In the United States, Black Identity Extremists was a designation used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from August 2017 to July 2019.
It first appeared in a counterterrorism report dated August 3, 2017 sent to thousands of American police departments and described safety concerns about allegedly violent African-American activists.
[2] According to documents obtained by The Young Turks a 2018-19 "Threat Guidance" defined Black Identity Extremists as people who "use force or violence in violation of criminal law in response to perceived racism and injustice in society".
[4][5][6] According to Foreign Policy, the report is the first reference to "black identity extremists", while also noting the report claims "[t]he FBI assesses it is very likely Black Identity Extremist perceptions of police brutality against African Americans spurred an increase in premeditated, retaliatory lethal violence against law enforcement and will very likely serve as justification for such violence".
It has not dismantled other surveillance programs like IRON FIST, leading to criticism that the Federal government has neglected the threat posed by white supremacists to focus on targeting Black people.