Podcasts
SpyCast
Ep 593
SpyCast 7.11.23
Ep 593 | 7.11.23

“The Kneeling Man” – with Leta McCollough Seletsky

Show Notes
Transcript

Summary

Leta McCollough Seletsky (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to share the story of her father, the famous “Kneeling Man” – The man knelt next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at his assassination at the Lorraine Motel in 1968. Leta is a litigator turned essayist and memoirist. 

*Nominate SpyCast for a People’s Choice Podcast Award HERE!* 

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

  • The life and times of Marrell “Mac” McCollough 
  • The CIA connection between father and daughter
  • Black power and the counterintelligence program (or, COINTELPRO)
  • The conspiracies surrounding Dr. King’s assassination

Reflections

  • Coming to terms with the past … and present
  • Small but important steps of progress

And much, much more …

Episode Notes

Leta McCollough Seletsky grew up fully aware that her father was the man in the famous photo seen kneeling next to a fatally wounded Martin Luther King Jr. What she didn’t discover until many years later, however, was that her father was actually an undercover spy working with the Memphis Police Department. How did he get to the balcony of the Lorraine Motel that day, and why? 

Leta joins Andrew this week on SpyCast to tell both her father’s story, and the story of her personal journey searching for the long-lost truths of his life. From a young Black man growing up in Jim Crow Mississippi, to a spy infiltrating the Memphis-based Black militant group the Invaders, and ultimately to a career in the Central Intelligence Agency, this is one episode you won’t want to miss. 

And… 

Memphis is home to the National Civil Rights Museum, located at the former Lorraine Motel. If you can’t make it there in person, check out their blog From the Vault to read fascinating stories and learn about artifacts from their collection never-before-seen by the public. 

Quotes of the Week

“My father never really saw progress being made any other way than just this sort of slow push, you know, it's not a sea change. It's not microwave justice. You know, it's incremental change. And yet, I think it's gotta be pretty amazing to him to see what his children were able to do and the choices that they had, vis-a-vis what he had to come through to get there, and the choices that he had at our ages.” – Leta McCollough Seletsky.

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*Headline Resource*

*SpyCasts*

*Beginner Resources*

DEEPER DIVE

Books

  • The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr., P. E. Joseph (Basic Books, 2021)
  • An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee, A. Goudsouzian, C. W. McKinney, et al. (The University Press of Kentucky, 2018) 
  • The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., J. Sokol (Basic Books, 2018) 
  • The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States, W. Churchill & J. V. Wall (South End Press, 2001) 

Articles

Video

Primary Sources 

*Wildcard Resource*

SpyCast
Podcast Info
HOST(S):
Andrew Hammond
Erin Dietrick
Andrew Hammond, Ph.D. is Historian & Curator at the International Spy Museum, home of the world's preeminent collection of intelligence-related artifacts. Previous chapters have included seven years in the RAF, Public Humanities at the 9/11 Museum in NYC, Fellowships here, there, and everywhere, and academia. He is author of the forthcoming book: "Struggles for Freedom": Afghanistan & US Foreign Policy Since 1979. He loves bialys.
Erin Dietrick is the Programs & Podcast Assistant at the International Spy Museum. Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, where she studied history. Currently gaining her MA in Museum Studies from the George Washington University, Erin is passionate about storytelling, inspiring critical thinking, and inciting joy through museum programming. She has a special place in her heart for music history and named her orange cat Ringo after Ringo Starr.
Schedule: Tuesdays, 7am EST (weekly)
Credits: SPY: Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughn III, Co-Producers; Emily Rens and Emily Coletta, Graphics; Afua Anokwa and Ariel Samuel, Social Media; Erin Dietrick, Researcher, Scheduler, Editor, Co-Producer, Social Media; Andrew Hammond, Writer, Editor-in-Chief, Executive Producer. CYBERWIRE: Elliott Peltzman, Sound Design; Elliott Peltzman and Tré Hester, mixing; Jen Eiben, Co-producer, Social Media; SpyCast opening music: Wayne Jones, “Cypher” (2018).
Creator: International Spy Museum
SpyCast