Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: As the nation observes Black History Month, the FBI celebrates the 100th anniversary of African-American special agents at the Bureau.

During this milestone, the FBI reflects on the countless contributions of African-Americans as they serve to fulfill the FBI’s mission to protect and defend the United States.

James Wormley Jones was the first African-American the FBI hired as a special agent.

FBI Historian Dr. John Fox.

John Fox: As the FBI was hiring its first African-American agents, it was actually going against the grain somewhat, because at the time, America was seeing a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.

Halpern: Sylvia Mathis charted the way for female African-Americans when she became the first black female FBI special agent in 1976. That was four years after the FBI began accepting women as candidates for special agents.

The FBI's Diversity Agent Recruitment program actively seeks to include people of all races, genders, and backgrounds into the Bureau's special agent workforce.

With FBI, This Week, I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau.