{"id":492275,"date":"2022-09-08T21:18:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T18:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/aretha-franklins-fbi-file-has-been-unsealed\/"},"modified":"2022-09-08T21:18:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T18:18:51","slug":"aretha-franklins-fbi-file-has-been-unsealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/aretha-franklins-fbi-file-has-been-unsealed\/","title":{"rendered":"#Aretha Franklin\u2019s FBI file has been unsealed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27391b84053\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27391b84053\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/aretha-franklins-fbi-file-has-been-unsealed\/#%E2%80%9CAretha_Franklins_FBI_file_has_been_unsealed%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Aretha Franklin\u2019s FBI file has been unsealed&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/aretha-franklins-fbi-file-has-been-unsealed\/#The_270-page_document_declassified_via_the_Freedom_of_Information_Act_shows_the_Bureau_was_tracking_her_civil_rights_activity_in_the_60s_and_70s_and_helped_her_take_down_an_unauthorized_Yahoo_fan_group_in_the_early_aughts\" >The 270-page document, declassified via the Freedom of Information Act, shows the Bureau was tracking her civil rights activity in the \u201960s and \u201970s, and helped her take down an unauthorized Yahoo! fan group in the early aughts.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CAretha_Franklins_FBI_file_has_been_unsealed%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Aretha Franklin\u2019s FBI file has been unsealed&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_270-page_document_declassified_via_the_Freedom_of_Information_Act_shows_the_Bureau_was_tracking_her_civil_rights_activity_in_the_60s_and_70s_and_helped_her_take_down_an_unauthorized_Yahoo_fan_group_in_the_early_aughts\"><\/span>The 270-page document, declassified via the Freedom of Information Act, shows the Bureau was tracking her civil rights activity in the \u201960s and \u201970s, and helped her take down an unauthorized Yahoo! fan group in the early aughts.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-236566\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-871484972_wdi7hi\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"60vw\" alt=\"Aretha Franklin\u2019s FBI file has been unsealed\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><\/p>\n<p>      Dimitrios Kambouris<br \/>\n        \/<\/p>\n<p>      Getty Images<br \/>\n  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-236568\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            Four years ago, after <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\">Aretha Franklin<\/a> passed away at 76, reporter <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jennelizabethj\">Jen Dize<\/a> submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to unseal the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s file on the late soul queen. The contents of the 270-page file were finally published late morning in a report by Dize on her investigative journalism substack, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/couragenews.substack.com\/p\/news-foiad-fbi-files-on-aretha-franklin?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=auto_share&amp;s=w\">Courage News<\/a>. (Dize had posted what she felt were the most relevant documents hours earlier in a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jennelizabethj\/status\/1567631841229946880\">Twitter thread<\/a>.) They detail a complicated relationship between the Bureau and the legendary singer that found them acting as her harasser, protector, and legal advocate at different points in her life.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            Early on in Franklin\u2019s career, the FBI kept tabs on her friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr. and, later, Angela Davis. The newly unsealed file refers her 1967 and 1968 performances at Dr. King\u2019s Southern Christian Leadership Conference meetings as \u201ccommunist infiltration\u201d events. It also mentions her involvement in a memorial show in honor of Dr. King alongside Sammy Davis Jr. and others. \u201cOf this group, some have supported militant Black power concept,\u201d a Bureau source warned. \u201c[The concert] would provide emotional spark which could ignite racial disturbance in this area.\u201d A similar note was made on her performance at a fundraiser for the Angela Davis Legal Defense Fund.<\/p>\n<p>            Throughout the early and mid \u201970s, the Bureau seemingly remained obsessed with connecting Franklin to \u201cmilitant\u201d groups, including the Black Panthers, the Black Liberation Army, and the Coordinating Council for the Liberation of Dominica, which the file refers to as \u201ca black extremist group bent on disturbing the tranquility of the Island of Dominica.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            \u201cBobby Seale, Chairman of the Black Panther Party, has directed the Los Angeles Black Panther Party to initiate plans for a major rally culminating in free food distribution to the poor black people in Los Angeles,\u201d one filing reads, referring to an event that was ultimately cancelled due to scheduling issues. \u201cSource also advised that Gwen Goodloe wanted to contact Negro singing stars Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack to possibly assist in the event.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            During that same decade, the FBI documented three threats to Franklin\u2019s life: an extortion attempt by an inmate in Illinois impersonating a Bureau officer, a tip from stranger implying she was on a \u201chit list,\u201d and an intimidation campaign by an individual who harassed her by phone and mail with direct death threats.<\/p>\n<p>            The lion\u2019s share of the file, however \u2014 nearly the last two thirds of the document \u2014 are dedicated to an entirely different matter. In 2005, attorneys for Franklin reached out to the Bureau requesting their aid in locating the moderator of a Yahoo! message board that claimed to be \u201cthe unofficial biggest Aretha Franklin fan site.\u201d Franklin and her lawyers were pursuing a copyright infringement case against the mod, who was allegedly selling pirated audio and video footage of her concerts. Included in the excruciatingly detailed correspondences are step-by-step instructions for joining the fan group, ostensibly as a means to infiltrate the criminal conspiracy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Raphael Helfand<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2022\/09\/08\/aretha-franklin-fbi-file-unsealed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Aretha Franklin\u2019s FBI file has been unsealed&#8221; The 270-page document, declassified via the Freedom of Information Act, shows the Bureau was tracking her civil rights activity in the \u201960s and \u201970s, and helped her take down an unauthorized Yahoo! fan group in the early aughts. Dimitrios Kambouris \/ Getty Images Four years ago, after Aretha&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":492276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_533,w_1024,x_0,y_67,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/GettyImages-871484972_xo2abs\/GettyImages-871484972_xo2abs.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[12685,29336],"class_list":["post-492275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-soul","tag-aretha-franklin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}