African American

J Edgar hated King (Hoover hated almost everyone, btw) and when King was on the way to get his Nobel, Hoover suggested he'd best kill himself, the horrific Communist that he was. No secret at all that Hoover called him a commie, and only slightly more of a secret that AG RFK had his phone tapped.

Those were the '60s, remember, and the worst thing you could be was a communist, so Hoover slung that canard around with even more effect than McCarthy had.

And kids these days think today's dirty dealings are something new...