http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month basesyndication http://www.fbi.gov/logo.png http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/james-amos.jpg/view http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/james-amos.jpg/view African-Americans have served the FBI as special agents since at least 1919. One of the earliest was Special Agent James E. Amos, a former bodyguard of President Theodore Roosevelt who served the Bureau from 1921 to 1953. Working in our New York office, Amos participated in some major cases, including helping to bring to justice the Louis “Lepke” Buchalter gang, a notorious band of professional hit-men known as “Murder, Inc.,” and helping to dismantle the Duquesne Nazi spy ring during World War II. For more details, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2005/february/amos022805. fbi Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/thomas-jefferson/view http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/thomas-jefferson/view Another one of the FBI’s earliest African-American special agents was Thomas Leon Jefferson—an experienced investigator who had worked for a detective agency in Chicago from about 1904 to 1921. Jefferson entered the Bureau as an agent on September 22, 1922 and participated in many investigations, working on the Garvey case, car thefts, and prostitution/human trafficking matters. In November 1924, he was commended by Acting Director Hoover for his work on a bankruptcy investigation. Jefferson retired in January 1930. fbi Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:55:00 +0000 http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/lowell-arthur-brent-earl-titus.jpg/view http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/lowell-arthur-brent-earl-titus.jpg/view Earl F. Titus (left), after working as an Indianapolis police officer, joined the Bureau on January 9, 1922. His assignments included undercover work in the investigation of Marcus Garvey, a black nationalist who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923. Titus retired in June 1924 at the age of 56. Arthur Lowell Brent became a special agent on August 1, 1923 after serving two years as a “special employee” (a sort of assistant investigator) in the Department of Justice. Brent was assigned to the Washington Field Office, where he worked on the Garvey case and other investigations. He left the Bureau in June 1924. fbi Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:50:00 +0000 http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/jefferson-thomas-robert-strider.jpg/view http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/jefferson-thomas-robert-strider.jpg/view Father and son agents Jesse and Robert Strider served in our Los Angeles office from the 1940s through the 1970s, tackling a variety of cases. Jesse S. Strider (left) served as an agent from 1943 to 1973; Robert W. Strider was appointed an agent in 1956 and retired in 1976. For more information on our earliest African-American investigators, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/february/history_021511. Today, the FBI employs more than 4,500 African-Americans as agents and other professionals around the globe. fbi Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:45:00 +0000 http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/sylvia-mathis/view http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/sylvia-mathis/view In February 1976, Sylvia E. Mathis became the FBI’s first African-American female special agent. She served in our New York office before leaving the Bureau in 1979. fbi Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:40:00 +0000 http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/african-american-agent/view http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/african-american-agent/view In the spring of 1972, the FBI began accepting applications from women for the special agent position and by July of that year had appointed the first two women as special agents in modern times. Pictured here is an African-American agent in the 1970s. Read our series marking 40 years of women special agents at http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/may/women-agents_051612 fbi Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:35:00 +0000 http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month http://www.fbi.gov/news/galleries/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month/photo-gallery-celebrating-black-history-month fbi Photo Gallery Tue, 19 Feb 2013 07:00:00 +0000