Their history, honor their service, and look towards the future. The newseum has enjoyed working with the fbi during our time here. Our exhibit inside todays fbi, which explores headlinemaking fbi cases and examines how the bureau is fighting terrorism and cyber crime, is a visitor favorite. We have enjoyed hosting many programs with the fbi. Revolving around the exhibit. I want to give a warm welcome to many former and current fbi agents in the room, and a warm welcome to our visitors and our members. Thank you as always for your support. It is my pleasure to introduce fbi associate Deputy Director paul abbate. [applause] paul good afternoon, everyone. What an amazing day. So privileged to be here. Thank you john, and to the newseum, for hosting this phenomenal and historic event, and to the fbis office of Public Affairs and office of diversity and inclusion for helping to organize such an Amazing Program today. It is an incredible privilege to be one small part of this celebration of the 100 Year Anniversary of the hiring and entry on duty of the first africanamerican fbi special agent, James Wormley jones, and to recognize the enduring and ongoing achievements of the many africanamerican special agents who followed in sa joness footsteps. The theme of our anniversary is our history, our service, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I would like to take a few moments to reflect on that theme and the meaning that it carries. When special agent jones joined the fbi in 1919, he charted a course for agents like james john amos, who joined the fbi in 1921. 32 distinguished years as a special agent. Special agents jones and amos paved the way for many africanamerican special agents that followed, including sas aubrey lewis and james barrow, who joined in 1962 under the fbis first formalized new agents Training Program at quantico. They would also, like sas jones and amos, go on to lead phenomenally successful and highly accomplished careers in the fbi. Special agents lewis and barrow subsequently opened doors for one of todays panelists, dr. John d. Glover. Thank you, sir, for being with us. He achieved a series of first in the fbi which we heard earlier, but i will repeat again because i think they are of the most importance and significance. First africanamerican assistant special agent in charge in the bureau history, newark, 1976. First africanamerican special agent in charge, milwaukee, 1979, and atlanta in 1980. First assistant director of the Inspection Division in 1982. And first africanamerican executive assistant director, administration, having achieved that rank and position in 1986. Thank you, sir, dr. Glover, for all you have done. [applause] paul separately and tragically, on january 8, 1969, special agent edwin r. Woodriffe became the first africanamerican agent to lose his life in the line of duty, while in pursuit of a fugitive here in the d. C. Area. This anniversary gives us the opportunity to remember and hold closely in our thoughts sa woodriffe, his family, and his loved ones, and it is a chance for us to reflect on his sacrifice, giving his life to protect others. In 1976, a strong, determined young lawyer became the fbis first female africanamerican special agent. Sa Sylvia Mathis bravely stepped forward, and broke down Major Barriers within the fbi at a time when even the integration of women into the bureaus agent ranks was progressing at an unacceptably slow pace. While she would remain in the fbi for two years, special agent mathis led the way and contributed immensely toward the growth of diversity and advancement in the organization, all while carrying out the mission in a highly effective way, and leading the way for other africanamerican female special agents, such as lizzie casale, lynda barry, johnnie mae bright, cassandra chandler, jennifer love, my harrison, debra evans smith, and many others who followed. Sadly, special agent mathis passed away in 1983, at the far too early age of 34, in an automobile accident. She will never, ever be forgotten either, and this anniversary gives us likewise the opportunity to remember and celebrate her once again for who she was, everything she accomplished, and everything she did for others, for the fbi, and for the nation. Looking back, while progress has been made, very regrettably and sadly, the discrimination, the challenges, and the struggles africanamericans have faced are reflected in the history of the fbi. In 1981, africanamerican in 1991, africanamerican special agents brought a lawsuit against the fbi for discrimination and discriminatory practices. That lawsuit ultimately changed the way the fbi addressed issues of unfairness not only in the agent ranks, but also for professional staff, employees across the organization. And those outcomes reflect the universal and essential principle that we all live by, and should the right things are for every individual, no matter who they are, no matter where they come from, the background they are from, should be treated fairly and equally with dignity and respect inside our great organization, across the bureau family, and externally. All the great people who we work with, and every Single Member of the public who we serve, always and in all ways. That lawsuit and the environment and culture it sought to correct and right led to muchneeded change at the fbi, and today it holds lessons that must never be forgotten, and it has made the organization stronger and better now and for the future. Over the last 100 years, africanamerican special agents have led the investigations of many of the fbis most significant cases. Those cases are far too numerous to name here, but reflect the fact that africanamerican special agents have been at the forefront of preventing, disrupting, and investigating terrorism, Violent Crime, organized criminal groups, civil rights offenses, human trafficking, foreign intelligence adversaries, cybercrime, and countering the many, many other threats we face. Protecting people and keeping our nation safe for over the past 100 years, and currently today. Further, today, there is a cadre of africanamerican special agents working and leading at the highest levels of leadership in the fbi, and i want to name them. They are exceptional individuals, and they include special agent in charge Perrye Turner of the houston field office, and i will note that per andis our longest serving most tenured active s. A. C. When you combine the time he spent in houston with the time he spent in louisville. Special agent in charge Voviette Morgan of the Los Angeles Field Office criminal division. Special agent in charge stephen woolery, Los Angeles Field Office intelligence division. Special agent in charge m. A. Mo myers of the memphis field office. Special agent in charge alfonso jody noris iii of the colombia field office. Deputy