THE RIDER TIMES SPRING 2010 Page 9

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORYBEFORE OBAMA

The Charles Gittens Story: America's lst Black Secret Service Agent

By Diara Rowland

Staff Writer

In 1965, NBC aired a popular and historic televisionprogram entitled I Spy, which was about a white andblack secret agent team that traveled around the worldclandestinely battling evil powers in the name of democ-racy. The show was historic because during the 1960'sthere were very few black actors on television and thosethat were, were usually portrayed negatively. In this showAlexander Scott, played by actor Bill Cosby, was aRhode Scholar, a language expert, and quickly becamethe star of the show! Little did we know that there was areal Alexander Scott in our government who was highlyintelligent, respected, ahead of his time, and rose to posi-tions of power in the United States Secret Service. Hisname is Charles Gittens and he was the first black secretservice agent in the United States and is the father of ourown faculty member, Ms. Sharon Quick.

Many black Americans bave made significant contribu-tions to the development of this country, but too oftenthese accomplishments go unrecognized or hidden. Oneof the most memorable moments that will live on insideevery man, woman and child took place on November 4,2009 when Senator Barak Obama went down in historyas the first black man to become President of the UnitedStates of America. This election stood as a monumentalachievement to all black people that their prolongedstruggle to be seen, heard, and counted bad finally ended.But who paved the way for his success? There are numer-ous Black Americans who have stood up for change, buttoo few are recognized.

In this article I would like to acknowledge a veryimportant man who has contributed to the success ofmany hlack leaders like the people I listed above. He hasalso made great leaps and has shown great wisdomthrough a time period where acceptance and understand-ing was far from his grasps. He is a man that many havenot recognized as a great leader. This man, Charles L.Gittens was the first black secret service agent in theUnited States. This great honor and achievement wasmade in a time of uncertainty and segregation when blackmen were not given positions of distinction. His contri-bution has made a difference in how black men servetheir country. Mr. Gitten's story has been left as a legacyof new beginnings and achievement.

Charles Gittens was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts,to a West Indian family that migrated from Barbados. Hewas born into a household with seven other siblings. Mr.Gittens and his siblings enjoyed music and took music

lessons regularly. Mr. Gittens had always wanted to join r===:::'iii~---~===:L=:;;;:""'::-'the military. He became intrigued with the idea when he ••• ---saw all of the attention the \VWII veterans received afterthey returned home.

"I wanted to be in the front and be seen," Mr. Gittensrecalls. When he finally turned seventeen, and graduatedfrom high school he was of age to join the military. Mr.Gittens was finally ahle to set out to do wbat he hadalways wanted to do.

When he first joined the military he was immediatelysent to Japan where he stayed for three years. Mr. Gittensadmits that he was very fortunate in his military career.He was promoted to the rank of sergeant before he turned19. The fust place Gittens was sent as a sergeant wasNorth Carolina. He was assigned as the commanding r;;:::;::,;;:::::::::::::;<;;:::;:;::::::;:::::::;:;:;:::;;:;;:=-::;;:::=:::::;officer of the Military Police for Attachment Two.Attachment Two was the code name for an AfricanAmerican soldiers unit. Mr. Gittens said that L ~_-=-.J"Attachment Two designated the racial make up of themilitary"

Harry Truman, who was president at the end ofWWll,did away with segregation by implementing an executiveorder, which integrated the military over night. Mr.Gittens went from being the Commander of MilitaryAttachment Two to an Executive Officer in the basepolice which included white soldiers. In this position, Mr.Gitten became the second in command of the wholeattachment. Hearing of the college background and expe-riences of his fellow soldiers Mr. Gittens decided to takesome college courses. In college is where he found hiswife Sharon. Sharon's parents came from a long line ofteachers and they influenced him to get a degree inEnglish. As soon as he came out of college he was intro-duced to his first real teaching job.

During his tenure as a teacher, a recruiter from theSecret Service went to observe Mr. Gittens. Mr. Gittenswas very interested in law enforcement. The SecretService became aware of bis interest after he took a gen-erallaw enforcement examination.

"They thought 1 was white because of my accent,"Gittens admits.

It was here that Mr. Gittens would embark on ajour-ney that would change the minds and stereotypes peoplehad against African-Americans. Mr. Gitten served undersix different Presidents from the time he was an agent tohis retirement. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was thefirst president he served under and President JimmyCarter was the last. In between, Mr. Gitten served underJohn F. Kermedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, andGerald Ford. Mr. Gittens seemed just as upbeat andvibrant today as he was twenty years ago. He foreverchanged 1956 and is still a very active member of theUnited States Secret Service (USSC).

Mr. Gittens played a vital role in the acceptance of blackmen in the military. He was not just the first black secretservice agent, but also was influential in recruiting thefirst black women into the United States Secret Service(USSC). We have bad black role models and leaders inour time that bave been overlooked and over citedbecause of the color of their skin. It is time for a change.Mr. Gittens should be celebrated and honored as Obamais today because like Obama he was the First to not onlytake that first big step, but was able to successfullyachieve the goal.

By Angela JohnsonGuest Writer

PLAY REVIEWRider students view play In the Red and Brown Water at the Studio Theatre

The play In the Red atul. Brown Water by Tarell AlvinMcCraney was a very interesting play. It tells the story of Oya,a young black girl from a poor family. Oya can run like thewind, hut she renounces the chance of an athletics scholarshipIto college after her mother falls terminally ill.The play was something new and different. I like how the

actors said their stage directions when entering a room.Another thing I enjoyed was how the actors played many dif-ferent characters. The play was also something that many of

us young people could understand or relate to. Many plays wesee at other theatres are always talking in language we reallydon't get, but this was a play that spoke our language. Forexample, the play talked about how Oya was hot for Sbango,the gny who treated her badly, and rcan relate to this becausemost girls my age today, including me, love guys like that forsome reason. As for when we have guys like Ogun, the guywho treated Oya with the utmost respect, they get pushed tothe side because we don't see them as being tough. The playwas probably one of my favorite plays ever.I would rate this playas a FIVE STAR and Iber many 0

my peers would too.

Courtesy of Ebony Magazine

Special Agent in Charge (SAlC) Charles Gittenssharpens his marksmanship skills at BeltsvilleTraining CeDte~ in 1975.

Courtesy of Ebony Magazine

SAlC Gitten handles conftscated counterftt moneyat the Washington Field Offlce (WFO-USSS).