Two weeks ago, several university administrators asked militarized police units to smash pro-Palestinian encampment protests on quads and in occupied buildings. It happened at places like Columbia and CUNY, and the University of Texas in Austin where our guest today, Dr. Peniel Joseph, teaches on the history of the Black Power movement. 

In the midst of the news cycle frenzy, an old phrase began popping up in discussions of who the protestors were and whether the police actions were justified. Authorities said (and media figureheads repeated uncritically) that protestors were infiltrated and influenced by “outside agitators.”

It’s a phrase with a long history to it. Joining Matthew to unpack it is Dr. Peniel Joseph, a historian of the Civil Rights era, during which time the trope reached peak exposure, when it was lobbed at Martin Luther King Jr., as he sat in Birmingham Jail.

Show Notes

Peniel E. Joseph

NYPD Chief of Patrol on the “unknown entity”

Thursday's Headlines: NYPD Discovers Chained Bike Locks Edition

Nearly all Gaza campus protests in the US have been peaceful, study finds 

Unmasking The 'Outside Agitator'

Debunking the “Outside Agitator” Trope amid pro-Palestinian campus protests

Cost of repairing occupation damage at Portland State library estimated at $750K

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