utes.is just over 15 min gregg michel professor of history at university of texas at san antonio. what is cointelpro? >> cointelpro stands for counterintelligence program. it was the name of fbi programming designed to conduct primarily covert operations against organizations and individuals that the fbi deemed to be a threat to national security. >> why is this important? >> for several reasons. this is an artifact of the cold war era in the 1950's, when suspected communists in the united states came under suspicion. it quickly evolved and expanded to a range of individuals who the fbi deemed to be potential subversives. that most notably included martin luther king and the black civil rights movement, it included white socialists, puerto rican nationals, and a g roup of white student activists in the 1960's. >> who was behind it? individuals or government agencies? >> it had approval from the top of the fbi, which was j edgar hoover, who was the longtime director of the fbi or almost 50 years -- fbi for almost 50 years, and was extremely focused on identifying communist links, o

utes.is just over 15 min gregg michel professor of history at university of texas at san antonio.t is cointelpro? >> cointelpro stands for counterintelligence og