A Word: My Father, the Spy

Slate Culture

Slate Podcasts

Arts, Tv & Film, Music

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Every family has secrets. As a girl, Leta McCollough Seletzky learned that her father, Marrell McCollough– was on the scene of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. But it would be years before she learned that he was there as a spy for the Memphis police, who wanted information on King’s local allies. On today’s episode of A Word, she speaks with Jason Johnson about her father’s story, captured in her new book, The Kneeling Man: My Father's Life as a Black Spy Who Witnessed the Assassination of Martin Luther King. Guest: Leta McCollough Seletzky, author of The Kneeling Man: My Father's Life as a Black Spy Who Witnessed the Assassination of Martin Luther King Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. This Pride Month, make an impact by helping Macy’s and The Trevor Project on their mission to fund life-saving suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. The death of Martin Luther King Jr.
0:11.0	was captured in an iconic photograph taken moments after he was shot. Picture captures the
0:16.2	slain civil rights leader bleeding out on a balcony, surrounded by trusted advisors, and
0:22.5	a man who we now know was a spy.
0:26.0	I just thought, how could a black man infiltrate a group that's fighting for black liberation
0:33.1	and report back to the Memphis Police Department?
0:35.4	The kneeling man coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.
0:40.7	Looking for ways to use less fuel. At SO, we can help. Small changes we can make today
0:45.9	can start to help win the energy challenges we all face. Like your choice of fuel, making
0:50.8	the fuel you buy go further, and even finding alternatives to using it in the first place.
0:55.8	We call this thoughtful driving. The journey won't be easy, but we want to start it with you.
1:01.7	Not what you're expecting to hear from a fuel company. Well, at SO, we think it's time
1:06.0	that changed. Search SO thoughtful driving for changes we can all start to make today.
1:17.3	Welcome to a word, a podcast about race and politics and everything else. I'm your host,
1:20.9	Jason Johnson.
1:22.5	The flattening of black history into a simple story of good guys and bad guys started long
1:27.8	before the debates over critical race theory. And the current era, Martin Luther King Jr.
1:31.8	is almost universally hailed as a hero, but up until the time of his death, he was treated
1:36.4	as a dangerous man and a threat to the nation who needed to be watched. Part of that story
1:41.6	is told in the new book, The Kneeling Man. My father's life as a black spy who witnessed
1:47.2	the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The title of the book refers to Merle McCullough.
1:52.4	Who is in the famous photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. after he was shot at the Lorraine
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Slate Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.