In December 2017, the FBI barged into a sleeping Rakem Balogun’s home, forcing him and his teenage son outside. It shocked Balogun, but to the armed agents, this night had been years in the making. After attending protests and venting about police violence on Facebook, Balogun is considered the first person targeted and prosecuted as a “black identity extremist" by the FBI, through then-secretive efforts to stamp out “domestic terrorism."
Most cop killers are white men. Since 2001, white supremacists have committed 75% of fatal extremist attacks since 2001. But officials claimed that “perceptions” of police violence lead Black Americans into “ideologically motivated, violent criminal activity,” putting police, and the country, in danger.
The FBI used Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to surveil Black activists for years, many falling under that “identity extremist” label. This means listening on private phone calls and reading text messages and emails — all without a warrant. And though the act could have expired, Congress recently extended it for another two years.
The horrors of COINTELPRO officially ended decades ago. But the FBI continues to position Black resistance movements as a threat to the U.S. government. Technically, they are.
If the government continues to define local, national, and international safety as oppression, violence, and control, we deserve a new definition. We deserve a better society.