Witness Docs presents Unfinished, an investigative anthology series digging into America's unfinished business. Season 1, Deep South, produced in collaboration with Market Road Films, brought us on a journey into the Arkansas Delta to investigate the lynching of Isadore Banks. Season 2, produced with Critical Frequency, takes us to Short Creek, a community on the Utah/Arizona border divided by much more than a state line. Season 3, produced with Scripps, explores dual loyalties and hidden histories via the story of Ernest Withers, one of the most important photographers of the 20th century -- who was both a Civil Rights Movement photographer and a FBI informant. Hear more great stories about complicated people from Witness Docs at witnesspodcasts.com
39 Available Episodes (39 Total)Average duration: 00:30:43
Aug 24, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E10 Exposed
00:38:12
The FBI’s abusive domestic surveillance is exposed and after years of keeping his identity as an informant secret, Bill Lawrence and Ernest must testify under oath about their relationship. How far will they go to protect each other and preserve Ernest’s legacy as a hero of the civil rights movement?
Aug 17, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E9 The Assassination
00:41:40
Dr. King returns to Memphis on April 3 to make good on his promise to lead a non-violent march. But first he has to get the militants on board. Ernest is relaying dozens of tips from inside every meeting and negotiation. Eye-witnesses share details of King’s final hours, and Ernest is instrumental in getting the most iconic and intimate images out to the world.
Aug 10, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E8 The Invaders
00:37:10
We begin the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s last eight days alive. A sanitation workers' strike brings King to Memphis - but by this time, March 1968, the movement is splintered. A homegrown Black Power group called the Invaders wants more active resistance, a non-violent protest turns into a riot and Ernest, now a paid racial informant, provides the FBI with a front row seat to an unfolding disaster.
Aug 03, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E7 Harm / No Harm?
00:39:37
Ernest was an informant, but just how much damage did he actually cause? To what extent do the sins of the government fall on one man’s shoulders? Two people look over their FBI records and what Ernest revealed about them and arrive at very different conclusions.
Jul 27, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E6 Informants
00:38:48
The FBI launches a massive, illegal intelligence dragnet to gather information that could be used to disrupt, discredit and damage people and groups it deems a threat. A lot of people get caught up in providing information to the law enforcement, including Ernest. So what made him different?
Jul 20, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E5 On The Front Lines
00:34:38
Being on the front lines was dangerous - especially for a Black man with a camera. But Ernest puts himself at the center of the action. It’s easy to make friends with the Northern “agitators” pouring into West Tennessee and feed the FBI’s growing demand for their pictures.
Jul 13, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E4 Fayette County
00:31:56
Ernest’s relationship with the FBI blossoms in 1961 in Fayette County, Tennessee where Black sharecroppers are kicked off their land just for trying to vote. FBI Special Agent Bill Lawrence and Ernest show up to help, but end up seeing something more sinister in the works.
Jul 06, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E3 Two Daughters
00:30:05
How did Ernest operate and why did he do it? Two daughters bring us as close as we can get to the minds of the men at the center of our story, Ernest and his handler FBI Special Agent Bill Lawrence.
Jun 29, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E2 License To Lie
00:33:53
The FBI has a license to lie and it takes a landmark lawsuit to force them to hand over a trove of secret records detailing Ernest’s years as an FBI informant.
Jun 29, 2022
Ernie's Secret | E1 The Perfect Cover
00:26:29
Ernest Withers shot timeless photos covering the civil rights movement- Dr. King on that integrated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Emmett Till’s uncle pointing an accusing finger and striking garbage men in Memphis wearing I AM A MAN placards. His loyalty and dedication earned him the trust of movement leaders King, Young, Lawson. But what if that trust was misplaced - what if Ernest was leading a double life?
Aug 24 | 00:38:12
Ernie's Secret | E10 Exposed
Aug 17 | 00:41:40
Ernie's Secret | E9 The Assassination
Aug 10 | 00:37:10
Ernie's Secret | E8 The Invaders
Aug 03 | 00:39:37
Ernie's Secret | E7 Harm / No Harm?
Jul 27 | 00:38:48
Ernie's Secret | E6 Informants
Jul 20 | 00:34:38
Ernie's Secret | E5 On The Front Lines
Jul 13 | 00:31:56
Ernie's Secret | E4 Fayette County
Jul 06 | 00:30:05
Ernie's Secret | E3 Two Daughters
Jun 29 | 00:33:53
Ernie's Secret | E2 License To Lie
Jun 29 | 00:26:29
Ernie's Secret | E1 The Perfect Cover
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