FBI documents on Miami CORE chairman Pete Christiansen
Dublin Core
Title
FBI documents on Miami CORE chairman Pete Christiansen
Subject
FBI documents on CORE
Description
This is a collection of FBI documents from 1965 pertaining to Miami CORE chairman Pete Christiansen. They show that Miami CORE was under investigation as part of the COINTELPRO program and designated as a ‘Hate Group’. They come from the Federal Surveillance of African Americans 1920-1984 database.
The documents begin with a report on a newspaper article on the local NAACP’s plans to picket the Florida State building in support of Miami CORE’s Pete Christiansen. He had been fired from his state welfare job because he refused to resign as the chapter’s chairman. Christiansen’s views were considered ‘anti-police authority and opposed to good government’ and doubtful as to whether he had ‘the true interest of America and the Negro freedom movement at heart’. The local FBI office argued it would be in the best interests of both the Bureau and CORE ‘to expose and disrupt his efforts’. The efforts to discredit him in the movement also included mailing anonymous letters to ‘seven leaders in civil rights field’ in Miami. This was a classic COINTELPRO tactic.
Christiansen was one of the few remaining White chairmen of a major CORE chapter. At the time he had recently graduated from the University of Miami with a double major in Psychology and in American Civilization. A draft resister and organizer against the Vietnam War, he went on to become a Unitarian minister.
His twin brother BIll who is referenced in the documents was also a member of Miami CORE. He went on to work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC.
The documents begin with a report on a newspaper article on the local NAACP’s plans to picket the Florida State building in support of Miami CORE’s Pete Christiansen. He had been fired from his state welfare job because he refused to resign as the chapter’s chairman. Christiansen’s views were considered ‘anti-police authority and opposed to good government’ and doubtful as to whether he had ‘the true interest of America and the Negro freedom movement at heart’. The local FBI office argued it would be in the best interests of both the Bureau and CORE ‘to expose and disrupt his efforts’. The efforts to discredit him in the movement also included mailing anonymous letters to ‘seven leaders in civil rights field’ in Miami. This was a classic COINTELPRO tactic.
Christiansen was one of the few remaining White chairmen of a major CORE chapter. At the time he had recently graduated from the University of Miami with a double major in Psychology and in American Civilization. A draft resister and organizer against the Vietnam War, he went on to become a Unitarian minister.
His twin brother BIll who is referenced in the documents was also a member of Miami CORE. He went on to work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC.
Creator
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Source
Federal Surveillance of African Americans 1920-198
Publisher
Federal Surveillance of African Americans 1920-198
Date
1965
Rights
public domain
Coverage
Miami CORE
Citation
Federal Bureau of Investigation, “FBI documents on Miami CORE chairman Pete Christiansen,” The CORE Project, accessed April 25, 2024, http://www.thecoreproject.org/omeka/items/show/47.