Memo on Engineering Internecine Violence Among Black Panthers Lyrics

Airtel
To: SACs
From: Director, FBI (100-448006)

COINTELPRO - BLACK PANTHER PARTY
9/16/70

Concerning the first proposal submitted by Detroit, counterintelligence action by San Francisco to capitalize on Huey P. Newton's favorable stand toward homosexuals has already been authorized by the Bureau. The second Detroit proposal to consider directing an anonymous communication to Newton accusing David Hilliard of stealing BPP funds and depositing them in foreign banks does have merit and the Bureau does not concur with San Francisco's observation that this would have little effect since there is no record that Hilliard is skimming large amounts of money. Purpose of counterintelligence action is to disrupt BPP and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate the charge. If facts are present it aids in the sucess of the proposal but the Bureau feels that the skimming of money of money is such a sensitive issue that disruption can be accomplished without facts to back it up.

[...]

With respect to two anonymous letters proposed by Los Angeles, Bureau concurs with San Francisco that to include the card of a member of a rival black extremist group in a letter to Hilliard indicating Newton is marked for assassination could place the Bureau in the position of aiding or initiating a murder by the BPP. Accordingly, Los Angeles' proposal identified as "Letter A" is not approved. Los Angeles should reword this letter to convey the same thought without directly indicating that it is from a specific member of a rival group. The letter could imply that the writer would soon get in touch with Hilliard to see what he would pay to have Newton eliminated. Resubmit the revised letter to the Bureau for approval.

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

The 1970 memo from Hoover to all SAC offices offers insight into how the FBI experimented with psychological tactics, through which the Bureau would engineer conflicts and violence among the Black Panthers and other like groups and among the Panthers' ranks as well.

Hoover and the Bureau’s efforts were in 1970 buoyed by the successful fomenting of violence the previous year, when the tension engineered between the Panthers and the US [United Slaves] organization resulted in the shooting deaths of Los Angeles chapter Panthers Bunchy Carter and John Huggins by US members on the UCLA campus.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Credits
Release Date
September 16, 1970
Tags
Comments