Ideological Influence Quotes
This absurd statement was made in the midst of the huge Black protests against the Apartheid regime. It was very similar to what the Southern racist, segregationist politicians of the American South used to say about the Southern Negroes who in their view were only unhappy when the “communist outsiders” talk to the them and incite them.
Hoover gave this report to President Lyndon Johnson. It was 11 pages long and provided no data or proof of the many accusations. Hoover viewed the entire Civil Rights Movement as part of the Communist initiative to weaken and undermine the United States. There were no Black FBI agents and Hoover himself was an inveterate racist. The FBI worked hand in hand with local police in the South and most agents supported legal racial segregation. Hoover’s definition of a Communist varied from time to time. Johnson worked closely with King after he had read this report and discussed it with some of his staff, so it may have been that Johnson didn’t believe the conclusions. Later historical analysis showed that there were two key people that were close to King who had early communist connections earlier. Both were active socialists at the time but neither was then involved with the Russian controlled American Communist party. The Official Position of the Communist Party was a strong anti-segregation program, and Hoover and most Southern Segregationists believed that all opponents of legal segregation—including demonstrators and marchers--were Communists or were organized and Controlled by the Communists.
