The MLK Assassination Revisited | History of the Present with Author Leta McCollough Seletzky

Leta McCollough Seletzky, author of The Kneeling Man and daughter of Marrell “Mac” McCollough—the man beside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the moments after he was shot—joins History of the Present for a conversation about history, identity, and personal truth.

This is Episode 3 of History of the Present, a series from The Intellectualist focused on the convergence of major forces, including artificial intelligence, robotics, climate change, inequality, democracy, and space exploration, and how they are interacting at a critical moment in human civilization. The series examines how these forces intersect and reshape the world, bringing in voices that help make this moment more legible.

In The Kneeling Man, Leta McCollough Seletzky reconstructs her father’s life and his presence in that moment. At the time, he was a young Memphis police officer and, as the book presents it, operating in an undercover capacity in connection with the Invaders, a Black activist group in Memphis during the civil rights movement. After the shot, he moved toward Martin Luther King Jr. and attempted to render aid.

The conversation also touches on FBI surveillance of Dr. King during this period. In the discussion, the memo is referenced in connection with J. Edgar Hoover, but upon further clarification, it was in fact written by FBI official William Sullivan.