Records of the FBI - Classification 44: Civil Rights
Though this classification contains records predating 1924, it was established as "Civil Rights and Domestic Violence" in a January 1924 Hoover memorandum. The legislative bases for the investigations were the civil rights acts passed during the Reconstruction period, codified in Title 18, sections 241 and 242. These prohibit actions or conspiracies of two or more people to stop citizens in their free exercise of Federal rights secured by the Constitution and laws of the U.S. Section 242 is directed specifically towards law enforcement officers and state officials, "persons acting under the color of law," for the same offenses. Sections 243-245 of Title 18 and section 1973 of Title 42 are also now included in the classification; they derive from the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Civil Rights Act of 1968, and Voting Rights Act of 1975.
When this classification was established in the early 1920s, the investigations were directed primarily towards the Ku Klux Klan, and the first files are "state files" on KKK activities. In the mid- and late 1930s, some investigations of violence against labor unions and organizers were included under the aegis of the Wagner Act, but beginning with World War II, the investigations increasingly focused on racial disturbances and police brutality. With the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s, the classification has close ties with files in Classifications 56 (Election Laws), 157 (Civil Unrest), 170 (Extremist Informants), and 176 (Anti-Riot Laws). Several other classifications including 7 (Kidnapping), 100 (Domestic Security), 137 (Informants), and 173 (Public Accommodations) are also closely related to investigation in Classification 44.
The FBI and DOJ worked closely on the openings of cases in this classification, and until the Kennedy administration, the FBI chose to define Federal, and thus FBI, jurisdiction very narrowly. Through most of that period, Field Offices had to obtain approval from Headquarters and Department of Justice (DOJ) before opening a preliminary investigation. In 1954, Headquarters reiterated that policy by not allowing Field Offices to initiate any investigations of school discrimination cases. In December 1961, the Field Offices were given the power to initiate preliminary investigations. In 1966 they were given broader authority to work with U.S. attorneys on civil rights matters. Until 1964, the Field Offices were required to consult with local police officials before opening cases that might involve their officers. That necessity ended in 1964, but close relations between FBI investigators and local officials continued. Field Offices had to gain Headquarters approval before dealing with major civil rights actions or mass demonstrations, and that requirement continues today. As the civil rights movement quieted in the 1970s, the investigations in Classification 44 shifted focus to police and prison brutality complaints.
NARA online catalog descriptions of holdings for Classification 44: Civil Rights
Headquarters Files
Field Office Files
Additional Classification 44 Records
Undescribed Records
Some records under Classification 44: Civil Rights are not yet described in NARA's online catalog. Please contact NARA's Special Access Program at specialaccess_FOIA@nara.gov with your reference request.