Civil Rights Icon Ernest Withers - FBI informant.

Civil Rights Icon Ernest Withers - FBI informant.

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Two years after his death, photographer Ernest Withers is revealed to be an FBI informant. Iconic personality, master documentary photographer, close witness to the plight of many in the civil rights movement, considered a hero by many, loved by many and respected by all… The crushing news of the fact that he was also known as "confidential informant ME 338-R" to the FBI has simply stunned the public.

(visit the link for the full news article)


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Artistic excellence aside, his strong, yet intimate images of the leaders of the movement as well as the masses have long become icons of an era by giving the people struggling for their rights a human face.

The repercussions of this revelation are sure to run deep within the intelligence community, civil rights organizations and and everyone within these spheres. Since Withers enjoyed a warm welcome by all and had unparalleled access to all facets of the civil rights movement as an insider who could travel with MLK, attend meetings with the inner core of all layers of the movement also reveals the level of access intelligence agencies achieve through the most unexpected channels.

With this knowledge, journalists, historians, investigators, brothers-in arm, comrades and his friends and family are bound to look back and examine the events of this historical period in a brand new light. At a micro level, all of Withers deeds, relationships and actions will come under scrutiny, which, at a macro level may go as far as implicating others within the movement. We shall all see who will dig how far.





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(visit the link for the full news article)

A peculiar bit of news is that when MLK was assassinated in Withers' hometown Memphis, South African photographer Joe Louw who took the famous photograph of the men on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel reportedly pointing towards the source of the shots, ended up at Withers' studio within one hour to have his film developed.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/eca1f5c2a662.jpg[/atsimg]

Dick Gregory was talking about this on Alex Jones today. There has always been suspicions of informants within King's circle. Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young have both had allegations of this thrown in their direction, more so towards Jackson. This could indeed open up the proverbial can of worms.

reply to post by erumisato


Yes, I also listened to Gregoy's pragmatic witty wisdom today.

I think it will take a bit of time for this to sink in and the right questions emerge. I am looking forward to them. I like knowledge as much as any ATS member, but I'm also thrilled by having a chance to observe the players i am hoping will come out of the woods and comment on this.

However, as we type these comments, the cover up and damage control operation must already be in full swing. There must be a lot of old dogs on the phone and having meetings all day today to get their stories straight. And they do it so bloody well, don't they. Let's see.

Imagine having a live video close up of Jesse Jackson's face when he heard the news... Years of doubt on him could be clarified all of a sudden. (or not ;-)

Thanks for your post erumisato.

reply to post by may_be_true


Extremely interesting...I wonder though about this part of the story...

BLOCK: That information was revealed over the weekend in an investigation by the Memphis newspaper The Commercial Appeal. The paper found that Withers passed on tips and photographs to the FBI and likely got paid for it.

Ummm...seems highly suspect that a local newspaper is somehow going to be so good at investigative journalism they would uncover this fact. It seems more likely....for some reason that now that Ernest has passed away it is time to out him. Of course I could be wrong, but I dont think I am wrong about the newspaper...most likely a ploy, that part.

Thanks for posting, S&F!

Jesse Jackson....

Originally posted by burntheships
reply to post by may_be_true

 

Extremely interesting...I wonder though about this part of the story...

BLOCK: That information was revealed over the weekend in an investigation by the Memphis newspaper The Commercial Appeal. The paper found that Withers passed on tips and photographs to the FBI and likely got paid for it.

Ummm...seems highly suspect that a local newspaper is somehow going to be so good at investigative journalism they would uncover this fact. It seems more likely....for some reason that now that Ernest has passed away it is time to out him. Of course I could be wrong, but I dont think I am wrong about the newspaper...most likely a ploy, that part.

Thanks for posting, S&F!

Jesse Jackson....

edit on 14-9-2010 by burntheships because: (no reason given)

Interesting,
maybe the government has decided to open it up as a warning to other groups, that is, you will never know if we are inside your group...?

Something similar was discovered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia years ago, when the Victorian Police were outed for having infiltrated every group set up in the community, even old ladies knitting groups!
It was declared against their charter by the government and they were ordered to disband the covert infiltration group. A couple of years later, it was discovered they just renamed the group and reforrmed it!

And as for being surprised that such an icon was an informant, not really, that is stock in trade, people seem to think the spies all wear trench coats and dark glasses... only in the movies for sure....

reply to post by fog mountain


Wow, elderly ladies knitting groups...lol. What were they doing, keeping the secrets of the tree?
And in Australia no less, criminy!

I am not too suprised Ernest was an informant...it actually makes a lot of sense...

reply to post by fog mountain


"Stock in trade" indeed.

I will wait for the factual part of this story to be unraveled to determine the damage he may have done back in the days. But when one looks at the body of his work, and the way his photographs promoted and avanced the civil rights movement, one can't help being confused as to how to weigh this situation.

As this article shows, the questions and assessments strongly vary depending on the persuasion of the commentator.

The reason, it seems, is that the FBI had an on-the-ground insider to keep them informed of King's activities. That informant, according to federal sources, was Ernest Withers.

Which is not to imply that Withers was involved in any way in King's assassination. He wasn't. And Withers' loyalty to the cause of civil rights surely can never be questioned. He clearly worked hard for civil rights and worked diligently with his camera to document the movement and to support it.

Read full article Commercial Appeal

Thnaks for posting.

The commentary about Withers' informant status is pouring in.

I suspect that, unless it can be demonstrated that Withers’ service to the FBI resulted in serious and verifiable harm to the principals and principles of civil rights — and, frankly, the jury will have to remain out on that one for a while — his reputation will survive the current seismic shock and settle back into the large and lofty and secure niche it occupied at the time of his death in 2007.

Link to Source Memphis Flyer

In the meantime, I have had a chance to personally speak to two people who have worked with him intimately for a decade during the later part of his life. Having known the man and the artist personally, they are both shellshocked and seem to be unable to accept the news. I am told that his close friends and colleagues are already looking in to the matter mainly with the intention to prove this revelation wrong. I sense that their wishful thinking wants to at least show that "Withers' service to the FBI" was only minimal at worst. And to the people familiar with the politics and life of Memphis and the history of the Civil Rights movement there, the motives and the sources of the reporter who broke the news are heavily in question.

In the memorable words of poet Robert Frost:

We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the secret sits in the middle and knows.