CALL TO ACTION
Petition For Expungement For Abraham Bolden
**The first Black Assigned As White House Secret Service Agent

As a veteran activist and Chairman of National Black Wall Street Chicago I want to publicly join in the public appeal for our cross section of Black community leadership locally and nationally to support a united front in promoting the petition for Expungement for Abraham Bolden, the first Black United States Secret Service Agent assigned to The White House detail. He is a part of the proud culture of the Black community and United States History and now at 80 years old, he deserves to have President Obama properly preserve his legacy by granting this national petition to have Abraham Bolden's unfair conviction on his record expunged.

And I guess in full disclosure I admit that Abraham Bolden and his family have been a personal of me and my families lives for over 40 years, for our families were neighbors from the same neighborhood; my siblings went to school with Mr. Bolden's older children while I went to grammar school and high school with Boldens youngest son. I spent many of childhood days afterschool in the Bolden household on Chicago's Southside where the family still resides. Mr. Bolden has been so much to my life from childhood to adult and I owe it to all that he and his family invested in my growth to do whatever I can to help him. So I offer my full support in promoting this petition on Mr. Boldens behalf.

(Mark S. Allen)

Petition:http://www.change.org/petitions/expungement-for-a-conviction-of-mr-bolden-for-a-crime-he-did-not-commit

Petitioning U.S. House of Representatives and 2 others

This petition will be delivered to:

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

President of the United States

Expungement For A Conviction Of Mr. Bolden For A Crime He Did Not Commit

“Bolden became a member of the United States Secret Service in October 1960.

Bolden met President John F. Kennedy in Chicago, Illinois and, after a brief conversation with Bolden, President Kennedy was instrumental in making Bolden the first African American to be assigned to the Secret Service White House Detail in Washington, D.C.

Bolden traveled with the President; but he became disenchanted with the assignment when a few of his fellow agents used racial slurs in his presence and engaged in a pattern of conduct that, in Bolden's professional opinion, endangered the life of the President. Bolden's warnings to higher government officials concerning the probability that the president would be assassinated due to his firm stand for equal opportunity for all Americans and the dislike for the president because of his policies went unheeded.

After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and after having previously discussed his complaints of secret service misconduct with the Chief of the U.S. Secret Service and his immediate superiors to no avail, Bolden threatened to divulge information concerning the President’s lack of proper security to officials who were investigating the President’s death. Bolden was whisked out of Washington, D.C. under a pretext, returned to Chicago whereupon he was hastily arrested by high administrators within the secret service who charged Bolden with the commission of a federal crime.

After federal trial judge told the deliberating jury that they should find Bolden guilty during the first trial, during a second trial before the same trial judge Bolden and his attorney were locked out of the court building, during jury deliberation, by order of the trial judge. Bolden was convicted at the end of the second trial; however, the case against Bolden began to fall apart when one of the witnesses, Joseph Spagnoli, who testified against Bolden, confessed that he and another witness, Frank William Jones, concocted and fabricated the criminal case against Bolden with the help of an Assistant United States Attorney. In spite of Spagnoli’s confession and the government’s refusal to deny the charges levied by Spagnoli, Bolden was sent away to the penitentiary. Bolden feared that in order to further discredit him, at some point during his confinement, the government would attempt to have him declared insane.

Bolden was subsequently sent to the prison camp at the Springfield Medical Center for Federal Prisoners. During his imprisonment, Bolden was held in solitary confinement in the psychiatric ward where he was forced to ingest a psychotropic drug. The scheme to declare Bolden insane was unsuccessful and Bolden was paroled in September of 1969 after serving three years and three months in federal confinement.

After being released from prison, Bolden established himself as a master at quality control administrative procedures in various machining and metal fabricating companies in Chicago. He retired after serving 35 years in quality control supervisory positions.

For his tireless efforts in the pursuit of justice and equity before the law, Bolden has been the recipient of the 2008 Scottish Hugo’s Companion Tankard Award for Courage, the 2008 African American Arts Alliance Award for Excellence, the 2008 Alpha Phi Alpha Award for Courage. He has been cited by the National Urban League as one of America’s Outstanding Black Men.

He seeks to have his conviction vacated and the expunging of the unlawfully obtained criminal record. Please support this petition. "

** Footnote -- Abraham Bolden was the 2nd hired African American Secret Service Agent, but the first to serve on White House detail to guard The President. Charles Leroy Gittens was the first African American Agent. He died in 2011, at the age of 82.

Charles L. Gittens,

1st African American Secret Service Agent, 1956

marksallen2800@aol.com
Chairman & COO National Black Wall Street Chicago
(Rev. Willie T. Barrow Consumer Education and Consumer Action Project)
Founder/Lead Organizer, Illinois Voter Restoration Civic Education Project
Chief of Staff to National Chairman, National Black Wall Street USA
"And The Ordinary People Said" News Blog, www.chicagonow.com
Chairman, Community Reinvestment Organizing Project
Listed in 2012 Edition Who' Who In Black Chicago
4655 South King Drive, Suite 203
Chicago, Illinois 60653
(Office) 773-268-6900 or direct 773-392-0165
The Rev. Al Sharpton calls Mark Allen "one of Chicago's legendary political activists and one of the best organizers of his generation"

If we really want to get the attention of our oppressor, we need to hit him where it really hurts - in the pocketbook. I am tired of begging and can think of no more effective way to make our voice heard, loud and clear. Please note the suggestion below. If you are in agreement, let's make it go viral, then we can make some non-negotiable demands.