assistant director and former s. A. C. Of denver, calvin shivers. Special agent in charge brian turner of the new haven field office. And special agent in charge Emmerson Buie jr. In the chicago field office. I will note with regard to emmerson, he was born and raised in the city of chicago. The city is proud to have him back there, and he is the first africanamerican s. A. C. To lead the great chicago field office. Each of these executives is an amazing example of where we need to be, and the broader and higherlevel representation we are working hard to achieve within the organization. To continue to combat the complex and evolving threats we face, and to fulfill our mission in the most effective ways possible, we need to continue to recruit relentlessly from all backgrounds and walks of life those who embody the core values of the fbi, which include, we know, fairness, integrity, accountability, leadership, and importantly diversity. We are aggressively and proactively recruiting africanamerican special agents, as well as people of diverse backgrounds, and our field offices continue to reach out to and across a wide range of groups and institutions, including historically black colleges and universities, and communitybased organizations. Our Human Resources branch developed the Diversity Agent Recruitment Program to focus on and apply resources to continue to attract diverse candidates. And we are also working hard to make sure that every member of the fbi family feels welcomed, included, valued for who they are and what they bring to the table. We need to strive hard and reach high continually, always toward the ideal of inclusion for all. And we are working hard to provide the support needed to enable people to reach their full potential. And we need everyones help with that. It goes without saying that recruitment is everyones job in the fbi. Those of us who serve currently and all of you who served in the past, you are out there in the communities, and you know what it takes to serve in the fbi and to serve the american people. We need to be able to fully reflect the communitys we serve in order to continue to build trust and carry out our mission. I ask when you encounter strong candidates, and i know many of you are already doing this, individuals who would represent the fbi in the way you would want them to, that you please encourage them to consider the fbi as a career option. We all need to work hard, partnering together in a sustained and persistent manner, to continue to blaze the trail now and for the future foundation and echelons of the organization, because everyone who has worked here in the fbi knows there is no better people, no greater mission, and no more wonderful place to work. Any anniversary, but especially a milestone like this one, is a great opportunity to reflect on the history of the work in the evolution of our organization. It is an opportunity to think about where we need to be and who we need on our team, now and moving forward. On behalf of director wray, who we heard from earlier, the Deputy Director and myself, you have our unified focus and unrelenting commitment, our promise, to continue to promote, to represent, to recruit, to sponsor all People Fairly and equally, and lead the organization in the right way and in the direction, in the right direction, now and in the future, especially when it comes to diversity. So i say thank you again to the newseum and the fbis office of Public Affairs, as well as the office of diversity and inclusion, for helping us to commemorate this milestone anniversary. I want to close by thanking each of you for your service to the fbi and our country. Thank you for being here today, and i hope you enjoy the rest of the celebratory events over this weekend. Now, i am honored to introduce a friend of mine i have worked with him a couple of times before. Our moderator, the cbs news correspondent jeff pegues. [applause] i have to tell you a little bit about jeff before we bring him out here. Jeff pegues is the cbs news chief justice and Homeland Security correspondent based here in washington, d. C. He joined cbs news in july 2014 and reports for all cbs news programs and platforms. Since joining cbs news, he has led Network Coverage of some of the most important and notable stories of the last decade. In addition, he is one of the most respected and informed voices on issues arising between communities of color and police and Law Enforcement. He has written extensively on police and Justice Department investigation stemming from incidents in baltimore, ferguson, and across the country, and he has authored a book on the issue, titled black and blue inside the divide between police and the black community. He is the recipient of emmy awards and multiple emmy award nominations. He received the sigma delta chi award from the society of professional journalists, and in 2017 was a member of the cbs news team, which earned an edward r. Murrow award. I have to say we have the honor and privilege of being joined by his wonderful parents, betty and joseph. Thank you for being here with us today. Now lets please extend a [applause] [laughter] paul please extend a warm welcome to jeff and the panelists. Jeff thank you very much. Appreciate the introduction and especially mentioning my parents. That will really help at thanksgiving in a few weeks. I will get the big piece of turkey at some point. It is good to be here. I have been preparing for this the last month or so with the fbi, when they asked me to do this. And i had prepared remarks, and then i got into my uber today on the way over here. When i am in an uber, i like to put my headphones on and when my and mind my own business. The driver said, where are you going . Ok. I am going to the newseum. Why . And i said, well, i am doing this thing with the fbi. It is about black fbi agents. What . He says, what . Black fbi agents . Yes, black fbi agents. He was surprised. I was not really surprised that he was surprised. You probably are not either. But it just it made me sort of chuckle, because looking back and i have had to do my research preparing for this there was James Wormley jones in 1919. I did not know that. He did not want to believe it, the uber driver. James wormley jones. And then i mentioned john glover. I get so caught up covering the fbi of today that i had not really looked back at in the past. The fbi in the so that is one thing. The other thing is, when they asked me to do this, i would not be doing my job if i did not say, but are you going to talk about what the numbers are now . And they could have brushed off that question. I respect the fact they dealt with it. I was told, listen, you cant look to the future until you look back at the mistakes of the past. I appreciate that. That is where we are going to begin this conversation. That is what i