Abraham Bolden-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abraham Bolden-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Abraham Bolden is an American former United States Secret Service agent and author.

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
2 Portrayals in fiction
3 Further reading
4 References

[edit] BiographyAbraham Bolden grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois.[1] After receiving a degree in music from Lincoln University of Missouri,[2] he began his professional career as an Illinois state trooper. He joined the Secret Service in 1961 and later that year he became the first African American member of the Secret Service's Presidential Protective Division after being appointed by President John F. Kennedy.[3] According to Bolden, Kennedy personally invited him to join the detail when the two met at an event in Chicago in April.[4] He worked in the dual capacities of guarding the President and investigating counterfeiting.[5]

In the wake of the 1963 John F. Kennedy assassination, Bolden contacted the Warren Commission, hoping to testify about an alleged assassination plot in Chicago two weeks before Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. He traveled to Washington but before he could testify, Bolden was returned to Chicago. There he was arrested on May 20, 1964 on federal charges that he had solicited a bribe from a counterfeiting ring that he had helped break.[6] He was accused of seeking $50,000 in exchange for a secret file on the investigation.[7] He maintained his innocence, asserting that he had been framed because he planned to expose dereliction among the agents assigned to guard Kennedy in front of the Commission. The Secret Service denied Bolden's claims. Bolden's first jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction, at which time presiding judge Joseph Sam Perry issued an Allen charge in which he expressed his belief that Bolden was guilty but that the jury was free to disregard his opinion. The jury remained deadlocked and Perry declared a mistrial on July 11, 1964. In his retrial Bolden was convicted and Judge Perry sentenced him to six years in prison.[3] Bolden appealed his conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, based in part on Perry's Allen charge in the first trial. Bolden claimed that the charge was evidence that Perry was not impartial and that his failure to recuse himself denied Bolden a fair trial. The Appeals Court disagreed and upheld Bolden's conviction in a decision issued December 29, 1965.[8]

Following his release from prison, Bolden worked as a quality control supervisor in the automotive industry until his retirement in 2001.[9]

In 2008, Bolden published his memoir, The Echo From Dealey Plaza: The True Story of the First African American on the White House Secret Service Detail and His Quest for Justice After the Assassination of JFK.

[edit] Portrayals in fictionAbraham Bolden appears in the 2011 television miniseries The Kennedys. He is depicted joining the President's protective detail and later President Kennedy turns to him as a sounding board during the crisis surrounding the 1962 desegregation of the University of Mississippi. Bolden is portrayed by Rothaford Gray.

[edit] Further readingBolden, Abraham (2008). The Echo From Dealey Plaza: The True Story of the First African American on the White House Secret Service Detail and His Quest for Justice After the Assassination of JFK. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 030738201X.
[edit] References^ "Suspended Agent Denies Charges". Toledo (OH) Blade (Associated Press): p. 8. July 10, 1964.
^ "Secret Service Agent In Recitals For Defense Fund". Jet: p. 10. June 25, 1964.
^ a b "US Agent Bolden Gets 6 Year Sentence". The Milwaukee Journal (UPI): p. 3. August 12, 1964.
^ Kelly, Joyce; Daily News staff (February 25, 2009). "First African-American Secret Service agent to speak in Franklin". The Milford (MA) Daily News. http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1694332433/First-African-American-Secret-Service-agent-to-speak-in-Franklin. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
^ "Whites Were Slack on Guard of JFK, Says Secret Service Negro". Jet: pp. 6-7. June 4, 1964.
^ "Secret Service Agent Accused". The Reading (PA) Eagle (UPI): p. 19. May 20, 1964.
^ "Mistrial Declared In Secret Service Agent's trial". Ocala (FL) Star Banner (Associated Press): p. 23. July 12, 1964.
^ United States v. Bolden
^ Turner Rice, Dawn (January 18, 2010). "Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden of Chicago served President John Kennedy as the first African-American on the White House security detail". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-01-18/news/1001170163_1_secret-service-agent-white-house-security-detail-kennedy-compound. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Bolden"
Categories: Living people | African American memoirists | African American police officers | African American writers | Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni | People convicted of bribery | People from East St. Louis, Illinois | Researchers of the John F. Kennedy assassination | United States Secret Service agents | Writers from Illinois
Hidden categories: Year of birth missing