Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
95. Equality was important to President Kennedy. Ask Abraham Bolden...
Sun Nov 23, 2014, 11:16 AM
Nov 2014
Secret Service didn't like African Americans in 1963. So, President Kennedy, personally, integrated the White House detail.

Former U.S. Secret Service Agent Abraham BOLDEN was the first African American Secret Service agent to serve in the White House, personally appointed and literally hand-picked by President John F. Kennedy to the White House detail. Agent Abraham Bolden reported overt racism by his fellow agents and outright hostility toward the "n------loving president," quoting fellow Secret Service agents on the JFK detail.

In addition to enduring all manner of personal indignities, he was concerned at the lack of professionalism in those assigned to protect the president and reported his concerns. He was told, "OK. Thanks" by his superiors. When the problems weren't addressed, Bolden requested transfer back to the Secret Service office in Chicago.



Abraham Bolden speaks at JFK Lancer.



The story of a man who told the truth:



After 45 Years, a Civil Rights Hero Waits for Justice

Thom Hartmann
June 12, 2009 11:52 AM

A great miscarriage of justice has kept most Americas from learning about a Civil Rights pioneer who worked with President John F. Kennedy. But there is finally a way for citizens to not only right that wrong, but bring closure to the most tragic chapter of American presidential history.

After an outstanding career in law enforcement, Abraham Bolden was appointed by JFK to be the first African American presidential Secret Service agent, where he served with distinction. He was part of the Secret Service effort that prevented JFK's assassination in Chicago, three weeks before Dallas. But Bolden was framed by the Mafia and arrested on the very day he went to Washington to tell the Warren Commission staff about the Chicago attempt against JFK.

Bolden was sentenced to six years in prison, despite glaring problems with his prosecution. His arrest resulted from accusations by two criminals Bolden had sent to prison. In Bolden's first trial, an apparently biased judge told the jury that Bolden was guilty, even before they began their deliberations. Though granted a new trial because of that, the same problematic judge was assigned to oversee Bolden's second trial, which resulted in his conviction. Later, the main witness against Bolden admitted committing perjury against him. A key member of the prosecution even took the fifth when asked about the perjury. Yet Bolden's appeals were denied, and he had to serve hard time in prison, and today is considered a convicted felon.

After the release of four million pages of JFK assassination files in the 1990s, it became clear that Bolden -- and the official secrecy surrounding the Chicago attempt against JFK -- were due to National Security concerns about Cuba, that were unknown to Bolden, the press, Congress, and the public not just in 1963, but for the next four decades.

SNIP...

Abraham Bolden paid a heavy price for trying to tell the truth about events involving the man he was sworn to protect -- JFK -- that became mired in National Security concerns. Bolden still lives in Chicago, and has never given up trying to clear his name.

Will Abraham Bolden live to finally see the justice so long denied to him?

CONTINUED...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thom-hartmann/after-45-years-a-civil-ri_b_213834.html



After the assassination, he went to Washington on his own dime and reported what he saw to the Warren Commission. For his trouble -- and despite an exemplary record as a Brinks detective, Illinois State Trooper, and Secret Service agent -- Bolden was framed by the government using a paid informant's admitted perjury and spent a long time in prison. The government also drugged him and put him into psychiatric hospitals.His real crime was telling the truth.

Americans know the Truth: the country hasn't been the same since Nov. 22, 1963. President Kennedy kept the nation out of Vietnam and started toward the moon. Imagine what the New Frontier could have become for us today? Certainly would not be a time where "money trumps peace."

