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'''Zandra Iona Flemister''' (November 21, 1951 – February 21, 2023) was |
'''Zandra Iona Flemister''' (November 21, 1951 – February 21, 2023) was a [[Foreign Service officer|Foreign Service Officer]] and [[United States Secret Service]] agent. Flemister received a bachelors degree from [[Northeastern University]] and a masters degree from the [[National Defense University]]. She joined the Secret Service in 1974, becoming the first [[African Americans|African American]] woman to serve as an agent.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Langer |first=Emily |date=2023-02-24 |title=Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies at 71 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/02/24/zandra-flemister-secret-service-dead/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225034347/https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/02/24/zandra-flemister-secret-service-dead/ |archive-date=2023-02-25 |access-date=2023-02-26 |work=[[Washington Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Four years later, she joined the [[United States Foreign Service]], where she would serve for 33 years before retiring in 2011 because of [[Early-onset Alzheimer's disease|early-onset Alzheimer's]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Langer |first=Emily |date=2023-02-27 |title=Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies at 71 |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/zandra-flemister-first-black-woman-in-secret-service-dies-at-71/article_3a6390eb-f068-5b99-bf64-37f0783c476d.html |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=The Philadelphia Tribune |language=en}}</ref> Flemister, along with over 100 other African American secret service agents, brought a [[class action lawsuit]] against the Secret Service for [[racial discrimination]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=TheGrio |date=2023-02-27 |title=First Black female secret service agent, Zandra Flemister, dies at 71 |url=https://thegrio.com/2023/02/27/first-black-female-secret-service-agent-zandra-flemister-dies/ |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=TheGrio |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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== Life and career == |
== Life and career == |
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Flemister was born November 21, 1951, in [[Frankfurt]], Germany, to American parents (her father was in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]). Raised in central [[Connecticut]], she graduated from [[Glastonbury High School]] in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1969-06-20 |title=Glastonbury: 272 Graduate High School |pages=6 |work=[[Hartford Courant]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119811453/glastonbury-272-graduate-high-school/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227141615/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119811453/glastonbury-272-graduate-high-school/ |archive-date=2023-02-27}}</ref> She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from [[Northeastern University]] in 1973.<ref name=":0" /> |
Flemister was born November 21, 1951, in [[Frankfurt]], Germany, to American parents (her father was in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]). Raised in central [[Connecticut]], she graduated from [[Glastonbury High School]] in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1969-06-20 |title=Glastonbury: 272 Graduate High School |pages=6 |work=[[Hartford Courant]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119811453/glastonbury-272-graduate-high-school/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227141615/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119811453/glastonbury-272-graduate-high-school/ |archive-date=2023-02-27}}</ref> She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from [[Northeastern University]] in 1973.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Langer |first=Emily |date=2023-02-24 |title=Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies at 71 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/02/24/zandra-flemister-secret-service-dead/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225034347/https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/02/24/zandra-flemister-secret-service-dead/ |archive-date=2023-02-25 |access-date=2023-02-26 |work=[[Washington Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> |
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Joining the Secret Service in August 1974, Flemister protected the daughters of two U.S. presidents: [[Susan Ford Bales|Susan Ford]] and [[Amy Carter]]. She experienced intense racial discrimination from fellow agents and supervisors and resigned from the agency in June 1978 to join the [[United States Foreign Service]]. During her thirty-plus years of employment with the Foreign Service, Flemister rose to the post of [[Consul (representative)|Consul General]] in Pakistan and represented the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] in liaison with the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]'s [[Terrorist Screening Center]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] In 2003, she earned a master's degree in national security logistics from the [[National Defense University]]. In 2006, she achieved promotion to the [[Senior Foreign Service]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Asma-Sadeque |first=Samira |date=2023-02-26 |title=Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies aged 71 |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/zandra-flemister-first-black-woman-secret-service-dies |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227141621/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/zandra-flemister-first-black-woman-secret-service-dies |archive-date=2023-02-27 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> |
