Between the years the 1956 and 1971 the FBI ran a covert intelligence operation headed by Hoover himself that infiltrated everything from the Socialist Workers Party to the Black Panthers under the auspices of gathering information at first and dismantling civil rights organizations later on. While these operations were well known within government, they were also completely illegal and only came to light after a break in to a small FBI satellite office during an Ali vs Frazier fight when hundreds of documents about this clandestine operation came to light. The damage to done the civil rights movement is incalculable but there are lessons to be learned and applied still. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices