns 17 acres she purchased from great grandmother "years" ago and it’s just sitting there because no one wants to move to the “country”. My mom was drilling on the land to see if there was any oil. People in Fayette, may not have money but they do own their own homes and the acreage it sits. If you are going to tell the truth tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
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By: vdog on 9/16/2010 6:05AM
To the folks discussing LAND and RESOURCES and how they are TAKEN AWAY thank you for telling your stories. BLACK FOLK need to LISTEN to the way that we are MANIPULATED ECONOMICALLY and CUT OUT all the STYLING, PROFILING and BLING-BLING CRAP and start LEARNING ABOUT OWNING things outside of CLOTHES and CARS so that we will be a little more in CONTROL OF OUR OWN ECONOMIC DESTINY. ECONOMICS and not GHETTO-NOMICS is the PATHWAY TO TRUE FREEDOM.
Report This