want it to be, a conversation. We are going to talk to many of the legends of the past two are who are with us today. Yes, i said legends. John is chuckling over there. I told you that in florida, when i saw you a few weeks ago. And the legends of the future. I call them trailblazers because that is what i think they are. John glover began his career with the fbi as a special agent in 1966. He would rise through the bureau to become the executive assistant director for administration at fbi headquarters. He retired from the fbi as the highest ranking africanamerican leader. Please welcome john glover. [applause] dr. Glover good to see you. Jeff linda barry, the second africanamerican woman to join the fbi, served for 28 years, during which she often would remain the only female africanamerican. She was a certified hostage negotiator, and a special Operations Group team leader. Please welcome linda barry. [applause] jeff Johnnie Mae Gibson bright was also a trailblazer. She entered duty as a special agent in october of 1976, where she was assigned to the miami field office. She assisted in the investigation into the jonestown suicide massacre, and was involved in several undercover investigations. Her life and work inspired a made for television movie. Please welcome johnnie mae. [applause] jeff karen jurden started out as a special agent in the fbi in june of 2004. She is currently a supervisory special agent with Operation Rescue me and the endangered child alert program. She worked in the new York Field Office before transferring here to fbi headquarters. Please welcome karen. [applause] jeff Hadley Etienne has been with the fbi since 2005. He has investigated Violent Crime and major offenders as part of the fugitive Bank Robbery Task force, and he has worked in the major cybercrime squad. In he was promoted to 2015 supervisory special agent. Please welcome Hadley Etienne. [applause] jeff ok, lets talk. Im going to start with john glover. I wanted to ask you first about the history. James wormley jones, what can you tell us about him . Dr. Glover well, i can tell you a lot about jones. Jones is an individual who is very distinguished. He was distinguished before he became an fbi agent. He actually did not become an fbi agent until he was 35 years old. The fbi had not formed then, so this was the precursor organization to the fbi. But jones attended Virginia University in richmond. Then he joined the Washington Metropolitan Police department, was a foot patrolman, moved through the ranks to motorcycle man and then to detective. He resigned from the metropolitan Police Department and he joined the military, the segregated army, as it was referred to at the time in history. He became a captain, and a relatively short period of time, learning explosives and a number of things. But he led a particular charge in the Northeast Corner of france during world war i. His troops rousted the germans out of a stronghold they had held for four years. Underequipped. Goingll trained soldiers, as the military history records it, ditch by ditch, trench by trench, and rested them out. They took a lot of heavy casualties, but they fought with valor, and jones survived. He returned. In december of 1919, he joined the precursor to the fbi, reporting directly to j. Edgar hoover. Jeff wasnt he the son of former slaves . Dr. Glover that is correct, yes. Jeff why do you think hoover chose him . Dr. Glover it is interesting i dont know how the two got together, how he became interested in the fbi. But he is the kind of guy i would look for. If i was with a fellow with that kind of previous Law Enforcement experience, that kind of military, distinctive military experience, that is the kind of person you are going to look for. It worked out. I dont know if hoover saw him or he saw the fbi, that they but they ended up working together. Jeff you know, at that time, many of the African Americans who came in James Wormley jones, he was working undercover. Dr. Glover he worked primarily undercover. He was targeted. At Marcus Garvey. Jeff he was what . Dr. Glover he was targeted at Marcus Garvey. Jeff he was focused on Marcus Garvey . Dr. Glover Marcus Garvey was very prominent in harlem. He had created an organization of some notoriety, which some people viewed as subversive. So in this unit in which mr. Hoover was the young attorney, on what is kind of subversive or antisubversive unit so the targeting of individuals at that time was looking for subversive activity. It was also 1919 was the rise of communism, so there were some communist movements up in new york as well. So it worked out in that way. Jeff you talk about subversives, right . Marcus garvey at that time when i was doing my research for a piece that will eventually air on cbs news about this particular topic, hoover was launched investigations into Marcus Garvey, mlk. We know that. So that is the image that a lot of people in the black community have about the fbi. Would you agree with that, john . Dr. Glover i would agree with that, yes. A lot of people see it is not only the fbi. It is Law Enforcement in general. If you look back at the long history of Law Enforcement as it impacted the Africanamerican Community, from slavery, jim crow, through the civil rights era, Law Enforcement played a role in that. The Africanamerican Community viewed it as negative. Jeff and yet youve joined, 1966. Dr. Glover that is correct. Jeff i saw the class photo, graduating from quantico. I was looking at the photograph, and i see that one black face, and that was you. Dr. Glover that is correct, yes. Jeff why did you join at that time, given the history of the black community in the fbi . And the fbi . What made you want to become an fbi agent . Dr. Glover long story. First of all, i think i was looking for Something Different to do. I was a teacher and coach in miami, florida. I wanted to expand my horizons. I started to look around for things to do. I was introduced to an fbi agent, and he gave me a pamphlet. The pamphlet was called 99 facts about the fbi. I started looking at it and i developed an interest in it. The more i researched, the more interested i became in it, and then i found out that there was a very strong component of excellent performance in the fbi. So the fbi was more than its negative perception in the Africanamerican Community. This was a firstclass outfit, and i wanted to be part of the firstclass outfit. I was drawn to Law Enforcement. And teaching. The fbi is the epitome of Law Enforcement not only in the country, but in the world, and i wanted to be part of the best. Jeff linda, what about you . Im going to get my notes, but what about you . Why did you want to join . Did you look at the fbi in the same way that john has just outlined, or did you have a different view . Linda i had a different view. Jeff what was your view . Linda