February 27, 2023
Zandra Flemister, First Black Woman Hired By U.S. Secret Service, Dies at 71
She lived a long life dedicated to serving her agency and her people despite facing racism and discrimination during her tenure at the Secret Service
Zandra Flemister, the first Black woman in the law enforcement agency, died Tuesdsay at age 71. According to The Washington Post, Flemister’s husband of 42 years, John Collinge, said the cause of death was respiratory failure related to her Alzheimer’s disease.
The Guardian reported that Flemister fought to be a trailblazer for other African American women. The Secret Service’s director Kimberly Cheatle described Flemister as that “trailblazer who “inspired a future generation of agents.”
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Flemister began her career with the Secret Service in 1974 guarding the families of presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
Flemister experienced various forms of discrimination and racism as a Black woman, facing continuous microaggressions, ultimatums, and hostile verbal comments, even from a fellow agent who once referred to her as a “prisoner” while they were on duty. Another colleague placed a photo of a gorilla on her identification, and she caught other white colleagues using the N-word. Flemister was also instructed by her supervisor to change her afro-style haircut in order to be considered for promotion.
The trailblazer transferred to the foreign service, where she was appointed as supervisor general in Pakistan. She later earned selection to the senior foreign service in 2006.
Flemister filed a lawsuit in 2000 alleging racial discrimination within the agency, writing that her race was why she wasn’t “allowed to have a successful career in the Secret Service.”
“My requests for transfers to career-enhancing squads [were] consistently denied, my credibility and competency constantly questioned, and [there was] the common use of racial epithets in my presence,” she wrote.
Unfortunately, Flemister’s battle with Alzheimer’s prohibited her from following through with the lawsuit. She retired in 2010 at age 59.