To truly understand COINTELPRO impact on the anti-war movement we have to take a look at the individuals that it affected. COINTELPRO did not only try to discredit individuals and ruin their reputations but destroyed their careers. One individual in particular, Morris Starsky, was one of the first victims to take the government to trial for what they did to him.
Starsky started out his career as a lecturer at the University of Washington as a philosophy professor in the early 1960’s. He was an outspoken anti-war individual but his public actions towards the war did not come out during this time period. He was then hired as an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University. It was here where his outspoken political activism came to the forefront. Starsky and his wife were members of the Socialist Workers party and gained the parties vote in the 1968 Arizona elections. He was also a member of the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and was friends with Tom Hayden who was one of the founders of this organization. By being such prominent members in these two groups, Starksy gained media attention and unwanted attention from government agencies.
This unwanted attention had already drawn Starsky into the forefront of anti-war opposition in Arizona. In early January of 1970, Starsky cancelled class in order for himself and his students to attend an anti-war protest at the University of Arizona. He had asked permission from his department head as well as other faculty members and they approved of his decision. This decision did not go over well with the media or high-ranking officials within the Arizona and Federal government. Outrage poured in from every outlet and the University decided to not extend Starsky’s contract. He was in his seventh year as a tenured professor, which seems odd that he got fired over this incident. He was officially fired from the University in June of 1970. His official firing came at a time when universities across the nation were protesting against the war after the incident at Kent State. Starsky did not regret his actions and continued to be an advocate against the war. In an interview years later his wife is quoted saying that “Even knowing the outcome, he never would have turned his back on the antiwar movement” (Phoenix Times).
Starksy story did not end there though. It was discovered in 1975 after the leakage of the COINTELPRO documents that this program targeted Starksy along with other members of the Socialist Workers party. The newspaper article above tells the story of Starksy as well as other members of his party were targeted throughout the Vietnam War era. “The records show FBI agents worked clandestinely to get members of the tiny political party fired from their jobs and even evicted from their apartments”. Members of the COINTELPRO program sent anonymous letters to the University slandering Starsky and advocating for his dismissal from the university. It is also noted that many members of the Board of Regents and faculty members were against the termination of him but were pushed by the media and government agencies to do so. Due to his termination, Starsky was unable to find work at any university, which effectively destroyed his career.
Starsky took the evidence that was given to him by the Freedom of Information act and took the FBI to court. He was awarded a 15,000-dollar settlement but this could not compensate for the unwarranted actions brought against him. The COINTELPRO program slandered and destroyed this individual’s career because he spoke out against the war and helped others display their firs-amendment rights. Starsky’s case was on the first to be brought to light after the releasing of another section of the COINTELPRO documents and it would not be the last.
Anti-War Suppression 