my view was i would never get into the fbi. Jeff why did you feel that way . Linda i was in biology, working in a molecular biology lab. Jeff you were a scientist . Linda i was a scientist and you do the same experiment for three years in a row. Jeff you got bored . Linda i cant do this for a lifetime. And in science you need a masters and a phd to move up. That is how you get money to do research. So i decided i am not going to be a teacher, i am not going to be a scientist. I am going to go back and get a masters degree in Law Enforcement. My whole life was around women, two sisters, my mother, a grandmother, texas womens university. I wanted to be in a field where there was not a lot of women. [laughter] linda at the time, it made sense to me. I know. I mean, seriously, that was what i wanted. I went to the library. I looked up all these fields, and i thought Law Enforcement sounds great. I think that is something i wanted to do. That was in 1974. I quit my job and went back to school, Washington State university, criminology, masters in criminology. But i had no experience, right . I needed to get some experience. So i took a job in idaho falls, idaho. Jeff wow. You were trailblazing there too . Linda yeah, at a Nuclear Power plant. I needed experience. I had never had any experience in Law Enforcement. So my boss was an exagent. Jeff really . That is interesting. He mentioned it and said what . Linda he did not mention it. He pounded me. He pounded me on a daily basis to fill out the application. He was no longer an agent, but his buddy was still an agent, and he pounded me and said, evie have you filled out the application . Did you get one . Did you call . Every day. After about a year, i said, tell him to send me one. It is 15 pages long, so i threw it in a drawer. 15 pages . No. I am not doing this. I am not filling this out. There is no way. I just figured i would never hear from the fbi. One day he came into the office and he goes you will take this day to fill out the application. So i filled it out. Jeff what do you think he saw in you that he kept pushing . Linda his whole squad was males. Never had a female ever. White, black, no color. You are out in the desert, working at a Nuclear Power plant. Not only was he a retired agent, but everybody who worked for him was a member of his church. He was in the war. He was in charge of them not only at church, but at this Nuclear Power plant. Whatever he told them to do, they had to do it. They took their vacations and worked on the potato farm, because that is what he told them to do. I, on the other hand, would not you know, you cant tell me what to do. Im not working on a potato farm. [laughter] aint doing it, you know . Jeff wait, how did you make it through the fbi . How many years, 28 years . Linda i made it through on anger. You know . That is the only way i made it through. Yeah, my first day at the fbi academy, i am walking down the hall, got off the plane tired, worn out, and the janitor it was a lady. She looks up at me and goes, you aint going to make it. And i am going, lady, if you only knew, you know . So that was my introduction to the fbi, and the anger that builds up when somebody tells you that. Watch me. Jeff i am sure you have all heard that from someone along the way. Johnnie mae, didnt you get someone saying that to you, someone along the way . You know, why are you here, you are not going to make this . Johnnie mae no, no one ever told me that. Jeff you didnt, really . Was it pretty smooth . Johnnie mae it was not a smooth journey. I was working at the office in the albany, georgia Police Department, as a liaison. A Liaison Police officer. I was dealing with everybody who had been given a gun with no training, pretty much, in my view. And i had a masters degree. I got involved on a kidnapping case with an fbi agent, his assistant. As we were working on the case, he asked if i had ever thought about being an agent. To be quite honest with you, i had absolutely no idea what an fbi agent is. I was totally in the dark. He talked to me a little bit. I got to thinking about it, and it was kind of interesting. He kept grinding me a little bit, and i was very impressed with the intellect of what he gave me about the fbi. I thought, you did this case really good, and i am impressed with it. I got to thinking, and the next thing i was reading up on it was this big fbi, the big world, and all these federal crimes they did. Maybe this is what i need. Leave this little georgia town and see what the big Law Enforcement did. Really, this is what happened. Ive talked about it and put in, did the exams, went to atlanta. They did the little fingerprint and everything. Next thing i knew, october 1976, in cold weather, i was headed to fbi headquarters, and went to the academy. Then i realized what i had done. [laughter] johnnie mae no, i realized that i had left a small southern town, and here i was in this big world, on a base, out in the boonies, and had left behind a fouryearold daughter. I thought, god, what have i done . I was too embarrassed to say i want to go back. I dont want to go back as a failure. I dont like those. I dont like failing. So i persevered and that is how i came into the fbi. Jeff interesting. So you two, you are listening to these stories. Karen, why did you get into the fbi . What attracted you to the career . Karen i fell into it. Jeff you fell into it, ok. Karen it was not something i grew up aspiring to do. I have no lawenforcement connections in my family. I actually started off as a computer person out of Goldman Sachs on wall street. I got laid off. Jeff when was this . Karen it was back in 2002, 2003 . A bunch of us got laid off. The market went down, so about 1500 of us got laid off that day. And a good friend who said, why dont you join the fbi . They are looking for technology people. Jeff that seems to be the trend. Someone is coming up to you and saying, why dont you join the fbi . Voviette morgan, the s. A. C. In los angeles, told me a week ago that the same thing happened to her. Someone approached her and said, you should do this. So that happened to you. Karen we both applied. Unfortunately, she did not pass the background, but i did. I couldnt believe it until i got to quantico. It was a challenge then, too, but it was a good challenge, something i did not believe i could get myself through. Jeff and you did. Hadley, what about you . Hadley my story is similar. I was a Computer Programmer in rochester, new york, and i had been applying to government positions because i wanted a new challenge. It turned out my neighbor was an fbi agent. Our wives had been talking. Work got to him and he said, i heard you were looking for a job at the government. He said, would you like to be an agent with the bureau . I said, what do you guys do . His reply is its the same thing. I