The FBI, or Federal Bureau of Investigation, has played a complex and sometimes problematic role in Black history. Founded in 1908, the FBI has had a long history of surveilling, investigating, and sometimes targeting Black individuals and organizations that were perceived as threats to the status quo.

During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the FBI, under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, engaged in surveillance and harassment of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and organizations like the Black Panther Party. Hoover famously labeled King as a Communist sympathizer and sought to undermine his influence.

The FBI's Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO) targeted various groups advocating for Black liberation, including the Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam, and other Black nationalist organizations. This covert program aimed to disrupt and discredit these groups through tactics such as infiltration, disinformation campaigns, and even violence.

Despite these actions, there were also instances where the FBI investigated cases of racial violence and hate crimes against Black individuals. In more recent years, the FBI has worked to improve its relationship with the Black community and address issues of systemic racism within the organization.

Overall, the FBI's history in Black history is a complicated one, marked by both attempts to support civil rights and democracy, as well as efforts to suppress and undermine Black activists and movements.