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AFRO-AMERICAN HIRES |
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 Arrest made on information provided by a black F.B.N. Agent |
 F.B.N. Inspector - Wade McCree |
REGARDING: ANSLINGER’S AFRO-AMERICAN HIRES:
Yet another major talking point that Harry Anslinger’s apologists love to bring up is the (alleged) fact that starting in 1951 (or so they would claim, before the civil rights era) Anslinger started to hire blacks into the Bureau of Narcotics. According to former DEA agent Charles Lutz, the claim is made that during his tenure as Drug Czar he hired a total of between 30 to 35 Afro-American’s as narcotic agents. Thus (by implication) Anslinger just couldn’t possible have been a racial bigot. In fact, some would even have us rewrite things so as to make Anslinger into some sort of Civil Rights Leader. And in truth, had Anslinger actually hired such agents, despite the ugly truths found elsewhere, this factor of-and-by itself (IF TRUE) might just be enough to disprove all such allegations of racism. However, I for one have my doubts about the whole truth of this story, and the facts sort of agree with me that something here just doesn’t smell right; not one bit at all.
What initially made me so suspicious of such stories was the fact that, by everything else that I’ve been able to uncover about the man, Harry Anslinger simply was a racist-pig, plain and simple. And let’s face it, that being the case, then the last thing that anyone would expect such an individual to do is to go around handing out guns and badges to Afro-Americans, who he thought so little of.
Now look, this is not to say this sort of thing couldn’t have happened. For instance it is just a historical fact that there were Jews who worked for Hitler’s SS rounding up fellow Jews for deportation. Just like here in America we have what are termed “Uncle Mohammed’s” who want to abolish the 13th Amendment. Simply put, it happens. But overall (again from what I’ve been able to gather about Anslinger), it just doesn’t make sense. To him, black people had a particular place in this world, which in the words of a Kate Smith song popular in that era went something like: [1]
“Someone had to pick the corn”
“Someone had to slave and be able to sing”
“That's why darkies were born”
Thus the very thought of Anslinger hiring them, let along giving them guns and badges made no sense, none at all. Anslinger just didn’t think that way.
F.B.N. AGENT WADE H. McCREE
(WHAT THE NARC’S DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW)
By most accounts, Wade H. McCree (the guy with the Hitler moustache above), is believed to be the first Afro-American hire within the F.B.N. (Federal Bureau of Narcotics). Thus, given the subject at hand, it might be of some interest to find out more about this man and his exact role within the FBN. But I might as well warn you, the more and more research I did, the uglier and uglier the situation got.
WADE HAMPTON McCREE
Born on Dec. 17, 1886, by anyone standards Mr. McCree was the stuff of legends. He was born into a world where being black meant your opportunities were quite limited. Or in the words of a once popular song; “Someone had to pick the cotton, someone had to pick the corn . . that’s why darkies were born.” Yet somehow this man managed to obtain a college degree in pharmacy and thus obtained a license to practice pharmacy. AND note that he was able to do this during the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson, probably the most racist president we’ve ever had. The 1920’s census shows his employment status as:
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So here we have a man who (given the times) one would have expected to be picking cotton somewhere. Yet instead (despite numerous obstacles) he accomplished something that less than 7% of all American’s back then were able to do. --- However, it is after this point that the mysteries behind this man began to appear. According to the revisionist historians, Anslinger didn’t begin to hire black agents until the early 1950’s, yet the 1930’s census shows his employment status as that of a governmental
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Meaning that he was already working with the Bureau, long before then. A situation which (at least on the surface) creates a sort of conundrum or at least a whole host of questions. If Anslinger did not begin hiring back agents until 1951, then what was McCree doing there long before then? In addition, if Anslinger had began to hire black agents right from the get-go, then one would expect his apologists to have jumped on that as a major talking point. Yet everywhere, especially among his apologists, a wall of silence seems to surround the whole subject. WHY?