did not grow up with knowledge of the fbi, Law Enforcement. Im first generation. My family is from haiti. He explained it to me and i said, sign me up. By gods grace, six months later, i was at the academy, checking my bags in. Just like you guys, i said, what have i got myself into . [laughter] hadley at that time, i had three kids, and i left them with my wife. We now have seven. [laughter] jeff that will be for next weeks panel. Balancing family and the fbi. That is next weeks panel at the newseum. Ok. Hadley by gods grace, my wife is my biggest advocate, cheerleader, and warrior, and with the kids. Jeff is she here today . Hadley she is not. I wish she was. [applause] jeff she can see it on cspan, apparently. So, john, when you hear the stories, what words of advice would you have for people who either want to join the fbi, or people who are already in and want to reach the heights that you did . Dr. Glover well, i think these are all successful people. I dont know if they need much advice from me. But what i would tell anybody, especially an africanamerican aspiring to higher achievement, is to understand that there are going to be some difficulties. Understand there are going to be some obstacles. Understand that all of these things are going to be in your way, and there will be numerous ones, but you have to stay focused on your objective. And if you do that, you see these obstacles as the term i like to use is a statistical term, noise. They are not relevant to what it is that you are trying to do. Its noise. But you really first of all, it is not going to be easy. It is going to be difficult. If you think it is going to be easy, you are misinforming yourself. Life is tough. You have to understand that, and you have to prepare yourself for that. Not only academically and educationally and all, but you have got to prepare your spirit for that. You have to develop this kind of inner strength that will propel you beyond your obstacles. Jeff you and i sat down a couple of weeks ago, and this was for an interview for cbs news. I tried to get you to Say Something critical about the fbi. It was, i felt discriminated against, it was tough, this, that, and you did not go there. You did not have any sort of accounts of somebody discriminating against you. You did not say that. Dr. Glover no, because i did not encounter those experiences. I think i was very fortunate, but i had mentors. Jeff you had mentors . Dr. Glover white mentors throughout the fbi, and every field office, and pretty much every assignment that i had, that propelled me along. Jeff how important was that . Dr. Glover that was very important. I think you need somebody, to use a sports metaphor, running interference for you. Or somebody pulling you, or somebody encouraging you. At my first office, it was kind of easy, in a sense. We discussed that, because i was working fugitive cases and car cases and all, and a former high school and College Football player, so i could handle myself in a fugitive situation. And that was observed early on, in those assignments. My second office, when i went to washington, d. C. , early on, i got involved in a speaking situation, so my special agent in charge received a nice letter from the school principal, in terms of what a great job this young guy did. Next year, they said, we want to invite you, and invite him again. It was that kind of encouragement. This s. A. C. , joe purvis, ultimately became the assistant director of the identification division. When he did, there were a number of discriminatory complaints in the identification division, and he asked for me. He says, i want john glover to come in here to assist me in dealing with these situations. So he kind of pulled me through that, and then also was instrumental back then, there was an old system at fbi headquarters each year. The assistant director would submit a name of the special agents assigned to his always his his division, who they thought were capable of administrative advancement and should be assigned to the Inspection Division as an inspectors aide. My name was second on that list to go to the Inspection Division. It kind of worked out that way. Jeff linda, i see you, your body language. Did you have the same thing . Linda no. There was always some i guess being from a small town, 10,000, southern town, raised by my mother and my grandmother, i had two sisters. My father died when i was three. My mother and grandmother refused to take welfare. So we had gardens. We raised chickens. They scratched. So i learned that you have to scratch. It does not matter what anybody around you does. As long as they are not in your way, you scratch. There is nobody going to stop me from doing what i need to do. That is how i got in the fbi. I wanted to get out of a small town, get away from that mentality of a small town. I am going to have to scratch to do it. That was just how i was raised. You scratch for what you want. Nobody can get in your way. You have to go for it. Jeff karen, i see you shaking your head. Did you want to add something . Karen i agree with her. We all have challenges. In this role, i have my challenges. You have to be your own champion. But you also have to recruit cheerleaders in your life to kind of push you, because you have moments where you feel defeated, and you have to have those cheerleaders egg you on and be your own champion. She is scratching. I am kicking. [laughter] jeff i like this. I like this. Johnnie mae . What do you think . Johnnie mae let me go a little bit to what mr. Glover was saying. I think it is very important to have a mentor or someone who is in a high enough place that can pull you along. It is also important to have a mentor because they can help steer you, someone to go to for guidance and direction. It was a big male organization before we came in. You had nobody to go to like you, or other females. That was the problem that i experienced. But i do have to say when i started out my first office assignment, i was on a fugitive squad in miami, florida, and i was the second female in the office and the first africanamerican female there. I didnt have a car. The older agent there on the fugitive squad was a black male, leo mclaren. He had come in under mr. Hoover, ok . So most of his work was sitting at the desk. Most of mine was trying to beg for the car to get out and go do the investigation. And i had to run out and be back in, that type of thing. The other agents on the squad were all white males. Many days i would have to run around to get one of the talk to one of the hispanic agents, somebody else, let me use their car to go out. I learned real quickly that things are set up so you are going to have to push your way, again, you have to find your way to get to that next position. It just was not that easy for me. And i am hearing it from others, you