The following text was written for academic purposes. The assignment mission was to anaylyize primary and secondary source documents. I think you’ll find a great history lesson wrapped inside. 

ME 338 R, born August 7, 1922 in Memphis, Tennessee as Earnest Columbus Withers, was an all-star photojournalist for the Civil Rights Movement. Although many outside of the Civil Rights Movement have not heard of Withers, many know his pictures. Withers, was considered the most connected photojournalist of the movement. He captured pictures of private Southern Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) meetings, photographed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel, and famously published a photo pamphlet of the Emmitt Till trial. So connected, notarized comedian and Civil Rights leader Dick Gregory professed to Soledad O’Brien, “I wouldn’t suspect him of doing anything wrong.”  O’Brien produced an investigative documentary for CNN in 2010 entitled “Pictures Don’t Lie” about the Withers controversy. In 2007 Withers died in his hometown of Memphis, later heavily redacted Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documents revealed Withers worked for the FBI as apart of Ghetto Informant Program (GIP). Primary source documents prove, Withers, whose FBI informant name was ME 338 R, was a snitch! I have chosen to research Withers because his legacy is being recreated with the release of FBI primary source documents. Also because his impact and support of the Civil Rights movement is well documented and remembered by his living friends and foes. In addition, his chronicling of events adds significance to the historical value of the Civil Rights Movement.

            Evidence tying Withers to the Civil Rights movement and the FBI Ghetto Informant Program is damming. Official FBI documents uncovered via a Freedom of Information Act filed in U.S Federal Court in 2010 lead to query over whether or not Withers was truly an ally of the movement, as many reasonably believed at the time, and as historians had accepted before 2010. Primary documents tell us Withers began to appear on GIP documents in 1967. In February of 1968 Withers informed the FBI “There is a power fight for leadership of the strike, among such frustrated Negro leaders as, Jesse Turner, President NAACP” Withers went on to inform the FBI in the same report, “black power leaders, are trying to bring Stokley Carmichael, former SNCC leader, to Memphis but don’t have the funds.” The damming insider information revealed in his FBI file, 170-70, adds extraordinary value to knowledge of this piece of history. In fact, it was not until the Withers file was released, in 2010, anyone knew of his covert FBI employment. The FBI files, titled 170-70, are my main primary source. As stated, without the release of these files for public viewing it would have remained a secret Withers, arguably the most significant journalist of the Civil Rights Movement, was a government spy.

            One un-redacted line in a FBI file revealed Withers status as a spy. This prompted investigative reporter Soledad O’Brien to produce “Picture Don’t Lie: A Black in America Special”. Her documentary serves as my secondary source. Transcripts and Podcasts from the O’Brien documentary published online illustrate interviews with leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, former Memphis police officials, and Withers daughter, Rosalind.  O’Brien says of the documents “At the heart of the scandal, never before seen in public and heavily redacted FBI documents on investigations in Memphis before and after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. Hundreds of pages long and hard to decipher, but one document, one page, one little phrase mistakenly left un-redacted exposed the stunning 40- year-old secret that Ernest Withers had taken to the grave.” David Garrow, Civil Rights historian and author, said in the documentary “There is no doubt whatsoever the available documentary evidence which include both Mr. Withers’ name and his informant coding number matches up with dozens of FBI documents. The documentary evidence on this nails it 100 percent. Case closed.” O’Brien and Garrow, neither of whom were apart of the movement, add extraordinary value to the context of the Withers story. Withers daughter Rosalind pointed out her father was able to capture photos behind the judges head during many trials in the south; she says “You can see the faces of both sides looking for that judge to make a ruling and what a powerful photograph that was too and look at where he had to have been in a particular spot to have gotten an image like that.” This source proves law enforcement and Civil Rights Movement leadership alike trusted Withers. Further endorsing the idea the GIP needed his insider knowledge, he was the perfect catch; Theodore Jackson, a former Memphis FBI agent explained “They were just people that you’d go out and talk to and just make sure there are no issues going on in the neighborhood.”

            The distinguishable difference between my primary and secondary source are extremely unique. The source consists of a lot of evidence from the same time period and mentions some of the same characters; and in that respect are very similar. However, my primary source reveals the secret of Withers work as a spy, therefore it handles him that light. My secondary source consists of the opinions and work of historians believing he was a friend to the movement, mainly his public persona. My secondary source also examines his spy life, his private life, and reasons he may have assisted the FBI.  

- Chris J. Taylor is a Pubic Relations major at Ball State University. This self-proclaimed issues pundit writes on current affairs and other subjects of cultural importance. Follow him on Twitter: @IamChrisJTaylor