And unfortunately, after doing more and more research into this one individual, the answers I got kept getting uglier and uglier as I went along. To begin with Harry Anslinger DID NOT hire Wade McCree. The F.B.N itself was not even created until July 01, 1930 and Anslinger was not appointed its commissioner until months thereafter. While the 1930’s census (in Mr. McCree’s area) was physical taken in April of that year. And there is proof that Mr. McCree was an employee with the FBN (then a part of the Bureau of Prohibition) as far back as 1924. [2] --- In other words Anslinger had nothing to do with his hiring and the best that could be said is that he inherited McCree (along with a couple of other black agents) from the old ‘Federal Bureau of Prohibition.’ -- So, no wonder his apologists don’t want to make any mentions of these early black agents; -- Especially as Anslinger (by their own accounts) did not begin hiring black agents until 1951.
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NOW WAIT – AS AN ASIDE, let’s look at this fact a bit harder and exactly what this all means. Math-wise it would mean that [1951 – 1930 = 21 yrs] he did not begin to hire blacks until 21 years into his 32 year tenure. Something his apologists must be well aware of, especially as the glass ceiling (at least for entry-level hires) had already been broken. Thus Anslinger’s apologists can use nether social stigmas of the times, or written law (preventing black employment) to explain his actions.
Was it as simple as no black people applying? Was it that none were qualified? -- Maybe, but I for one feel that the answer had more to do with Anslingers personal view of those darkies and their place in society. After all isn’t that what the ‘Brown Skin Marihuana’ laws were all about. |
But for the sake of continuing on with the story (one that goes downhill from here on end), while it appears that Mr. Anslinger had nothing to do with his hiring, it appears he surely had a lot to do with his firing. According to various Internet websites:
“ . . when one of his very few black agents, William B. Davis, complained about being called a “nigger” by Harry’s men, Anslinger sacked him.”A statement that gives the impression that it was William Davis who was fired. However after tracing the quote to its source and looking over its footnotes, it appears that that’s not exactly what happened. In an interview with William B. Davis, Douglas Valentine quotes him as stating the following:
“Davis tell(s) how Wade McCree, while working as an FBN agent in the 1930’s, created a patent medicine called Mother McCree’s Goose Grease. But McCree made the mistake of writing to Eleanor Roosevelt to complain that federal prosecutors in the South were calling Black agents “niggers.” As a result, Anslinger had his legal staff charge McCree with using FBN facilities to create his patent medicine. McCree was fired and his dismissal had the intended ripple effect: it sent a clear message that complaints from Black agents would not be tolerated. . .“ [3]So somehow the original quote got misquoted. It was in effect Wade McCree who got sacked by Anslinger and not William B. Davis. BUT WAIT, if there’s anything that I’ve learned about this subject is to trust no-one’s word for it, and instead, rely solely upon the documented facts.
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- First, William Davis by his own account did not join the FBN until about 1952, but claims that the incident occurred during the 1930’s. Obvious then he himself is relying upon hearsay or second hand information.
- Next, I was able to locate Mr. McCree’s WW-II draft card (below), which clearly shows that he was still employed by the U.S. Government after April 1942. [4] - But again, Davis was going by second hand accounts.
[Note – for man born after 1877, yet McCree was born in 1876 ?]
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- For the next part of the story, I did my best (without success) to locate any still existing old medicine bottles/packages or at least pictures of “Mother McCree’s Goose Grease.“ -- Nothing.
- Next after a good faith effort (Both Google and the U.S. Patent office have good Internet search engines) I was not able to locate any kind of patent or even a patent application for “Mother McCree’s Goose Grease.“ Now, I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, only that I couldn’t find it. But in any case, it’s a factor that led me to believe (at least at first) that this was little more than another fabricated story.
- HOWEVER, by shear happenstance, I was able to locate the following, in-effect establishing that there really was a “Mother McCree’s Goosegrease Sav.” Unfortunately it’s a legal action against McCree.
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[ Or https://archive.org/details/CAT11088280008/page/n157 ]
WOW, I guess that was it for Mother McCree’s Goosgrease! However, in so doing these guys did what no one else could have done, actually documented or provided the evidence needed to confirm the story’s accuracy. Note the following:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Notices of judgment under the Federal food, drug, and cosmetic act “
“Drugs and devices" [Feb. 1947]
Pg 297
2034. Misbranding of Goosgrease Sav. U. S. v. 1,097 Jars of Goosgrease Sav.
Default decree of condemnation and destruction. (F. D. C. No. 20743.
