SpyCast

“The Kneeling Man” – with Leta McCollough Seletsky

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Summary

Leta McCollough Seletsky (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to share the story of her father, the famous “Kneeling Man” – The man knelt next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at his assassination at the Lorraine Motel in 1968. Leta is a litigator turned essayist and memoirist. 

*Nominate SpyCast for a People’s Choice Podcast Award HERE!*

What You’ll LearnIntelligence
  • The life and times of Marrell “Mac” McCollough 
  • The CIA connection between father and daughter
  • Black power and the counterintelligence program (or, COINTELPRO)
  • The conspiracies surrounding Dr. King’s assassination
    • Reflections
    • Coming to terms with the past … and present
    • Small but important steps of progress
      • And much, much more …
      *EXTENDED SHOW NOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*

      Resources SURFACE SKIM*Headline Resource*
      The Kneeling Man: My Father's Life as a Black Spy Who Witnessed the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Leta McCollough Seletsky (Counterpoint, 2023) *SpyCasts*
      • The Counterintelligence Chief with Alan Kohler (2023) 
      • The Third Option – US Covert Action with Loch Johnson, Part 1 (2022) 
      • The Third Option – US Covert Action with Loch Johnson, Part 2 (2022) 
      • The Birth of American Propaganda with John Hamilton (2021) 
      • Juneteenth Special: African-American Spies (2021) 
        *Beginner Resources*
        • “I Am A Man” Dr. King and The Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike, M. Gailani, Tennessee State Museum (2020) [Short brief] 
        • Martin Luther King Jr., The Nobel Prize (n.d.) [Biography] 
        • COINTELPRO: United States Government Program, N. Frederique, Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.) [Short article] 
          *EXTENDED SHOW NOTES & FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE*


          DEEPER DIVEBooks
          • The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr., P. E. Joseph (Basic Books, 2021)
          • An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee, A. Goudsouzian, C. W. McKinney, et al. (The University Press of Kentucky, 2018) 
          • The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., J. Sokol (Basic Books, 2018) 
          • The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States, W. Churchill & J. V. Wall (South End Press, 2001) 
            Primary Sources 
            • The King v. Jowers Trial Findings, U.S. Department of Justice (1999) 
            • Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, United States Senate (1976) 
            • Report from Vietnam, Walter Cronkite (1968) 
            • “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” Speech, Martin Luther King Jr., AFSCME (1968) 
            • "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" Speech, Martin Luther King Jr., American Rhetoric (1967) 
            • COINTELPRO Records Collection, FBI Records: The Vault (n.d)

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