Donald Tucker Discusses Life During The Civil Rights-Era As a Secret Service Agent
When you were in the military, your unit was assigned to go to Oxford, MS to escort James Meredith, the first African American to be admitted to the University of Mississippi. But at the last hour, your captain pulled you out of the mission. What did that feel like?
It was the worst feeling I ever had in my life. I really felt that was a time when black soldiers could prove that they were equal to white soldiers. When my captain told me to fall out, I felt like I was worth nothing. When I was doing research [for the book], I had always thought it was the military because they always had a problem with segregation and how they treated black soldiers. But in doing the research, I came across a recording between John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. They were talking to the governor of Mississippi. I couldn’t believe how they were bargaining, and the biggest bargaining chip was pulling black soldiers out of the mission so they wouldn’t come in contact with the white citizens of Oxford, the same white citizens that were causing so much rioting and violence. Talk about having a different opinion of the Kennedys. A lot of people don’t realize that part of the story.
What would you consider a highlight of your career?
If I had to pick something, I would have to say what I did to help other black agents. Because of the things I did, I think I forced the secret service to establish minority committees for blacks, females, Pacific-Islanders, Asians and Hispanics so that they would treat minority agents the same way they treated white agents. It got to the point where the white agents got so angry, they wanted to have a committee for themselves. That made me feel very good when I left the secret service to know that I did accomplish something.
What would you want your legacy to be?
I would like to be looked at as someone who had no qualms about fighting for what was right. I didn’t consider my paycheck so strong that it would prevent me from speaking out. If I did have to wear a jacket for being a troublemaker for standing up for what I believed, then so be it. I’d wear that jacket proudly.
