|
Chicago Sun-times: March 23, 2008
"I've always had faith in justice"
Secret Service agent convicted after JFK's death finally tells his side
BY Jeff Johnson
. . . Bolden, the first African-American Secret Service agent assigned to the presidential detail, at the request of John
F. Kennedy, was tried twice for bribery and convicted. He has always maintained his innocence, and now he meticulously backs
up his claim with a blow-by-blow chronology of his legal ordeal.
The Chicago lawman forfeited a promising career, spending three years and nine months in prison. He felt the crushing weight
of a bureaucracy fighting to save itself after JFK's assassination.
Just 28 years old when Kennedy was killed in 1963, Bolden is now telling his story at age 73. Speaking by phone from his South
Side home, Bolden shows no bitterness or disillusionment. That's a testament to his unbending faith and indomitable spirit.
Full Story Continues Here
Bolden's book offers clues into JFK's death
April 16, 2008
. . . Bolden, who was the first African-American assigned to the presidential Secret Service detail, documents in his book,
the price paid for his commitment to truth and justice. It is a gripping and unforgettable true story of bravery and patriotism
in the face of bitter hatred and unthinkable corruption. Abraham Bolden was a young African-American Secret Service agent
in Chicago when he was asked by John F. Kennedy to join the White House Secret Service detail. Becoming, in JFK’s words,
the "Jackie Robinson of the Secret Service." For Bolden, it was a dream come true - and an encouraging sign of the charismatic
president’s vision for a new America . . .
Full Story Continues Here
Bolden shares his JFK, Secret Service experiences with FAMU
|
| Photo by Glen Bell/Tallahassee Democrat |
By Angeline J. Taylor • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • April 25, 2008
He worked the Secret Service detail as a bodyguard for John F. Kennedy. He predicted Kennedy would be assassinated. Then,
he was sentenced to six years in prison "to quiet him."
Abraham Bolden, 73, outlines these and other details of his career in his book, "The Echo from Dealey Plaza". Bolden will
appear at a book signing today at 7 p.m. at Borders on Apalachee Parkway. Thursday, however, he spoke passionately for 90
minutes to a group at Florida A&M's School of Business and Industry about his devotion to Kennedy and his appreciation of
the law.
In the early 1960s, Bolden was working for the U.S. Secret Service in Chicago when he met Kennedy at a post no other agent
wanted — the entrance to the bathroom. Kennedy asked Bolden to work the presidential secret service detail.
"I'll be looking forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C.,'" Bolden said, recalling Kennedy's words. Then Bolden remembered
the man he still thinks highly of today.
"I could see in his eyes that this man was sincere about his hope for America. He exuded it," he said. "I couldn't wait to
get home to tell my wife."
As part of Kennedy's detail, he said he became aware that his fellow Secret Service agents didn't take their job seriously.
He said he saw them drunk or high. After working a detail in Hyannisport, at the Kennedy compound, he decided it was important
to reveal what he learned.
Full Story Continues Here
Illinois Times: MARCH 20, 2008
ECHOES OF INJUSTICE
An Illinois author discusses his experiences in JFK's White House as the first black Secret Service agent
By R. L. Nave
In April 1961, John F. Kennedy came to Chicago to pay tribute to Mayor Richard
Daley, who just a few months earlier had delivered Illinois to the Democrat in the presidential race.
Abraham
Bolden, then a rookie agent assigned to the Chicago field office of the Secret Service, remembers his chance encounter with
the new president.
“Has there ever been a Negro agent on the Secret Service White House detail?” Bolden
recalls the president asking.
“Not to my knowledge, Mr. President,” Bolden responded.
“Would you like to be the first?”
“Yes sir, Mr. President,” Bolden said, not bothering
to hide his enthusiasm.
Full Story Continues Here
|
