shelly and i were in washington last week, and i walked by the jay edgar hoover building, what a disgrace that name is up there. what we know about him, the most corrupt government officials in the history of this republic. his name is still on that building. here's ethos still in the building, and that's why all we talk about whitey bulger is still there. >> on that cheery note -- [laughter] i'd like to thank you all for coming a, like to thank shelly murphy, kevin cullen, boston globe to both of you, whitey bulger, i don't know how many have time to come over, but, yes, after this. [applause] >> what's the new book about? >> called "david and goliath: underdogs, misfits, and art of battling giants," and it's about underdogs. i got really interested in telling the stories of people who seem weak and powerless, and yet go on to accomplish great things. i -- that was a puzzle of how they managed to do that, but i thought it was worthy of a book, and so my letter. >> in 2009, you wrote a piece for the new yorker, david and goliath, and you can tells story, but is that when the interest star

i believe it's because jay edgar hoover was afraid to attack in the cities because they were integrated into political structure. so if u.s. to attack the office chicago, he would've been attacking the daley machine and work for a democratic president. so eventually federal government under ronald reagan passes rico laws. we hear so much about racketeering laws. racketeering laws are passed in 1970. it wasn't until 1990 that the fbi in chicago had their first rico investigation. why, i don't know. when william webster became director of the fbi, every time you realign them from another mission was organized crime and the leaders who see the mission changed to fight terrorism. once the fbi got involved with both hands in the u.s. attorney's office got involved, in no time they dismantle organized crime in chicago. in 10, 15 year. they totally destroyed because of the rico laws, wiretapping of electronic surveillance and a will to do it. of course played some part with part of what's called the organized crime task force in chicago. so once the federal government made up its mind to use t

but on that date, he was considering pressure from jay edgar hoover, which is what was going on. ver said the day after the march, he received a secret edict that said king's demagoguing "i have a dream" speech should mark him as the most dangerous negro networin a. it's a sobering thought to us now that a member of our government would be so jaundices against something that was so profoundly patriotic. >> and i want to pause on that. that is not just an historic question. so right in this moment, as so many people on this mall are thinking about issues of criminal justice, reform, in the form of stop and frisk, as they're thinking about issues around voting rights, we're also thinking about the nsa. and we're also thinking about the fact that that j. edgar hoover moment of listening in on wiretapping is a part of our moment. is there a way we can learn of that historic moment in our contemporary one? >> the civil rights movement was wrestling with the profoundest questions of how a democracy worked. nowadays, we have sound bites of answers and we're divided between two factions,

are we going to pass this bill, president kennedy refused to talk to him until he satisfied jay edgar hooverasn't involved with anybody hoover thought was conversive. kennedy said we're with you now. so he was frightened. but he knew a good speech when he heard it and he knew a good line when he heard it. it's quite remarkable that none of the "i have a dream" we remember was in dr. king's prepared speech. >> we'll get to that in the show. ms. evers williams, you know also there weren't a lot of women speakers that day. you were scheduled and didn't make it. and byron rusten who taylor mentioned was told to take a back seat because he was gay. all of that, we're going to deal with tomorrow. i think that you can't fight for some civil rights without fighting for all civil rights. you undermine it. but the women that were heroes in the movement never really got their recognition until many years later. but women were just as important and just as courageous and worked sometimes even harder than the men that got the recognition. >> you have no idea how delighted i am to hear you say that. becau

but, of course, that was not enough for jay edgar hoover, who was absolutely, you know, terrified andelieved that communists were now controlling the civil rights movement. so that was first. but perhaps even more disturbing was the evidence of king's extramarital affairs. he thought king was horrible, a monster, a degenerate, and set out to destroy the movement. you've described the activities of the fbi quite accurately. it is interesting that the news people, the editor of a prominent southern paper, eugene patterson, was approached with material. he wouldn't print it. others, as well, would not even touch it. >> i know you write he said he didn't want to have his paper turn into the nation's peephole. i know abby has a question as well. >> you have been talking about the personal stories, which is why when the law was not upheld, it was an emotional day for so many people. we talk about people putting their life on the line to pass this bill. i want to talk about where we go from here. you write about when it was passed back in 1965. there were two main criteria. you have the stat

chellean i were in washington last week and i walked by the jay edgar hoover building and thought what a disgrace that name is still out there to read in the history of this republic his name is on the building. >> on that note i would like to thank you all for coming out and shelley murphy and kevin cullen, the "boston globe" "whitey bulger." i don't know how many of you are going to have time -- [applause] we will discuss international trade and port security on washington journal. then ♪ >> if we turn away from the needs of others, we align ourselves with those forces the to bringing about this suffering >> obesity in this country is nothing short of the public health crisis. >> i think they serve as a window on the path to what was going on with american women. >> many of the women who were first lady's a lot of them were writers, journalists -- sestak they were in many cases more interesting as human beings than their husbands. if only because they are not first and foremost to find the political ambition. >> when you go to the white house today -- >> there is too much looking dow

are we going to pass this bill, president kennedy refused to talk to him until he satisfied jay edgar hooverwasn't involved with anybody hoover thought was conversive. kennedy said we're with you now. so he was frightened. but he knew a good speech when he heard it and he knew a good line when he heard it. it's quite remarkable that none of the "i have a dream" we remember was in dr. king's prepared speech. >> we'll get to that in the show. ms. evers williams, you know also there weren't a lot of women speakers that day. you were scheduled and didn't make it. and byron rusten who taylor mentioned was told to take a back seat because he was gay. all of that, we're going to deal with tomorrow. i think that you can't fight for some civil rights without fighting for all civil rights. you undermine it. but the women that were heroes in the movement never really got their recognition until many years later. but women were just as important and just as courageous and worked sometimes even harder than the men that got the recognition. >> you have no idea how delighted i am to hear you say that. beca

there's this photograph of president kennedy, the attorney general robert kennedy and fbi director jay edgar hoover. the fbi began spying on dr. king in january of 1964 including at the hotel trying eavesdrop to find out what he was up to. guest: i agree. hoover, who we know has a history of paranoia in how he ran the fbi worried about infiltration and disruption of the government. after witnessing the march on washington conclude, that martin luther king was the most powerful african-american leader in the country and therefore was dangerous because hoover feared there would be a violent push for civil rights. which of course, really did not occur. frankly it occurred against african-americans who were pushing for equal rights. so that's a very sad chapter, i think, in american history that head of the fbi had to spy on people who were exercising their constitutional right to fulfill what was in the declaration of independence that all men are created equal. host: you can join us on facebook or twitter. i want to get both of your comments on this front page story from the washington post. ironical