Sample No. 57501-H.)
Libel Filed: August 23, 1946. District of Massachusetts.
Alleged Shipment: On or about August 22, 1944, by the McCree Products Co., from Chicago, IL.
Product: 1,097 jars of Goosgrease Sav at Roxbury, Mass. Examination showed that the product consisted essentially of volatile oils including camphor, menthol, eucalyptol, thymol, and methyl salicylate in a base consisting of petrolatum with a small proportion of fat such as goose grease.
Label, in Part: “Mother McCree’s Goosgrease Sav.”
Nature of Charge: Misbranding. Section 502 (a), certain statements on the label and in accompanying circulars were false and misleading since they represented and suggested that the article would be effective for immediate relief in the treatment of bronchitis, whooping cough, croup, colds of all kinds, influenza, congested conditions, grippe, hoarseness, neuralgia, chilblains, and stiff neck; that it was effective as a remedy for sore throat; and that it was the best cold remedy. The article would not be effective for the purposes claimed, and it was not the best cold remedy.
Further misbranding, Section 502 (a), the name “Goosgrease Sav” was misleading as applied to an article containing therapeutically active ingredients other than goose grease: Section 502 (b) (2), the article failed to bear a label containing an accurate statement of the quantity of the contents: and, Section 502 (e) (2), the label failed to bear the common or usual name of each active ingredient.
Disposition: September 30. 1946. No claimant having appeared, judgment of condemnation was entered and the product was ordered destroyed.
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First the date of the judgment was Sep. 1946, while the date on Mr. McCree’s draft card (showing he was still an FBN agent then) was April 1942. Thus whatever happened, happened between those two dates.
Next (in case anyone out there thinks this was a quack medicine), let’s look at exactly what we’re talking about. While I have no medical training and am far from a chemist, I know enough about old antique medicines to know that we are talking about a ‘Mentholated Vapor Rub’ of one type or another. One with the following (mentioned) ingredients:
- Camphor - A common 19th century medical ingredient, traditionally used (skin lotions) to treat pains of bruises, sprains, inflammation, gout, rheumatic joints, etc. In steam inhalations it was used to treat respiratory illness such as asthma and bronchitis.
- Menthol – (aka mints), it appears they smell good, but don’t do that much in this case.
- Eucalyptol - Eucalyptus oil has traditional been used in chest rubs to treat bronchial congestion and in steam inhalations to alleviate coughs and asthma.
- Thymol - (aka thyme) its oil was used to treat coughing and spasms.
- Methyl salicylate – (aka wintergreen oil), used in rubs to treat joint and muscular pains.
- Petrolatum base - (some small amount of fat such as goose grease etc.)
| Bronchitis | Whooping cough | Croup |
| Colds of all kinds | Influenza | Congested conditions |
| Grippe | Hoarseness | Neuralgia |
| Chilblains | Stiff neck |
NOTE the following: [A]- That none of the given ingredients were Quack in nature, and [B]- were indeed effective (especially given the times) against the aliments recommended for.
Now just for comparison, let’s look at the ingredients found in a modern-day cold rub that I picked up the other day at a dollar-store – The label reads:
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Vaporizing Chest Rub: Menthol – 1% Camphor – 4.7% Eucalyptol oil -- 1% Label continues to read : Use on chest and throat to temporarily relieve cough : Use on aching muscles to temporarily relieve minor aches and pains |
Or for a better comparison, let’s look at the active ingredients of ‘Bengay’ a well-known skin rub:
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Active Ingredients Camphor 1% Menthol 10% Methyl Salicylate = 30% |
In other words (ingredient wise), Mother McCree pretty much had the same ingredients as; ---pretty much every other chest rub out there. Thus whatever else can be said, Mother McCree’s Goosgrease was not a quack medicine. So why then did the FDA (Federal Regulatory Police) interfere? The answer is one of the two following:
- [A}- Mother McCree engaged in false advertising.I’ll leave it up to the reader to figure out which was which. BUT IN ANY CASE, there was a Wade H. McCree, he did work for the F.B.N., long before Anslinger hired any blacks and a “Mother McCree’s Goosgrease Sav” actually did exist. Plus and most important of all, the timing of events all fit in. Assuming he was fired a couple of years before the FDA ruling, Eleanor Roosevelt would have still been first lady at the time and thus would have been in a position to help.
