Some of the resources on this website are FBI folders that include numerical identification codes. This collection has been filmed from David Garrow’s and Harold Weisberg’s own holdings of recently released FBI files. These materials can also be found at the FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Each of these folders have been assigned a numerical identifier. The following FBI files have been included in this publication in the order presented:

Montgomery, Alabama
100-135-61 Racial Situation, Alabama 
62-101087 Prayer Pilgrimage, Southern Segregation 
100-429326 Montgomery Improvement Association 

Albany, Georgia 
157-6-2 Racial Matters, Georgia (Albany)
157-492 FBI Headquarters, Albany
157-4-2 FBI Headquarters, Albany 

St. Augustine, Florida 
157-6-63 Racial Situation, St. Augustine, Florida 

Selma, Alabama
157-6-61 Racial Situation, Selma, Alabama 
44-12831 Election Laws, Selma/Dallas County, Alabama 
44-25760 Voter Registration, Selma, Alabama 
44-28544 Selma to Montgomery March, 1965 

Memphis, Tennessee
157-1092 FBI Memphis Field Office File, Memphis Sanitation Strike
157-9146 Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, Tennessee
157-6 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike 
157-1067 FBI Memphis Field Office File, The Invaders 
157-8460 The Invaders, Memphis, Tennessee 

 

Explanation of FBI Classifications 
The present FBI subject-classified Central Records System (CRS) began in 1921 and has not changed in any major respect since then. The classifications in CRS correspond to specific federal crimes (e.g., bank robbery, classification 91), investigatory responsibilities (e.g., domestic security investigations, classification 100), or subjects (e.g., fingerprint matters, classification 32). The numerical classifications that have been included in this microfilm publication (and listed on the Note on Sources) correspond to the following subjects: 

Code Definition
44    Civil Rights 
62    Miscellaneous Subversives 
100  Subversive Matters; Internal Security; Domestic Security Investigation 
157  Extremist Matters; Civil Unrest 

How to Cite FBI Records 
Citations of FBI records should give the reader sufficient information to access the same material if desired. Although FBI files contain many different types of records, the following examples should suffice for most of them. Citations should generally include document type, “sender” to “recipient,” headquarters or field office city, date, caption/subject, and classification-file number-subfile (if applicable)-serial number. 

Example: memorandum, SAC [Special Agent in Charge], Boston to Director, FBI, 12/10/50, WILLIAM JONES, JOHN SMITH-VICTIM, Bureau File 7-xxxx-124. 

Example: letter, SAC, Atlanta to Chief of Police, Atlanta, 1976 TRAINING SCHEDULE, l-xxxx-124. 

The types of documents usually found in FBI files are as follows: 

(1 ) Letters: A communication sent from FBIHQ [FBI headquarters] to a field office, from a field office to FBIHQ, from one field office to another, or from either FBIHQ or a field office to any outside agency or person. 

(2) Memorandum: A communication (on FBI memorandum paper) to the Attorney General and other department officials, from one official to another at FBIHQ, or from one employee to another within a field territory. It is also applicable to the omnibus types, such as memoranda to all SACs. 

(3) Letterhead Memorandum (LHM): A memorandum on letterhead stationery; it should normally require a cover communication for transmittal. 

(4) Report: A written document containing the results of an investigation. It is almost always prepared in a field office. 

(5) Cover Page: The page(s) containing administrative data, leads, and informant evaluations not found in LHMs or reports. Cover page(s) are not disseminated outside the FBI. 

(6) Teletype: A communication transmitted by machine. 

(7) Airtel: An intra-FBI communication with highest priority of those sent through the mail. Originally conceived as a teletype sent via airmail, it may be in teletype phraseology. 

For more information on our FBI materials, please see our complete guide.