COINTEL-PRO: FBI WAR ON BLACK AMERICA 1 OF 3

FBI WAR ON BLACK AMERICA: COINTEL PROGRAM PART 1 OF 3

The FBI's War on Black America offers a thought provoking look at a government-sanctioned conspiracy, the FBI's counter intelligence program known as Cointelpro. This documentary establishes historical perspective on the measures initiated by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI which aimed to discredit black political figures and forces of the late 1960's and early 1970's. Combining declassified documents, interviews, rare footage and exhaustive research, it investigates the government's role in the assignations of Malcom X, Fred Hampton and Martin Luther King Jr. The film reflects the rigorous research which went into its making, and portrays the nation's unrest during the period it recounts.

COINTEL-PRO was exposed after unknown persons broke into the FBI's Media, Pennsylvania offices in 1971. Government hearings and inquiries gave the impression that COINTEL-PRO ended; however, domestic repression continued throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. Today, new anti-terrorist laws such as the PATRIOT ACT have legitimized much of what occurred under COINTEL-PRO and have even extended the powers of FBI, police & intelligence agencies.

~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide