Background Welcome to the FBI Files on Historical Figures & Groups archive at The Black Vault. This comprehensive collection provides a unique lens into the lives and activities of various prominent individuals and groups that have played significant roles in shaping history. These files offer a rare glimpse into the FBI’s surveillance, investigation, and documentation of notable personalities and organizations, revealing the intricate ways they interacted with or were perceived by the U.S. government. From influential political leaders and activists to groundbreaking cultural figures, these documents span a wide spectrum of history and provide an invaluable resource for understanding the…
Author: John Greenewald
Background Movements for civil rights were a worldwide series of political movements for equality before the law that peaked in the 1960s. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change through nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was accompanied, or followed, by civil unrest and armed rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and many of these movements did not fully achieve their goals, although the efforts of these movements did lead to improvements in the legal rights of previously oppressed groups of people. Below are files…
A 386-page dossier reportedly compiled by the Russian government detailing its findings on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has been delivered to the United States and made public for the first time. The documents, written primarily in Russian, were hand-delivered by the Russian Ambassador to the United States to Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who announced the release and public posting of the material this week. According to Luna, her office received the physical dossier directly from the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. “This is of massive historical significance,” she wrote on X. She noted that Congress had…
(Note: Photo graphic above is for illustrative purposes, and not a representation of actual holdings of the State of New York) Released records from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) reveal detailed inventories of the state’s vast collection of historical and archaeological artifacts. Released under the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), the files catalog thousands of items curated and stored across the state’s museum, park, and research facilities. The release includes structured database files listing artifact categories, site origins, materials, estimated time periods, and associated state collections. Items span centuries of New…
The FBI’s file on late-night radio host Art Bell has expanded with the release of a previously unheard audio recording, offering a rare, albeit brief and segmented glimpse into the Bureau’s investigation of his harassment complaints and the evidence he once submitted himself. According to the FBI’s written records, Bell had provided an audio tape to agents as part of his report, a piece of evidence now partially released. The recording is difficult to listen to: fragmented, punctuated by long silences, and seemingly edited or redacted, leaving major gaps in conversation and context. The Black Vault first obtained and published…