Turns out Ernest Withers, a revered civil rights photographer who captured iconic images of Martin Luther King Jr. on the night King was shot in Memphis, actually played a different role the day before: FBI informant.A just completed a two-year investigation reveals how Withers provided the FBI with details about where King was staying and information on his meeting with black militants on April 3, 1968 — the day before the assassination.
Withers' spying, however, extends far beyond the slain civil rights leader.
Apparently Withers collaborated for years with FBI agents monitoring the civil rights movement. Beloved in Memphis, Tennessee, where a namesake museum is scheduled to open next month, it remains to be seen how these new revelations may affect Withers' legacy.