The Architecture of a Frame
Let's follow the trail: FIRST INSTANCE: The 'Red Scare' and the Demonization of Black Activism (1950s) The intentional manipulation of imagery and narrative to discredit Black leaders isn't new. During the McCarthy era, the FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, systematically targeted civil rights activists with false accusations of communist ties. Records from the 1950s show the Bureau extensively using
surveillance and disinfo, including falsified documents and manipulated quotes, to undermine figures like Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Du Bois, labeling them as 'subversive' and a threat to national security. The imagery deployed, though not always digitally doctored, painted them as dangerous outsiders collaborating with foreign enemies. The goal was to isolate them from mainstream support and justify
state repression (Source: FBI Records, 1950s). REPETITIONS: COINTELPRO and the 'Black Messiah' (1960s-70s) The playbook evolved dramatically with COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program), launched in 1956 and intensified in the 1960s. The FBI's stated objectives included 'expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize' Black nationalist groups and their leaders. One notorious
example is their campaign against Martin Luther King Jr., whom Hoover famously called 'the most dangerous Negro to the future of this Nation.' The FBI sent King anonymous, threatening letters encouraging him to commit suicide, and widely distributed fabricated stories about his personal life to destroy his reputation. While not always photo manipulation, the objective was identical to the