The recent revelation that the NSA is actively monitoring the phone numbers of every American in the United States has become a big story. Other revelations about monitoring of the internet, the ability to read e-mails & back doors in web browsers that allow the government direct access were revealed later. Some people were outraged at the lengths the government has gone in the name "National Security" & "fighting terrorism", while others believe that such measures are needed to keep them safe. The media has spent a lot of time focusing on the person that leaked this information. Some people have focused on whether or not this type of activity by the government is legal & Constitutional. I, of course, have a completely different view & focus on the entire matter. I always like to study the history of any subject in order to find the real truth of the matter.
When we talk about the "Surveillance State" as it has become to be known, the history of it intersects directly with the history of resistance to oppression by Afrikans in America. The first people in this country to be spied on constantly of course were Afrikan POW's. I have tried to stop using the word slaves because it has become an antiseptic term that doesn't really capture the horrors of the Maafa. In fact, the term comes from "Slav" referring to people from the Southeastern corner of Europe. These people are obviously not Afrikans, but let's return to the subject of this post. Before the United States was even a nation, Afrikans were spied upon & kept under surveillance using the technology of the day. That technology included other captured Afrikans, Mulattoes & other people with various admixtures of DNA. These people are commonly referred to in modern times as House Negroes, Uncle Toms & Sambos. They were the eyes & ears of the state, along with the overseers & the slave catchers. The slave catchers are the direct ancestors of the modern police force here in America.
Later on in the post Reconstruction era, the law enforcement in the South was largely done by the KKK. The Klan was largely made up of former Confederate soldiers who were upstanding citizens by day, and white terrorists by night. The original KKK started in Tennessee & spread throughout the South. These same people were often the sheriffs of towns in the rural South. The judges were often Jewish allies of the Klan, that would turn a blind eye to any atrocities committed by their "white brethren." Unbeknownst to many, the original KKK actually had Jewish members & Jewish funders. Many times, the KKK bought it's robes, ropes, whips, boots & other equipment from Jewish merchants in the South. The Klan was not the only white organization created to keep Afrikans in line during the Reconstruction and post Reconstruction eras. There were groups such as the "Red Shirts", the"Southern Cross" & the "Knights of the white Camelia". All of these groups served the same purpose as the modern FBI, NSA & CIA serve today, to preserve white Domination of Afrikan people.
Now, I know some of you reading this is are thinking that my last statement is quite ludicrous. How can I possibly equate the KKK with the FBI ? Once again, history reveals hidden truths. One of the least known facts about the FBI is it's early history of harassing & destroying Afrikan freedom movements. In fact, it's later pattern of tricks, lies & set-ups know as "Cointelpro" was first used against the greatest post-colonial Afrikan freedom organization in the world, the UNIA & ACL. The UNIA was founded in 1914 in Jamaica by the Rt. Hon. Marcus M. Garvey. Garvey's movement would go on to spread throughout the world with chapters on five continents. The membership of the U.N.I.A would eventually number over 5 million Afrikans worldwide. Garvey's basic objective was to unite & organize all Afrikan people worldwide in order to change the condition of Black people for the better.
The question some of you are thinking is what does that have to do with the surveillance state ? Well, it was J. Edgar Hoover of the Bureau of Investigation (B.O.I.) that initiated the investigation that would lead to the destruction of Garvey's organization. Yes, the very same Hoover that would go on to head the FBI in later years. The BOI was the precursor to the modern FBI. Hoover hired Black agents to spy on Garvey's organization in New York City. They were ordered to find something on Garvey that would allow the government to deport him or jail him. Once that order was given, the UNIA started having all types of problems including missing funds, stolen records & missed payments on bills. The UNIA was infiltrated by agents who were paid to disrupt it's activities. The agents even stayed in the organization after Garvey's trial which led to his conviction. They helped open a rift in the group between supporters of Garvey's 2nd wife & Garvey's old friend Duse Muhammad Ali. Without a charismatic leader like Garvey or even Ali, the UNIA greatly declined.
As we can see, the type of surveillance of which is now in effect in America has it's roots in the suppression of the struggles for freedom Afrikan people. The excuse is always used by the ruling elite that this type of snooping is needed to make people safe. The targets are always the people who are judged to be the greatest threat to the established order. More often than not, those people are Afrikans. The fact that the government would try to intercept literally every form of electronic communication in the US is no shock to Black people. We have a long history of being spied on. The state has long feared the rise of Black people & has done everything in it's power to prevent that rise. Make no mistake, while this new surveillance is being used to spy on all citizens, the focus will continue to be Afrikans here in America. The murder of our young prince Malcolm Shabazz & the bounty on Mother Assata Shakur prove that what the US fears most is still the rise of the Black Messiah.
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