know, africanamerican females. You did not have anyone there to just be there to help you out. You had to find your way. And if you pushed too hard, you were probably perceived as being a little too overbearing. You really had to walk with a on cushions to try to get there. I did eventually, because of my arrest record with fugitives i went out a lot of times by myself and had to call back in and ask somebody to come help me, but i took the risk. My supervisor, a white male, began to accept the fact that i could handle doing things. He gave me a lot of leeway. It was not until then that i could even get a car to do anything. But after that, i was immediately put on the organized crime squad, and i became a supervisor. This was within 2, 3 years there in the miami office. And i was given a lot of leeway out there. I began to go out and interview even meyer lansky, which agents told me organized crime have no respect for females. Mr. Lansky, i went over to fontainebleau. Jeff tell people who he was. Johnnie mae he is purported jeff purported. Johnnie mae organized crime boss down in miami. Mr. Lansky, cordially invited to the fontainebleau hotel, i was afraid, and thought they would never find my body. Went into the hotel. Jeff were you undercover . Johnnie mae i was not undercover. I had done some work, but not the way i went into his hotel. I was dressed as an agent. We went in and he had the smoking jacket on. He was just a gentleman. He said, i am having lunch. You have to have lunch. I thought, he is going to poison me. I did not have lunch. The man had me in, but his reason was, and i will get to that he wanted to show me. He wanted to see if there was an africanamerican female agent, number one. He gave me no valuable information. That was fine. I felt good. He respected me, that was all i wanted. I was an agent. I told the guys. Next thing i knew, i was a supervisor on the organized crime squad. But along the way, i have to tell you that i never had a mentor. I could not have. There was no one to help me, a black female, along the way. Eventually, the first person that really reached out and gave me a hand was and he is not here paul. I dont know if you heard of him. He was the one that, myself and a couple other agents would go say,m because, he would listen. We need to get more of this and more of this. He really came in to lend a helping hand. I got my desk in detroit as the fugitive Violent Crime the Violent Crime and the fugitive squad. There was a fellow who said, you have to put in for it. If he had not done that, i would not have gotten that desk. So you do need someone to reach out and recognize your potential, and give you an opportunity. Sometimes all you need is just an opportunity, and you can take it from there. And that is what i think we miss sometimes, which we did not have. With that, i was able to get that desk, and was able to go out and find the top 10 fugitives with my squad. It was wonderful. You just need that opportunity. Once you get an opportunity, sometimes people blow it, but most of the time, if we get a chance, we will take it and we will do our best with it. We just need an opportunity. Jeff and hadley, you are i am not privy to what cases you are working. But you are working cyber cases. Hadley thats right. Jeff wont go any further than that. Very sensitive stuff. But do you feel you are in the fbi now. I saw you and mr. Abbate yakking it up a little bit. You guys go way back. Washington field office. Do you think that do you identify with what they are saying here about having a mentor and having someone to look out for you, i guess . Hadley i definitely do. When i first entered the bureau, because of my tech background, i worked with one of the supervisors on the Violent Crime squad. It worked out so they transferred me to that squad and i immediately had a mentor, joseph flaherty. He is retired now. Joe was a former cop and immediately got me on the streets. You know i am a Computer Programmer. I need to learn. He got me out there. Our first case together, we arrested a subject in d. C. That was running extortion. He would get money for drug dealers, and they would be indebted to him for life to pay the interest. Working with joe, we arrested him. We had four great years with that squad, putting some very violent felons away. Another mentor of mine at the time, he said, we have got to get you back to computers. He transferred me to the cyber squad. I was helped out by some of the guys that were there with open arms. An agent i worked with there, michael, had been on the squad for years. He knew i liked working bank robbery cases. So instead of working robberies where the guys walked in, brick and mortar, i worked Bank Robberies with computers. We traveled the world and picked up guys that hacked into banks stealing anywhere from 1 million 10 million. With that kind of insertion, the mentoring, i was able to mentor coming in male and female africanamericans. It has been great. Jeff sounds very glamorous, traveling the world. Is it that glamorous . Hadley yes, it is. [laughter] jeff people asked me that about the news. They are like, you are on tv. That is glamorous. No, i am in an uber right now. John, mentors was judge webster a mentor for you . Dr. Glover yes. Not directly, but certainly indirectly. Jeff indirectly . Dr. Glover i should say at a distance, but very much handson. Jeff former fbi director. Dr. Glover judge webster came into the fbi in early 1978. And within two months, i was transferred to newark, ok . And then from there so every promotion after that that i had in the fbi was given to me by judge webster. From asac to inspector to s. A. C milwaukee, atlanta, assistant director, executive assistant director for administration it was all judge webster. But it was not only me. There were others wayne davis, tom jones. Judge webster right now, there is this phrase of having diversity as a core value at the organization. He had it as a core value without the title. He came in and in his first interview did an early examination of what he saw as the strengths and socalled weaknesses of the fbi. Noticed what a lack of diversity there was. In his early speeches he indicated he was going to increase diversity within the fbi, and started doing it. Jeff and i heard that he carried around the card with the numbers. Dr. Glover he carried a three by five card around in his shirt pocket. And we had to update it each month. He had a column and he wanted to know the number of special agents on duty, the total number. On the day he was sworn in and the day the end of the month of the last end of the month of the preceding month. So now it would be like october. He wanted to know at the end of october what was the overall agent count. What was the caucasian agent count . What was the africanamerican count . He broke that down, males, females, hispanics. He