MediaJustice

#ProtectBlackDissent

Over 50 years after J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO program targeted the Black Power movements of the 1960s, our right to protest and organize is still under attack from the government today. The FBI’s so-called “Black Identity Extremist” designation is the latest example of authoritarian law enforcement agencies using racist ideology to justify the surveillance and criminalization of Black people and other people of color fighting for social justice. The same labels of extremism are being applied to indigenous, immigrant, and AMEMSA (Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, South Asian) communities.

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Demand the FBI Stop Lying and Stop Spying on Black Protesters

Once again, Black activists and organizers are demanding our society transform itself and land on the right side of history. However, the state has chosen to greet this opportunity with increased violence and surveillance, doubling down on its commitment to undermine and disrupt Black-led movements for justice by criminalizing & attacking them. When the FBI was …

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By the Numbers

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18,000

The number of law enforcement agencies that received the FBI’s 2017 intelligence assessment that designated “Black Identity Extremists Likely Motivated to Target Law Enforcement Officers” a new domestic terror threat.

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17,000

The estimated number of pages of FBI COINTELPRO files, dealing directly with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which remain classified.

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3/21/19

The date we joined the ACLU in suing the FBI to obtain more information about the surveillance of Black activists.

About the Campaign

Problem: In 2017, a leaked intelligence assessment showed that the FBI had identified Black-led movements protesting police brutality after the killing of Michael Brown as evidence of a new domestic terrorist threat—which they labeled “Black Identity Extremists.” The BIE designation is only the latest attempt to justify the surveillance and criminalization of Black people fighting for social justice.

Solution: Last fall, MediaJustice filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the FBI’s surveillance of Black activists. We know that in order to protect our right to resist, we need transparency around how this latest designation is being used to surveil our movements — both within the FBI and by local law enforcement. The FBI never responded to our FOIA request, so we’ve joined the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program in filing a lawsuit against them — demanding the release of all documents pertaining to the wrongful surveillance of Black activists and Black-led movements.

Get Involved: We need your help to keep the pressure on. Sign our petition today demanding that the FBI release all documents related to the ‘Black Identity Extremist’ designation and dismantle its surveillance program targeting Black activists.

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