Joining the Secret Service in August 1974, Flemister protected the daughters of two U.S. presidents: [[Susan Ford Bales|Susan Ford]] and [[Amy Carter]]. She experienced intense racial discrimination from fellow agents and supervisors and resigned from the agency in June 1978 to join the [[United States Foreign Service]]. During her thirty-plus years of employment with the Foreign Service, Flemister rose to the post of [[Consul (representative)|Consul General]] in Pakistan and represented the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] in liaison with the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]'s [[Terrorist Screening Center]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] In 2003, she earned a master's degree in national security logistics from the [[National Defense University]]. In 2006, she achieved promotion to the [[Senior Foreign Service]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Asma-Sadeque |first=Samira |date=2023-02-26 |title=Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies aged 71 |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/zandra-flemister-first-black-woman-secret-service-dies |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227141621/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/zandra-flemister-first-black-woman-secret-service-dies |archive-date=2023-02-27 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 17:44, 8 October 2024
Zandra Flemister | |
|---|---|
 Flemister in 2001 | |
| Born | Zandra Iona Flemister November 21, 1951 |
| Died | February 21, 2023 (aged 71) |
| Education | National Defense University Northeastern University |
| Employer(s) | United States Foreign Service United States Secret Service |
| Known for | First African American woman to serve as a U.S. Secret Service agent |
Zandra Iona Flemister (November 21, 1951 – February 21, 2023) was a Foreign Service Officer and United States Secret Service agent. Flemister received a bachelors degree from Northeastern University and a masters degree from the National Defense University. She joined the Secret Service in 1974, becoming the first African American woman to serve as an agent.[1] Four years later, she joined the United States Foreign Service, where she would serve for 33 years before retiring in 2011 because of early-onset Alzheimer's.[2] Flemister, along with over 100 other African American secret service agents, brought a class action lawsuit against the Secret Service for racial discrimination.[3]
Life and career
Flemister was born November 21, 1951, in Frankfurt, Germany, to American parents (her father was in the U.S. Army). Raised in central Connecticut, she graduated from Glastonbury High School in 1969.[4] She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Northeastern University in 1973.[5]
Joining the Secret Service in August 1974, Flemister protected the daughters of two U.S. presidents: Susan Ford and Amy Carter. She experienced intense racial discrimination from fellow agents and supervisors and resigned from the agency in June 1978 to join the United States Foreign Service. During her thirty-plus years of employment with the Foreign Service, Flemister rose to the post of Consul General in Pakistan and represented the State Department in liaison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening Center in Washington, D.C. In 2003, she earned a master's degree in national security logistics from the National Defense University. In 2006, she achieved promotion to the Senior Foreign Service.[5][6]
In 2000, Flemister gave sworn testimony in support of a class action lawsuit alleging that the Secret Service was rife with racial discrimination. She reported that white agents routinely engaged in overt racism, even using the n-word to refer to the presidents of Grenada and Senegal.[7] More than one hundred former agents joined the suit. In 2017, the Secret Service paid $24 million to settle the lawsuit.[5][8]
Flemister retired in 2011 with early onset Alzheimer's disease.[9] She died on February 21, 2023, at the age of 71.[5]
References
- ^ Langer, Emily (2023-02-24). "Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies at 71". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2023-02-25. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- ^ Langer, Emily (2023-02-27). "Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies at 71". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
- ^ Staff, TheGrio (2023-02-27). "First Black female secret service agent, Zandra Flemister, dies at 71". TheGrio. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
- ^ "Glastonbury: 272 Graduate High School". Hartford Courant. 1969-06-20. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ^ a b c d Langer, Emily (2023-02-24). "Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies at 71". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2023-02-25. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- ^ Asma-Sadeque, Samira (2023-02-26). "Zandra Flemister, first Black woman in Secret Service, dies aged 71". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ^ C. R. (2002-06-17). "Many black agents are seeing red". U.S. News and World Report. p. 30. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ^ Miller, Bill (2001-05-24). "Secret Service Agents Charge Bias". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- ^ Collinge, John (2016). "A Foreign Service Officer's Alzheimer's Journey". American Foreign Service Association. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
Categories:
- 1951 births
- 2023 deaths
- 20th-century African-American women
- 21st-century African-American women
- 20th-century American diplomats
- 21st-century American diplomats
- African-American diplomats
- American consuls
- National Defense University alumni
- Northeastern University alumni
- People from Frankfurt
- People from Glastonbury, Connecticut
- United States Secret Service agents
- United States Department of State officials