Civil rights photographer revealed as FBI informant
Family argues that allegations are untrue
http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/article/article.asp?NewsID=105427&sID=4&ItemSource=L
by Issa A. Mansaray
9/29/2010
Family argues that allegations are untrue
He captured the world's most iconic images of Dr. Martian Luther King
with a distinction that most leading photographers of his days envy
up to today. He was present at every twist and turn of the Civil
Rights Movement of the '60s. He photographed and documented the
movement from start to finish.
Sadly, Ernest Withers had a secret that he kept until his death. He
was an FBI informant, according to recently released FBI documents.
Withers died in 2007 at aged 85 and was exposed in the Sunday, Sept.
12 edition of The Commercial Appeal, the daily newspaper in Memphis, TN.
On Wednesday, Sept. 15, Chris Peck, the Appeal's editor, explained to
the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder in a phone interview their reasons
for publishing the story, and how long it took them to investigate the piece.
"[What] we want to emphasize to the family, as it is reflective in
our story and the editorials we wrote, is that this revelation does
in no way uncut the value of Ernest Withers' work as a photographer,"
said Peck. "He had many iconic and historic photographs that no one
else had and will be part of his legacy."
Marc Perrusquia wrote in The Commercial Appeal that the FBI documents
"portray Withers as a prolific informant who, from at least 1968
until 1970, passed on tips and photographs detailing an insider's
view of politics, business and everyday life in Memphis' Black community."
Since the publication of the story Withers' family, and many in the
Civil Rights Movement, still find it unbelievable that Ernest C.
Withers, whose images captured the Civil Rights Movement for the
world, also worked as an FBI informant.
"They [Withers' family] were as shocked about it as most people
were," said Peck about the family's reaction to their story.
Peck said the family's reaction was also divided, as one of Withers'
daughter was more concerned about the accuracy of the story.
"I can say without any shadow of a doubt that what we reported is
true and accurate," said Peck, whose newspaper broke the story.
"There is certainly more to the story [that] we could do, and I
hoping we get the opportunity to do more fully in the future."
Withers cataloged many tense and crucial moments in the '60s. He
witnessed and photographed the Montgomery Bus Boycott and covered the
Memphis sanitation workers' strike. His images and photographs are
still powerful in telling the story of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Appeal's editor said they tried to reach out to some of the civil
rights leaders to make sure that they were aware of what The
Commercial Appeal was doing before publishing the story. Many did not
respond to the newspaper's efforts. After the publication, there were
a range of responses to the story.
Some think it is a betrayal of the movement.
"We've been working on it for about two years," said Peck, whose
newspaper spent years in researching and investigating the story as
reporters went through thousands of pages of documents. "We tried to
piece together what was going on and talk to people close to Ernest
Withers and those close to the Civil Rights Movements at the time.
"Our motivation was very clear. It is a piece of history that has
emerged. It is an important piece of history because of the times in
which Withers was taking photographs and the people he was dealing
with," said Peck, whose newspaper was tipped about the story from a
former FBI agent.
"It was a very important time in the American history. We just felt
that we wanted to do what we could to fill in some questions about
what was going on in that period and also explain another dimension
to the story of a very well-known photographer."
The story, according to Peck, raises the question about how Americans
feel when the government pays people to spy on fellow Americans.
"The other question it raises is why people very close to a
particular cause…would want to become an informant," said Peck. "What
does it say about human nature that something like that would happen?
Those questions are as pertinent today as they were before."
"The FBI did not tell us, but told The New York Times that they were
going to investigate how the leak of [Withers'] identity occurred,"
said Peck about the leaked documents. "They did not deny any of it
but felt they have to examine their own procedures because some of
this information came from FBI files released to us through the
Freedom of Information Act, and I don't think they like that. They
are not saying it is not true."
The Appeal is waiting for more files to answer questions such as how
long Withers worked for the FBI, how much he was paid and if there
were others in the movement who worked with Withers.
"How much he got paid and what materials he provided," according to
Peck, are some of the questions that need answers.
Withers' son told MSR that he disagrees with the Commercial Appeal's story.
"People in the movement dialogued with the agencies," said Andrew
Withers, second son of the famous photographer, who was with him in
those days. "He did not work in any formal way with them; I can
assure that… those are [just] allegations."
In the '60s, Hoover's FBI carried out a covert operation codenamed
COINTELPRO, a counterintelligence program formed in order to
penetrate radical groups at the time. It also leaked embarrassing
information on individuals for the purpose of prosecution or smeared
them so that they were fired from their jobs.
"We were all participants and part of the movement," emphasized Andrew.
"It is false, this allegation. My father died two years ago. There is
no question about his past. He was in the movement for more than 65
years, and they took more than a year to write a report like that.
"My daddy did not take any money or sell any pictures to the FBI,"
said Andrew. "He was not taking photographs to put anybody in danger."
--
Next week, an interview with Ernest Withers' brother, Billy Withers
--
Issa A. Mansaray welcomes reader responses to theafricapaper@yahoo.com.
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