By, Scotty Reid, 4/12/2012, news, opinion

A new book is exploring allegations that James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King Jr. to collect a bounty offered by the Mississippi KKK.

According to the UK’s Mail Onlinenews website,  

“Speculation has long raged that Dr King was killed in 1968 as part of a wider conspiracy, even though the FBI immediately dismissed the idea that Klansmen were responsible. But according to previously unreleased FBI reports in The Awful Grace of God, by respected U.S.historians Stuart Wexler and Larry Hancock who want the murder reinvestigated, the reality could have been very different.”

An objective reader should always consider the source and bear in mind that the information is gleaned from FBI files compiled when J Edgar Hoover’s reign of terror was still active in destroying Black organizations. The credibility of anything from FBI during time should be always questioned.  These documents could be part of a disinformation campaign to cover up any actual FBI involvement. So many of Hoover’s files were destroyed after he died, there is so much Americawill never know. Do these particular records reveal if the FBI knew about the bounty and did nothing to stop the plot or arrest the conspirators? Similar accusations toward the FBI have been made concerning the assassinations of Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy as well. It is a crime in many states to do nothing to save the life of a person when it is in your power to do so, particularly if your job includes protecting the public from crime. Think of it, J Edgar Hoover was in charge of the FBI when Malcolm, Martin and John F. Kennedy were all murdered.

Yes, those who called for the bounty and contributed to it financially should be investigated, who knows, they may have become judges, mayors and governors. I imagine raising that kind money snag a few “prominent” donors. Speaking of bounties, I hope people now understand what an actual bounty is. When the New Black Panther Party offered a reward for a citizen’s arrest for George Zimmerman, something allowed for under Floridalaw, it was in no way comparable to an actual bounty. No new panther I heard uttered the words “dead or alive” in their reward offer.

To say the least, the book should renew a conversation about this past injustice and bring it to the forefront of national consciousness. After all, they did just erect a monument to the man where our Black President gave a speech who also has an Black Attorney General. If upon further investigation suspects are indentified, there should be a strong call from the Black community for accountability. Without a demand the powers that be concede nothing, that includes the Obama administration.