The United States Secret Service recently agreed to pay $24 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2000 by a group of African-American agents who accused the agency of racial discrimination in its employment and promotion practices.
The lead plaintiff in the case, Ray Moore, who was a member of President Bill Clinton’s security detail, had been with the agency since 1984. He received a perfect promotion evaluation score from his supervisors on the presidential detail, according to the lawsuit, and had been expecting a promotion.
But that promotion — one received by every other agent who had served in his post, he said — never came.
“The difference in me and them was race,” he said in a recent interview. “I was black, and they were white. When I asked management what had happened and they could not provide me with a clear honest answer, and based on who received the promotion, I believed it was based on race.”
In the lawsuit, which was joined by more than 100 African-American agents, Mr. Moore asserted that he had been passed over for promotions more than 180 times, and that at one point he had been assigned to train a white agent to fill one of the positions. The suit also accused the agency of fostering a workplace culture that allowed for slurs and racist jokes.
The lawsuit was settled a few days before Barack Obama left the White House, with the nation focused on the transition to President Trump. Under the terms of the settlement, which still is subject to court approval, the Secret Service agreed to pay lump sum payments as high as $300,000 per agent, and reform its promotion process; it was not required to admit wrongdoing or institutional bias.
“I am pleased that we are able to finally put this chapter of Secret Service history behind us,” Jeh C. Johnson, the secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement just before leaving office. “Had the matter gone to trial, it would have required that we relive things long past, just at a time when the Secret Service is on the mend.”
We talked with Mr. Moore about his 32 years in the Secret Service, which ended last year with mandatory retirement.
My first interaction with the Secret Service was in October 1983 on the campus of West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia). I was walking on campus and ventured into the student center and came upon a job fair recruitment event.
I introduced myself to the recruiter, Dwight Ellison, from the Atlanta field office. Mr. Ellison said you must be an American citizen. I said that I am an American citizen. Mr. Ellison said you must be 21 years old. I said that I was 24 years old. Mr. Ellison said you must have a college degree. I said that I have a college degree, a bachelor of science in criminal justice, and that I was in graduate school, working on a master of public administration. Mr. Ellison said you must pass the Treasury Enforcement Examination, which is a very difficult test where only three out of 10 usually pass. I then said that I had taken the T.E.A. and passed with a score of 81.
He immediately said: “I do not believe you. You are lying.” He had never heard of anyone scoring that high without veteran’s preference. I retrieved the results and gave them to him. He smiled at me, walked over to the pay phone, talked for a brief time, came back and asked if I could be in Atlanta the following Monday at 9 a.m. for an interview. I said yes, and the process began.
Did the subject of diversity come up during hiring?
The issue of diversity was not a concern of mine during hiring or training. My training class was made up of 24 students: three black males, one black female, two white females, one Latino male and 17 white males. I really did not pay the racial breakdown that much attention.
What were the early years like? The Secret Service has such an aura about it. Maybe you can lift the veil a little.
They were great. I was a federal agent at 25 years old. I was living in Miami working criminal cases, locking up the bad guys and working executive protection for President Reagan, Bush and Nixon and numerous foreign heads of state. Yes, it was everything that I had hoped for and more. I was having a great time. The public persona, the apparent invincibility of the special agent, did create an aura, but there, slightly below the surface, lurked racism that tore at the core of the agency.
Describe how you felt when you were assigned to President Clinton’s detail.
I was filled with joy, I was filled with excitement, I was filled with a sense of fulfillment, because going to the president’s protective detail meant that you were going to be a part of the A team, the best of the best. The number of agents assigned to the detail is classified. At the time, when I initially reported to P.P.D., there may have been less than 10 African-American agents.
What was the job like? How were your performance reviews?
Every trip presented logistical and protective challenges, and the fun part was overcoming those obstacles and have a successful mission. I was receiving “outstanding” performance reviews. In fact, while I was on the detail, I got perfect performance reviews from my supervisors and had the highest promotion score of any African-American agent in the Secret Service.
Were you aware of acts of discrimination in the agency?
During my assignment in Miami, I noticed that there was great excitement when “we” would have cases with minority defendants. There appeared to be less zeal when the potential defendants were Caucasians. There were numerous instances where nonminority colleagues would get choice assignments, preferred training, performance awards, better performance scores and promotions. A lot of these appeared to be based on race and not on knowledge, skill or ability.
At the time of the lawsuit, what was your position?
My duties were to manage the security operations of the White House, the Treasury Building, the Old Executive Office Building and the New Executive Office Building.
Can you share the thinking behind the lawsuit?
I was very confident that I would get a promotion because every other P.P.D. agent who had been assigned to work in the capacity that I did was promoted. The difference in me and them was race. I was black, and they were white.
When I decided to file the lawsuit, many thoughts and images came into my head. It was the thought and image of the expression on my then five-months pregnant wife’s face when I told her that I did not get promoted, and that we were being forced to transfer to Dallas. It was the thought and image of the expression on my then 8-year-old daughter’s face when she realized that she would be leaving all her friends and the only home that she had known. It was the thought and image of my grandmother who had been a part of the civil rights movement, and the sage advice that she always provided advising me to always be fair, to do the right thing, to treat people as you wanted to be treated, and to stand up for what you believe is right.
I knew that I had to fight against this injustice, so that my kids would not have to. I knew that it would have an adverse impact on my career and on my life.
I made a willing sacrifice because if not me, then who?
How did you prepare for the possibility of the lawsuit ending up in court?
The emotional toll from waiting and waiting was quite painful. I had to maintain a calm demeanor and a stiff upper lip as the leader to keep everyone else calm and composed. But it ate at me, and if not for my wife and some lifelong friends, I could have withered from the weight of the responsibility of being the face of the lawsuit.
As an agent, I was always trained to plan for the best but always consider what could be the worst. Well, the worst would have been to have had to go to trial, because it would have continued this case for many more years without fixing the problems. But at the same time, I had planned for the best because we had the best legal team, so we were ready.
What was the feeling when agents learned about the settlement?
I was ecstatic. I have talked to over 40 other agents since the settlement announcement. The collective feeling is one of relief and sheer happiness. The class members had been holding their breath and waiting 17 years to exhale, and now we can breathe.
What advice do you have for others facing discrimination?
I would advise them to fight with every fiber and every friend they have at their disposal. If you are discriminated against, be true to yourself and fight.
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