The FBI monitored Aretha Franklin for decades since the late 1960s, according to files released last month under the Freedom of Information Act. On April 8, 1968, a memo informed the FBI about plans for a “huge memorial concert” with Franklin and others in support of “militant Black power.” The memo mentioned that Franklin performed at a conference whose leaders “hate America” according to a “confidential source.” As a civil rights activist who spoke out about the struggle for civil rights and women’s equality, Franklin was followed by the FBI due to alleged links to “possible racial violence”…