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Since November 22, 1963... [View all] Octafish Nov 2014 OP
So long ago and yet such a vivid memory. Autumn Nov 2014 #1
It was a time when we could do anything we dared imagine. Octafish Nov 2014 #4
Apollo 8. Rounded the moon to see Earthrise. longship Nov 2014 #11
Oswald did it? I don't think so. man4allcats Nov 2014 #58
+1 nationalize the fed Nov 2014 #19
You forgot Dr Hobbitstein Nov 2014 #87
'We have more will than wallet.' -- George Herbert Walker Bush, inaugural address Octafish Nov 2014 #116
And we did it in less than a decade and under budget. LongTomH Nov 2014 #81
I remember Horse with no Name Nov 2014 #2
The American Dream was alive and well. Octafish Nov 2014 #9
I live in Sam Rayburn country and I am perplexed...to say the least...that it is very conservative Horse with no Name Nov 2014 #12
You are the jewel of DU, Octafish. ReRe Nov 2014 #38
Ditto. Octafish, you are the best. n/t 7wo7rees Nov 2014 #48
I concur 100% hifiguy Nov 2014 #111
Octafish is a him? ReRe Nov 2014 #114
thank you for posting this. niyad Nov 2014 #69
They day the music died. Rex Nov 2014 #3
The day the music died.... ollie4 Nov 2014 #36
Well now, that's one way of interpreting McLean's magnum opus. But one could say that KingCharlemagne Nov 2014 #42
America was touched by the lowest demons in our nature, setting us on a different course. Octafish Nov 2014 #62
JFK resisted a 'first strike' at least twice: LongTomH Nov 2014 #85
And that's one way they've been able to advance their sick agenda. Lars39 Nov 2014 #5
That brings to mind an INSOC slogan. zeemike Nov 2014 #32
''If it wasn't on tee vee, it didn't happen.'' Octafish Nov 2014 #65
...this country has seen the corruption of our liberties by the MIC become the norm. robertpaulsen Nov 2014 #6
Look who gets ahead these days. Octafish Nov 2014 #66
Scary. The prospect of Jeb in 2016 is nauseating. robertpaulsen Nov 2014 #91
that photo makes me want to ralph grasswire Nov 2014 #101
But he did nothing to curb it during his presidency OnlinePoker Nov 2014 #74
Sadly, I agree. The CIA overthrow of Mossadegh happened on Ike's watch. robertpaulsen Nov 2014 #90
...and Cuba. Ike was president when Dulles hired the Mafia to kill Castro -- 1960. Octafish Nov 2014 #93
I was 14 in 1963. I'd like to think I still have a few years left. scarletwoman Nov 2014 #7
I was watching an old Christmas movie the other night... Frustratedlady Nov 2014 #8
It is remarkable, the moments when it strikes. For me, HBO's ''Nixon by Nixon''... Octafish Nov 2014 #67
What ReRe said: love_katz Nov 2014 #71
Some day, the truth will surely come out. Frustratedlady Nov 2014 #82
It's distressing to see progressives living in/obsessing over the past YoungDemCA Nov 2014 #10
Why? n/t jtuck004 Nov 2014 #17
The clue might be in the word "progressive" YoungDemCA Nov 2014 #22
Since we are discussing people who need clues, perhaps you should spend a few moments jtuck004 Nov 2014 #25
Your history is flawed... YoungDemCA Nov 2014 #27
WHy don't you look up "hungry", which is what the children of the people who have been put and left jtuck004 Nov 2014 #31
I am old enough to have lived that history. zeemike Nov 2014 #35
+1 ReRe Nov 2014 #41
+1 Hekate Nov 2014 #55
+ 1 prairierose Nov 2014 #83
+1 frogmarch Nov 2014 #86
Hey, my friend, please do not confuse 'nostalgia' with 'reactionary.' I can assure you that KingCharlemagne Nov 2014 #46
thanks for the lecture olddots Nov 2014 #75
Maybe just maybe we learn from the past that life does not have to suck like it does today. That jwirr Nov 2014 #80
As touchstones go, Camelot still beats 9/11. nt pinboy3niner Nov 2014 #20
Just for the poetry, if nothing else. :) - nt KingCharlemagne Nov 2014 #47
+1 Hekate Nov 2014 #49
It's Remembering the past, not obsessing about the past. Dont call me Shirley Nov 2014 #23
Thank you Dont...Shirley. elleng Nov 2014 #28
'twas ever thus hifiguy Nov 2014 #112
Thank you, hifiguy. Dont call me Shirley Nov 2014 #113
It's one sentence! Or are you referring to his posts in the: PAST! johnnyreb Nov 2014 #30
WTF? Historians round the world are shaking their fists at you! :) - nt KingCharlemagne Nov 2014 #43
