The "damage" to their reputation was part of the plan to disrupt and divide in the same manner every Black leader throughout history has faced similar criticicism. The NAACP and Martin Luther King were tied to communism, the FBI director tried to get King to kill himself.

Who says they didn't align themselves with the Black church and other allies? As a writer and reader on Medium, I'd be hesitant to form my beliefs on someone's opinion unless they did an outstanding job of documentation.