Photographer Ernest Withers worked for the FBI from 1958 to 1972 . A Memphis newspaper sued the FBI for access to Withers ' photos , unsuccessfully . The FBI has agreed to release portions of its files concerning civil rights-era photographer Ernest Withers ' work for the agency as a secret informant to settle a lawsuit , according to representatives of the Memphis , Tennessee , newspaper The Commercial Appeal . Withers provided photos on Martin Luther King , civil rights leader .
Photographer Ernest Withers worked for the FBI from 1958 to 1972 . A Memphis newspaper sued the FBI for access to Withers ' photos , unsuccessfully . Withers provided photos on Martin Luther King , civil rights leader .