had this card. And it was not just the card. Every time he got the opportunity, he would look at it, and he would tell us. I would have to go to his Conference Room periodically and sit down and explain what we were doing in terms of applicant recruitment. Now, the numbers and the percentages increased under judge webster, because he put the weight, the full weight of his office, behind it. And the fbi is a paramilitary structured organization. Topdown administrative organization. So when the leadership of the fbi takes on any challenge or takes on any objective as rest important, the filters down to the rest of the organization. Jeff im going to open this up to the panel. We can all agree that having diversity is good, but what about diversity in the leadership ranks . It is one thing to get people of color, all different backgrounds, in the. But how important is it to have people of color in the leadership ranks . Who wants to take that . Linda . Linda very important. Jeff why do you think its important . Linda its somebody to look up to. The only thing about that is once you become an agent, after your two weeks, where everything is, what you are supposed to do, you have to go out on your own. I was always so dont expect anybody to help you. It has to come. Dont expect to get busy and do what you need to do. Nobody is going to ever help you. I was on the fugitive squad. Like most first office agents. That is what my supervisor told me. Nobody is coming to help you. Dont have that in your mind. You go out and do what you know to do. We will back you up, but dont. Jeff were they saying that to other agents . Linda that was just his way, getting you to understand what you were going to be doing, get out there and do a good job of it, not expecting anybody to come and help you. I did that with my first fugitive. Arrested him. Bringing him into jail, he proposed to me. I probably should have taken him up on that. But he proposed to me. Jeff the fugitive . Lindo linda the fugitive i had just arrested proposed. I said no. I just got out of a marriage. [laughter] but no. Have,s always good to knowing you as an individual, what motivates you, to know what you can handle. It is not a good thing to assign this case to that person. That is most important, to have a good supervisor. Mae the director was extremely adamant about increasing the numbers of whileties in the fbi and i was in the press office, which i worked under Director Director webster. He created a minority media unit and the purpose was that we had to contact the electronic and print media throughout the u. S. , we would travel there. There were three of us. The three of us would travel throughout the united states, going on tv, whatever, trying to put this positive image of the fbi out to the community, letting them know about the jurisdictions, why we do the really,e do, because with dr. King and everything, they thought that we invaded and caused problems. We tried to tell them we had jurisdictions and explained that to them. Going around, we went to ebony magazine. At that time, ebony did an article on me as a black woman in the fbi. As a result of that, producers came and wanted to do a movie. Director webster approved it, saying this is good, this gives us a lot of movement because we dont have to send you guys out all the time. As a result of that movie, he was able to sit down and talk to me. He said because of that, there were a large number of people applicants who did apply and saw there was a place that people would want to go work. You see progress and you want to think you have a chance in that progress. He was adamant, and each month, we had to show what was being done out there. If you got any positive result from it. I think he was by far one of the great directors that really strong strived he wanted the fbi to be representative of the community out there. What you see in the community is the same as what you see in the fbi. Jeff thats interesting. In broadcasting, it is the same way. There are a lot of businesses, especially if you are africanamerican. You see brian gumbel on tv, and oh, thats interesting. Maybe i should look into that. I know you were brought in by your neighbor. You had different stories, but i want to transition to what do you aspire to do in the fbi . Karen . Karen i feel like i am already aspiring to do it. I work crimes against children. That was one of the purposes of why i joined the fbi. I wanted to use my skill set to rescue kids. I think that is what i am doing. I feel that is what i am doing. I manage a program that does victim id. At this juncture in my career, this is all i want to do. It is rewarding. I get to go home and sleep every night, just knowing that i rescued a child. Right now at this juncture in my career, i enjoy what i do. I get the opportunities to go overseas, as well as work domestically with our partners in order to do that, too. It gives me great opportunity to travel, too. Jeff hadley, what do you think . Hadley i cant compete with that. [laughter] hadley i also serve with a great team. I have passion for what we do. I am very happy with where i am right now. If i could take that mission overseas to help the bureau overseas, that would be great. I am very happy. Jeff since we are on the record, any particular place overseas . [laughter] jeff i am trying to help you. Where do you want to go . [laughter] jeff good, ok. We have about 13 minutes or so. I just want to start again with john. When you see the fbi today, what do you think . John when i see the fbi today, i see an organization that is continuing to be the preeminent Law Enforcement agency in the country. I see it as an organization, however, with challenges. But the fbi will always have challenges because as changes occur in our society, the fbi is usually on the forefront of inquiry into those areas. When interstate activities started taking place, there were no laws to deal with interstate given and the fbi was that task through statutory legislation. As our society evolves, you see the fbi out there, in cyber now. The fbi would continue to do that. The fbi will always be challenged. In that way, it will always be a great career. The fbi, in my opinion, will always struggle with diversity. Jeff will always struggle with diversity . John i think we will make some progress. Jeff you are so optimistic on everything else. John i am not deterministic there, but it will always be a challenge for a number of reasons. You only have 13 minutes. [laughter] john that is a topic for another day. We can drill down into that, and Start Talking about why that has happened as part of the larger society, but is into the fbi being able to improve its diversity. A lot of things that are going on outside the control of the fbi. Jeff linda, why do you think i want to ask you this. Why do