As John Kennedy began to take a stand against sending troops to Southeast Asia that would become one more reason for his assassination, he met a man who would take equally strong stands on his behalf, Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden. In the Cold War years when JFK had been a congressman and a senator, Abe Bolden was a black kid growing up in East St. Louis, Illinois. By determination and discipline, Bolden survived the inner-city war zone of East St. Louis. He then worked his way through Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. From the beginning to the end of his college days, Bolden walked to the beat of his own drummer. While other freshmen obeyed the hazing commands of upperclassmen, Bolden defied them, saying he would do nothing that was not included in the school manual.[46] He outraged campus opinion by writing a letter to the school paper challenging the granting of scholarships to star athletes who were poor students. Bolden graduated cum laude from Lincoln. A classmate said Abraham Bolden could be described “as foolish or as a man of courage, depending upon one’s views,”[47] a characterization that would be borne out by his journey into the life and death of John F. Kennedy. After serving as an Illinois state trooper for four years with an outstanding record, Bolden joined the U.S. Secret Service in 1960. He became an agent in its Chicago office. Thus it was that on the night of April 28, 1961, when President Kennedy came to speak at Chicago’s McCormick Exposition Center, Abraham Bolden was standing outside a men’s restroom to which he’d been assigned as security. Just as he was thinking that he’d probably never see Kennedy, he suddenly saw the president coming down the steps toward him, together with Mayor Richard Daley and other dignitaries. Kennedy stopped in front of Bolden. He said, “Who are you?” “I’m Abraham Bolden, Mr. President.” “Are you a member of the Secret Service?” “Yes, sir.” “Mr. Bolden, has there ever been a Negro member of the White House Detail of the Secret Service?” “No, sir, there has not.” “Would you like to be the first?” “Yes, sir.” “I’ll see you in Washington.”[48] Douglass, James W. (2011-10-01). JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters (p. 103). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:59:03 +0000
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