It's even more distressing to see 'progressives' forget what their party is supposed to be about. sabrina 1 Nov 2014 #77
History, if you don't know, repeats. For instance, ''Hairpin Turns''... Octafish Nov 2014 #94
I remember what the world was like then. blue neen Nov 2014 #13
Equality was important to President Kennedy. Ask Abraham Bolden... Octafish Nov 2014 #95
Yep. Cleita Nov 2014 #14
K&R. Overseas Nov 2014 #39
The Day That Shall "ACTUALLY" Live In Infamy... WillyT Nov 2014 #15
Sung to the tune of American Pie ... Martin Eden Nov 2014 #16
I was three. I still remember how upset I was. My mother had the old B & W tv on, I was watching Dont call me Shirley Nov 2014 #18
I wasn't alive then. RedCappedBandit Nov 2014 #21
I don't want to piss in people's nostalgia Cheerios unduly, but JFK and RFK continued to KingCharlemagne Nov 2014 #45
People do forget that. Wella Nov 2014 #84
JFK entered office as a 'Cold War hawk' (he even ran to Nixon's KingCharlemagne Nov 2014 #97
That is a misconception repeated over the years. Octafish Nov 2014 #98
JFK's assassination heralded the start of a string of murders of our best and brightest.... Hekate Nov 2014 #50
+1000 pinboy3niner Nov 2014 #53
Thank you for such a well thought out response. RedCappedBandit Nov 2014 #99
I agree. burrowowl Nov 2014 #103
What Cicero said. Octafish Nov 2014 #96
So true! I was 10 Carolina Nov 2014 #24
Been thinking about this today, Octafish, elleng Nov 2014 #26
I turned five earlier that year. Brigid Nov 2014 #29
The day America jumped the shark. Initech Nov 2014 #33
Those weren't really great times for minorities and I really don't see it as craigmatic Nov 2014 #34
Marvellously ignorant statement Hekate Nov 2014 #51
No I've read Dallek's book and seen all the documentaries but I'm not impressed by JFK. craigmatic Nov 2014 #63
JFK appears to be way overrated cpwm17 Nov 2014 #68
Probably it would help understanding if you had actually been there. The Cold War was not one-sided Hekate Nov 2014 #72
And FDR ran as a budget balancer. Smart people learn, grow, and change. RufusTFirefly Nov 2014 #78
Maybe you're right but it all comes back to ideology with JFK for me or rather his lack of one. craigmatic Nov 2014 #79
LBJ had to lie America into War on Vietnam Octafish Nov 2014 #105
Once JFK allowed the Vietnamese military to kill Ngo and his brother we owned Vietnam. craigmatic Nov 2014 #107
Except JFK did not order assassination, despite what E Howard Hunt and CIA want us to believe. Octafish Nov 2014 #108
What is a "Kennedy Democrat"? SleeplessinSoCal Nov 2014 #37
That makes no sense whatsoever applied to O'Reilly Hekate Nov 2014 #52
Jon Stewart said O'Reilly seemed ALMOST a Kennedy Democrat in comparison to RW extremists pinboy3niner Nov 2014 #56
In other words, a humorous exaggeration by a satirist for comic effect. Makes more sense that way. Hekate Nov 2014 #57
Different source SleeplessinSoCal Nov 2014 #59
A Democrat who stands for: Justice. Freedom. Equality. Peace. Prosperity. Octafish Nov 2014 #109
I think it's some kind of conservative Democrat SleeplessinSoCal Nov 2014 #115
It was Christmas day for American fascism nikto Nov 2014 #40
It really has been every warmongers' dream come true ever since. Octafish Nov 2014 #110
I was ten then. It was a good time for my family. Mr.Bill Nov 2014 #44
Not long after Kennedy's "Camelot" came and went SleeplessinSoCal Nov 2014 #60
"Pierre Salinger" "Pierre who? Who is that?" NBachers Nov 2014 #54
It has been downhill since that awful day. n//t Paper Roses Nov 2014 #61
K&R Zorra Nov 2014 #64
K&R bobthedrummer Nov 2014 #70
"You will remember this birthday, HockeyMom Nov 2014 #73
My Mom was a teacher at the time shenmue Nov 2014 #76
Since that day in November 63 heaven05 Nov 2014 #88
I remember. ColesCountyDem Nov 2014 #89
Yes I remember old man 76 Nov 2014 #92
It was a hell of a time to be a white male, that's for damn sure. Orrex Nov 2014 #100
Sure was. Hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. describe what JFK did during the 1960 campaign... Octafish Nov 2014 #104
Try to imagine mainstreetonce Nov 2014 #102
For a time capsule of the transition from the idealism of the late 1950s to GreatGazoo Nov 2014 #106
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Since November 22, 1963.....»Reply #95