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Thursday, August 11, 2011 | 10:05am
HIGHBRID NATION REMEMBERS: Charles Gittens, 1st Black Secret Service Agent
You already knew Obama was the first Black President but who was the first black man to protect one?
In 2008, this country made history when it elected its first black President. But back in the 50′s and 60′s such accomplishment was so far from our imagination. In that time it was the appointment of the first black man to PROTECT the President that was heralded. So it is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of Charles L. Gittens, who in 1956 became the first black Secret Service agent. Gittens died last week in Maryland at the age of 82.
Naturally given his position details are still sketcy but a spokesman for the Secret Service could confirm that Gittens indeed was the first black agent. An obituary published in The Herald-Sun of Durham, N.C., states that Gittens was first assigned to the Charlotte, N.C., office and later worked in the New York City office, investigating counterfeiting and bank fraud. Fluent in Spanish, Gittens also spent time at the San Juan, Puerto Rico bureau. He retired in 1979 but began a second career working for the Department of Justice, where he investigated war criminals who were living in the U.S.
“He went out of his way to mentor and give counsel and advice to young African-Americans who were coming up especially those like myself who were coming up through the ranks,” Danny Spriggs, vice president of global security for The Associated Press. “The guy was always physically fit. He looked like he came out of the gym. His whole persona was one of professionalism: No nonsense guy.”
Want black history? Well there you go. RIP.
FILED IN Need to Know, News
He was illuminati….. there is no way a Black man could get as far as he did without help…(seriously joking)
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This is what I look up to. Not only did he achieve the seemingly impossible or at least the unforseeable, he then goes backwards and mentors, counsels, and advises the younger generation to make sure they achieve higher than he had. A hand clap is in order.
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RIP Mr. Gittens.
C u never hear about real ppl like this and we need that, it’s cool 2 b the 1st guy on your block that is sitting on 26′z… I guess, but we never hear of stories like this .Highbrid there should be more segments of this nature instead all the time 1st black sports figures,1st rapper 2 get gold fronts etc.The media is a powerful tool 2 make blacks,hispanics,and other minorities including u white women feel inferior but with info like this and topics such as minority inventors,doctors that discover cures,or inventions like the traffic light or the elevator so lazy ppl like me won’t have 2 climb 13 flights of stairs Lol. Web sites like Highbrid will give us some uplift. Rest In Peace Mr.Gittens Thanx 4 serving THEIR Country.
Here’s a few General Benjamin o Davis Jr, Roscoe Robinson, Willaim Carney. We hero worship the wrong heroes.