Inside the FBI Hunt for "Black Identity Extremists"
According to a leaked FBI assessment, “Black Identity Extremists” are a new group of domestic terrorists who pose a serious and violent threat to American law enforcement. The assessment is based on unsubstantiated grouping of unrelated police shootings and has drawn much public scrutiny for its apparent advocacy of racial profiling.
Echoing the dark history of the FBI’s notorious CoINTELPRO operations during the civil-rights movement that targeted leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, The Black Panthers, and Malcolm X, we speak with Rakem Balogun and his organization Guerilla Mainframe that were targeted by the FBI under “Black Identity Extremist” assessments in Dallas.
Inside the FBI Hunt for "Black Identity Extremists"
Role: VICE Media Reporter
With over 3.6 million views on VICE’s Facebook - Akil reports on Rakem Balogun, an outspoken black activist in Dallas, who is considered the first person to be targeted by the FBI as a “Black Identity Extremist”. After being detained for nearly 6 months on weapons charges, VICE’s Akil Gibbons met up with Rakem on the day he was released from prison to learn more about the events leading to his arrest and real-world repercussions of the new “Black Identity Extremist” label.