In this Book
- Dangerous Friendship: Stanley Levison, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Kennedy Brothers
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: Michigan State University Press
summary
The product of long-concealed FBI surveillance documents, Dangerous Friendship chronicles a history of Martin Luther King Jr. that the government kept secret from the public for years. The book reveals the story of Stanley Levison, a well-known figure in the Communist Party–USA, who became one of King’s closest friends and, effectively, his most trusted adviser. Levison, a Jewish attorney and businessman, became King’s pro bono ghostwriter, accountant, fundraiser, and legal adviser. This friendship, however, created many complications for both men. Because of Levison’s former ties to the Communist Party, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover launched an obsessive campaign, wiretapping, tracking, and photographing Levison relentlessly. By association, King was labeled as “a Communist and subversive,” prompting then–attorney general Robert F. Kennedy to authorize secret surveillance of the civil rights leader. It was this effort that revealed King’s sexual philandering and furthered a breakdown of trust between King, Robert F. Kennedy, and eventually President John F. Kennedy. With stunning revelations, this book exposes both the general attitude of the U.S. government toward the privacy rights of American citizens during those difficult years as well as the extent to which King, Levison, and many other freedom workers were hounded by people at the very top of the U.S. security establishment.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Chapter One: Cousin Stanley
- pp. 3-10
- Chapter Four: The Communist
- pp. 39-52
- Chapter Five: In Friendship
- pp. 53-66
- Chapter Seven: A Stabbing in Harlem
- pp. 83-92
- Chapter Eight: Stanley Knew Better
- pp. 93-110
- Chapter Nine: Senator Kennedy Is Calling
- pp. 111-126
- Chapter Ten: Martin, Stanley, and Clarence
- pp. 127-142
- Chapter Twelve: I Have a Dream Today
- pp. 157-168
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 247-248
Additional Information
ISBN
9781609174163
Related ISBN(s)
9781611861310, 9781628950045, 9781628960044
MARC Record
OCLC
878130613
Pages
268
Launched on MUSE
2014-04-24
Language
English
Open Access
No