On the same street where FBI agents once raided his house, Abraham Bolden smiled as neighbors honored him Saturday in Auburn Gresham with a block club sign that celebrated his achievement as the nation’s first Black Secret Service agent.
In a special wheelchair, Bolden watched a cover be remove to unveil a 7-foot sign with his image and brief history of his role protecting President John F. Kennedy.
About 25 people, including relatives, neighbors and friends cheered as they admired the new signed at corner off 77th and S. Sangamon, just yards from Bolden’s house.
Alderman David Moore led the festivities that included resolutions from his office and Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“I deeply appreciate everyone who came out,” Bolden said. “Deeply.”
Marilyn Birts, who lived on this block for over 40 years, came up with idea for the sign after she attended Bolden’s 91st birthday party on January 19.
“I saw all these accolades and awards from organizations. But I noticed there was nothing from this community, and that didn’t sit right me,” Birts said.
Birts said she talked about the with Bolden’s caregiver, Virginia Washington. Birts said she then spoke with Alderman Moore and community organizations.
Birts said the sign cost her $1,128 to create, but at the ceremony, Alderman Moore said his office will pay for it.
“To see him coming down the street to the see the sign was fulfilling,” Birts said. “There are some neighbors who did not know who they were living next to until this celebration.”
Bolden lives in the same home in the neighborhood when he made history in 1961. That year, President John F. Kennedy tapped him as his secret service agent whose responsibility was to protect the commander-in-chief. In 1961, he was given a temporary assignment to guard President Kennedy during an event with Mayor Richard J. Daley at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Impressed with his work, President Kennedy on April 28, 1961, invited Bolden to join his White House detail as the first Black to protect the president.
On May 12, 1964, Bolden was accused of and charged with attempting to sell a secret government file to Joseph Spagnoli, Jr., in exchange for $50,000. Spagnoli was named as the head of a counterfeiting ring.
Days after his arrest, Bolden called a press conference at his home to publicly accuse the government of trying to frame him. During a hearing with the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President Kennedy, Bolden testified that the president’s agents drank heavily before and after tours of his summer home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
He also said some reported to work half-drunk and used Secret Service cars to take women to bars. Bolden said he reported the incidents, but nothing happened. In addition, Bolden alleged that fellow agents subjected him to racist acts when he began working for the Secret Service. The most explosive allegation was that agents suppressed information that detailed a Chicago plot to assassinate President Kennedy.
Federal authorities have denied the accusations and said there was no truth to misconduct in the Secret Service. They also denied the allegations of a coverup to assassinate President Kennedy.
Bolden documented his experiences in his 2008 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. The book’s title is a reference to the site in Dallas where President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
In July 1964, Bolden’s first trial ended in a hung jury after the only Black juror refused to find him guilty. Prosecutors tried Bolden again in a second trial the following month. This time he was found guilty of accepting a bribe and sentenced to six years in prison. He was also fired from the Secret Service that same month.
At his own trial in January 1965, Spagnoli, the man from whom he was accused of soliciting bribes, admitted that federal prosecutors had asked him to lie about the case. Bolden quickly appealed and requested a new trial. He was denied and began serving a six-year sentence in 1966.
Bolden eventually served over three years in prison and was paroled, after which time he served two and a half years of probation.
In 2022, President Biden pardoned Bolden, saying “America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation.
“Helping those who served their time return to their families and become contributing members of their communities is one of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism [repeat offending] and decrease crime.”
Discover more from InnerCity News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