you think diversity of all kinds is important for the fbi . Linda is important for the fbi . I think it is important for Law Enforcement. There are certain areas in the criminal world where only a black person can really handle that. Only a black person can get into certain organizations or work certain types of crimes. Black, white. You have to have everything that is represented in your society. It should be a Cross Section in your organization. How else can you function . You cant, especially in Law Enforcement. But what he was saying, there is always going to be a problem because you give up a lot as a black person. Probably as a person to be in Law Enforcement. You give up friends, you give up family, because you have to live your life in a certain way, because you are always being watched. You are the face of the organization. What they see you do is how they judge the organization. You give up a lot. You are sent to places, far away places, from your family and from your friends. You have to be able to do that in order to stay in the fbi. My first office was san diego, yay. [laughter] linda but then it was cleveland. Cleveland, ohio . With the snow . [laughter] linda really, you have to be able to juggle your life. You have to be willing to do that. It is very difficult. You do give up something. But i think the reason most blacks are successful is because they love working Law Enforcement. They love it. Thats what keeps you, but it is always going to be a challenge. Jeff johnnie mae . Johnnie mae first of all, diversity from all aspects, coming into one organization, they all contribute to the ultimate benefit of the organization. They all bring in a valuable purpose. The more information, the more value you bring to the job, the better it is for the organization. It is as simple as that. Karen i think it is important to look like the community we are here to protect. Like she said, we are all from different backgrounds, so we bring a different perspective to any thoughts and ideas and decisions made within the fbi. I think that is important. Instead of having a narrow view, having a broad view. The only way you have that broad view is if you bring in diversity. Also the fact that when we walk out in the street and work on cases, you want people to talk to us. It builds our investigation. With that, we should look like them so people feel comfortable talking to me just because of who i am. With that, i think that is important to have diversity within the fbi. Jeff have you been in a meeting where you are discussing a case and someone says something and you look back at that meeting and think, i am glad i was in that meeting and i said what i said . Have you had that feeling . Karen all the time. All the time. When we go into these meetings, you always learn, as well. That helps develop me so i get to know other peoples perspectives. With that, i dont go in there with my point of view, i go in with different point of views. That builds me as an agent, as a person. It is important to walk into a meeting and be part of those meetings. Like i said, i do International Work and domestic. I learn even overseas from officers. I think that is very important. Ive always had that view. Jeff hadley . Hadley there is not much more i can tell you. Everyone hit the points that need to be hit with diversity. If anything, i just want to make sure the definition of diversity is what we are looking at on the table. It is bigger than just race. It includes gender, culture. It includes educational background and cultural background. As long as we look at that, we will be able to make any organization of better a better organization. It is a different feeling when you are in a meeting when no one is in that meeting who looks like you. But the ideas and thoughts and the value you bring to that meeting would not have been if you were not there. John what is innovation but diversity of opinion . One thing i was talking about earlier, how the fbi evolved. If the fbi is going to succeed, it needs diversity. It needs that in order to be able to innovate and be able to match the challenge that it faces. Jeff are you still the highest ranking africanamerican to come through the fbi . John yes. Johnnie mae he has more firsts than anybody else. Jeff you do have a lot of firsts. Interesting, there is a little nuance that is interesting. John i say it is just like a distinction, a difference without a distinction. That is what it is. There has been another executive assistant director, michael mason, who came in the fbi, but the top structure of the organization changed. When i was there, there were three assistant directors who reported directly to the director. We now have a Deputy Director. There is another layer in there. Between the executive assistant directors and the director, so the answer is yes. He still has more firsts. Firsts. Till have more shes not going to let you we talked about what i think about that. We had an africanamerican president , so we can have an africanamerican Deputy Director and director. [applause] jeff thank you very much for your time. It has been a pleasure, looking back at the history, talking about the future. Really appreciate it. Round of applause for the panelists. [applause] jeff thank you very much. Holdup, everyone. We are not done yet. I just want to first start by thanking jeff for moderating the panel today and for all the work you do with us here at the bureau now and in the future. As a reflection, an expression of appreciation for all that, we have a plaque for you. [applause] it says, presented to jeff pegues in appreciation for helping raise awareness for the contributions and service of the africanamerican special agents in the federal bureau of investigation on their 100th anniversary. Jeff very nice, thank you. [applause] for the panelists, dr. Glover, thank you for everything you have done. You are amazing. [applause] miss linda berry, thank you as well. [applause] linda thank you, appreciate it. Johnnie mae bright. Johnnie mae ok, thank you. [applause] karen jurden. [applause] Hadley Etienne. [applause] john, thank you again for hosting the event. Thank you. [applause] im closing it out, yes. Thank you all for joining us. This was a really special afternoon. Thank you, jeff, for wonderful moderation, and thank you all for joining us and if you want to see the fbi exhibit, we are still open and we will be open until the end of the year. Thank you to the fbi for a Wonderful Partnership all this year these years. This is American History tv on cspan3, were each weekend, we feature 48 hours of programs exploring our nations past. Ashley we are at the steps of the indiana state house in indianapolis, where cspan is learning about the states history. This is the fifth building to house indiana state government. Next, we take you inside for a tour