--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father was the first black Secret…" description: "\"My father was the first black Secret Service agent. He wanted to get into the FBI but J. Edgar Hoover, who was the head of the FBI, was a racist and he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/daryl-davis-7572_black-people_my-father-was-the-first-black-secret-ser_1811474.jpg" --- # My father was the first black Secret Service agent. He… ![“My father was the first black Secret Service agent. He wanted to get into the FBI but J. Edgar Hoover, who was the head of the FBI, was a racist and he said we don't want any black people.” quote by Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/daryl-davis-7572_black-people_my-father-was-the-first-black-secret-ser_1811474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/daryl-davis-7572_black-people_my-father-was-the-first-black-secret-ser_1811474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ea/daryl-davis-7572_black-people_my-father-was-the-first-black-secret-ser_1811474.jpg) > “My father was the first black Secret Service agent. He wanted to get into the FBI but J. Edgar Hoover, who was the head of the FBI, was a racist and he said we don't want any black people.” [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A Black man became the first Black Secret Service agent, facing racism from FBI leadership. **In simple terms:** He faced racism when trying to join the FBI. Key Takeaway Persevere despite institutional barriers. Themes racism history civil rights career determination racial equality institutional bias career obstacles Mood serious inspirational Type historical motivational When to use this quote - advocacy - education - policy reform Key Concepts historical context civil rights movement government employment Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions address historic racism? - What role do pioneers play in change? A Different Perspective Challenges of systemic racism persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Edgar Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edgar-hoover/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fbi Edgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fbi-edgar-2118006/) [Fbi Racist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fbi-racist-2118004/) [Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/head/) [J edgar hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/j-edgar-hoover/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-service/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Wanted Fbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-fbi-2118005/) ## Related quotes > [“I regret to say that we of the FBI are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-regret-to-say-that-we-of-the-fbi-are-powerless-to-act-in-cases-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [ We're interested in complex characters and he's a complex character, \[J. Edgar\] Hoover. I like these types of dramas. I've made a few of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-grazer/we-re-interested-in-complex-characters-and-he-s-a-complex-character-j/) [Brian Grazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-grazer/) > [I grew up with J. Edgar Hoover. He was the G-man, a hero to everybody, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was the big,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-grew-up-with-j-edgar-hoover-he-was-the-g-man-a-hero-to-everybody/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover “mistrusted and disliked all three Kennedy brothers. President Johnson and Hoover had mutual fear and hatred for the Kennedys,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/fbi-director-j-edgar-hoover-mistrusted-and-disliked-all-three-kennedy/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [ It's an incredible education \[for the movie J. Edgar Hoover\] . It was like I did a college course on J. Edgar Hoover but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/it-s-an-incredible-education-for-the-movie-j-edgar-hoover-it-was-like/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [I just kind of had my own impressions growing up with Hoover as a heroic figure in the 40s - actually the 30s, 40s,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-just-kind-of-had-my-own-impressions-growing-up-with-hoover-as-a/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [I have great respect for the FBI, and I know that there have been some rumors lately that the FBI was disenchanted because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-have-great-respect-for-the-fbi-and-i-know-that-there-have-been-some/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“Sometime in the fifties I remember seeing On the Waterfront in the movies with Mary and thinking that I’m at least as bad as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brandt/sometime-in-the-fifties-i-remember-seeing-on-the-waterfront-in-the-2/) [Charles Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brandt/) > [If Congress is going to investigate baseball players about whether or not they told the truth, how can we justify giving the most powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-congress-is-going-to-investigate-baseball-players-about-whether-or/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [By 1967, J. Edgar Hoover had concluded that the Black Panther Party had replaced the Communist Party as the gravest threat to national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/by-1967-j-edgar-hoover-had-concluded-that-the-black-panther-party-had/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [Complex man that he was, J. Edgar Hoover left nothing to chance. The director shrewdly recognized that building what became known as the world's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-kessler/complex-man-that-he-was-j-edgar-hoover-left-nothing-to-chance-the/) [Ronald Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-kessler/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[ J. Edgar\]Hoover, I'm sure, felt that he was right in everything he did and even the things that we don't like about his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/j-edgar-hoover-i-m-sure-felt-that-he-was-right-in-everything-he-did/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [You know, back in the 1950s and '60s, when J. Edgar Hoover was making the FBI the respected organization it used to be, oftentimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-carr/you-know-back-in-the-1950s-and-60s-when-j-edgar-hoover-was-making-the/) [Howie Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-carr/) > [All my humor is based upon destruction and despair. If the whole world were tranquil, without disease and violence, I’d be standing on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/all-my-humor-is-based-upon-destruction-and-despair-if-the-whole-world/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) ## More by Daryl Davis > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [They've changed the name from white supremacy to white separatists, to white nationalists, to alt-right. It's the same thing. A rose by any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/they-ve-changed-the-name-from-white-supremacy-to-white-separatists-to/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [I have been attacked and mistreated for my skin colour since I was a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/i-have-been-attacked-and-mistreated-for-my-skin-colour-since-i-was-a/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [If you have an adversary, an opponent with an opposing point of view, give that person a platform, regardless of how extreme it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/if-you-have-an-adversary-an-opponent-with-an-opposing-point-of-view/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [At the end, ignorance is the source of biases. If we cure that, there's nothing to fear and hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/at-the-end-ignorance-is-the-source-of-biases-if-we-cure-that-there-s/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [There's a difference between being ignorant and being stupid... For me, an ignorant person is someone who makes the wrong decision or a bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/there-s-a-difference-between-being-ignorant-and-being-stupid-for-me/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Find someone who disagrees and invite them to your table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/find-someone-who-disagrees-and-invite-them-to-your-table/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Our society can only become one of two things, it can be become what we let it become or it can become what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/our-society-can-only-become-one-of-two-things-it-can-be-become-what/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [If you were to talk to somebody from Georgia you would understand what he's saying, he wouldn't sound like your next-door neighbor in Montana,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/if-you-were-to-talk-to-somebody-from-georgia-you-would-understand/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Every racist that I know - and I know a lot of racists - every racist that I know voted for Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/every-racist-that-i-know-and-i-know-a-lot-of-racists-every-racist/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [It was incomprehensible to me that someone who had never seen me before, someone who knew absolutely nothing about me, would want to inflict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/it-was-incomprehensible-to-me-that-someone-who-had-never-seen-me/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The most important thing I learned is that when you are actively learning about someone else you are passively teaching them about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-is-that-when-you-are-actively/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [You're not going to beat the meanness out of a mean dog. You start beating a mean dog, it's gonna become more mean. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/you-re-not-going-to-beat-the-meanness-out-of-a-mean-dog-you-start/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [He spoke nine languages. You know some people can just pick up an instrument and play. My father was like that with languages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/he-spoke-nine-languages-you-know-some-people-can-just-pick-up-an/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Music absolutely played a massive role in bridging many gaps in the racial divides I would encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/music-absolutely-played-a-massive-role-in-bridging-many-gaps-in-the/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) [Explore all 90 Daryl Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) ## More Black people quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Black Privilege is a concrete motive that black people benefit from, such as racism but racism on whites. Black people don't know it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-privilege-is-a-concrete-motive-that-black-people-benefit-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Acknowledging that my skin was, in fact, Cocoa as it is, would have destroyed their narrative about who I really was. Therefore they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/acknowledging-that-my-skin-was-in-fact-cocoa-as-it-is-would-have/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [Well of course there's been a great deal of progress over the last 40 years. 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