BOYCOTT ALL UNNECESSARY PURCHASES

Since it has become quite clear that American businesses are more concerned about “profit over people” and protecting “things over “the youth”, my family and I are officially declaring a boycott on Black Friday and all other unnecessary purchases promoted by an American economic system designed to exploit and take advantage of poor whites, blacks and other minorities.

The erosion of civil and human rights, the broken American educational system, the school to prison pipeline, the tacit support and approval of police gunning down unarmed black men and the governments lies, deceit and promotion of constant war are no longer acceptable or tolerable by my family.

All of these developments have caused us, as a family, to decide to stop purchasing anything and everything we do not absolutely need. We have also made a conscious decision to patronize black businesses whenever and wherever we can, in an effort to re-build a black economic base that has been historically and systematically destroyed and/or discouraged, as in the case of the 1921 Tulsa Riots.

During that riot, on the part of whites against blacks, an entire prosperous community was destroyed, on the ground and in the air, by the state of Oklahoma. To this day, the state, the city and the nation refuse to acknowledge or compensate the black families and businesses that were destroyed. The whole story is on YouTube. Check it out.

As a family we cannot tell others what to do, but as for me and my household, we will, from this day forward, never buy anything that supports a European holiday, festival or celebration. In addition, we will make every effort to consciously patronize black businesses whenever and wherever we can. We are not anti-white, but are certainly pro-black.

Unless and until America is prepared to level the entire playing field so that black people have the “equal opportunity” as promised, we withdraw our family’s financial support of the American economic system and work diligently to create our own black economic system. Remember, it was an economic boycott that dismantled apartheid in South Africa. Let’s dismantle apartheid in America. Otherwise, we continue financing our own destruction.

This message will be sent to every solicitation we receive online to make sure that American business gets the message.

Black Americans control over $1 Trillion dollars and are white America’s Number 1 trading partner. In other words, we put more money into the American economy that the top 10 trading partners America has. We are the key linch pin of the American economy; as usual. If we stand together and withdraw our financial support, America must decide to either make righteous changes or collapse.

The rest is up to you and your families. We have the power. Time to put up or shut up.

'Freedom is not free. Those who refuse to

stand up for something will fall for anything.

No one can enslave you or your mind without

your permission…'

Wes Bernard and family

Replies

Caricom

Wes Barnard December 15, 2014 at 5:26pm

If we really want to get the attention of our oppressor, we need to hit him where it really hurts - in the pocketbook. I am tired of begging and can think of no more effective way to make our voice heard, loud and clear. Please note the suggestion below. If you are in agreement, let's make it go viral, then we can make some non-negotiable demands.

BOYCOTT ALL UNNECESSARY PURCHASES

Since it has become quite clear that American businesses are more concerned about “profit over people” and protecting “things over “the youth”, my family and I are officially declaring a boycott on Black Friday and all other unnecessary purchases promoted by an American economic system designed to exploit and take advantage of poor whites, blacks and other minorities.

The erosion of civil and human rights, the broken American educational system, the school to prison pipeline, the tacit support and approval of police gunning down unarmed black men and the governments lies, deceit and promotion of constant war are no longer acceptable or tolerable by my family.

All of these developments have caused us, as a family, to decide to stop purchasing anything and everything we do not absolutely need. We have also made a conscious decision to patronize black businesses whenever and wherever we can, in an effort to re-build a black economic base that has been historically and systematically destroyed and/or discouraged, as in the case of the 1921 Tulsa Riots.

During that riot, on the part of whites against blacks, an entire prosperous community was destroyed, on the ground and in the air, by the state of Oklahoma. To this day, the state, the city and the nation refuse to acknowledge or compensate the black families and businesses that were destroyed. The whole story is on YouTube. Check it out.

As a family we cannot tell others what to do, but as for me and my household, we will, from this day forward, never buy anything that supports a European holiday, festival or celebration. In addition, we will make every effort to consciously patronize black businesses whenever and wherever we can. We are not anti-white, but are certainly pro-black.

Unless and until America is prepared to level the entire playing field so that black people have the “equal opportunity” as promised, we withdraw our family’s financial support of the American economic system and work diligently to create our own black economic system. Remember, it was an economic boycott that dismantled apartheid in South Africa. Let’s dismantle apartheid in America. Otherwise, we continue financing our own destruction.

This message will be sent to every solicitation we receive online to make sure that American business gets the message.

Black Americans control over $1 Trillion dollars and are white America’s Number 1 trading partner. In other words, we put more money into the American economy that the top 10 trading partners America has. We are the key linch pin of the American economy; as usual. If we stand together and withdraw our financial support, America must decide to either make righteous changes or collapse.

The rest is up to you and your families. We have the power. Time to put up or shut up.

'Freedom is not free. Those who refuse to

stand up for something will fall for anything.

No one can enslave you or your mind without

your permission…'

Wes Bernard and family

This reply was deleted.

Chicago: Windy City & Mid-West News

Expungement Petition for 1st Black U.S. White House Secret Service Agent, Abraham Bolden

Expungement For A Conviction Of Mr. Bolden For A Crime He Did Not Commit

Replies