OR
- [B]- Or Harry Anslinger (as Commission of Narcotics) gave the orders to harass.
Thus it appears that the whole story in question is (with the exception of exact dates) true and accurate. Further proof of that lies in the fact that Anslinger’s apologists don’t even want to touch the case. WHY? After all if Anslinger was such a Civil Rights Hero then one would think they would be using it as a corner stone. Well I’ll also leave that up to the reader to figure out.
As stated earlier (at least at first), I for one had my doubts about the very concept that a devout racist like Anslinger would ever voluntarily hire a black agent period, because it just wasn’t in his nature - period. Yet history is history and historical facts may have proven me otherwise. To the best of my knowledge the following are thought to have been Black Agents who worked for the F.B.N. The list itself comes from Douglas Valentine’s book “The Strength of the Wolf” [Footnote – Chapter 4, #20, p484]
“Among the notable Black agents who preceded (William Davis a black FBN agent) were Wade McCree , Johnny Boxill , Josh Taylor , Jimmy Fletcher [James Fletcher] , Bill Jackson, who was poisoned in South Carolina. Notable Black agents who followed (William) Davis included Malcom P. Richards, Marshall Latta, Charles McDonnell, Norris “Norey” Durham, William H. Turnbou, Earl Graves, Robert Brown, and William Newkirk.”So, wow, there appears to have been a whole heap of them. So Anslinger must have hired them right? Well, actually no! Let’s look at the list a bit more closely and specifically why today’s apologists don’t want to talk about them too much.
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EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE BUREAU AS AN ASIDE, Harry Anslinger’s F.B.N. (Federal Bureau of Narcotics), essentially had four (or five) different kinds of hires:
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Wade McCree: The case of [Wade Hampton McCree] has already been covered and as mentioned Anslinger did not actually hire him. In addition, he was not an actual agent with a gun and badge, but instead an Inspector for the Bureau.
Josh Taylor: [Jaushawau L. Taylor], was yet another well-known black agent (from the early days), who from historical records, we’ve been able to find “might just” have been an actual agent for the Bureau. His 1930’s census form clear lists him as a Government Investigator.
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However, that same 1930’s census (taken before the FBN was even formed) shows that Mr. Taylor was already an agent. Meaning that Anslinger DID NOT hire Mr. Taylor but instead that he was a legacy employee from the old ‘Bureau of Prohibition.” But at least in this individual’s case, to Anslinger’s credit, unlike the Wade McCree case, he didn’t directly terminate him either.
OK, in terms of the two agents above, we’ve at least been able to confirm their existence, but from this point things get a bit more muddy, and in some cases the facts seem to even contradict themselves. So much so I fear, that I’ve not come to the opinion that some of the stated characters were either:
[A] – FictionalOr whatever; - Simply put, there are few if any documents to prove that they even existed in the first place. While in other cases the total opposite is true. --- Here, we’ll present the facts and let the reader figure it out.
[B] – Used multiple names (meaning two or more such individuals might in fact be one and the same person)
[C] – Made use of a totally fabricated ‘Nom-de-Garre,’ for narcotics work.
Agent James Fletcher: Or Jimmy Fletcher, of Billy Holiday fame, at least for the time being is a total mystery spot. No World War I or II draft cards, no census data appears under that name, in effect - nothing! It’s as if this guy never filled out a census record or ever even existed. Now note, I’m not saying that the info isn’t there to be found, I’m just saying that after hours upon hours of a good faith search on ancestry(dot)com, I just couldn’t find anything. And if there is one thing that I have found is that everyone (and I mean everyone) leaves a paper trail of one kind or another. Yet despite all this, he’s probably the best know of Anslinger’s black agents. Typical of what’s out on the Internet: [6]
“Harry had heard whispers that she (Billie Holiday) was using heroin, and—after she flatly refused to be silent about racism—he assigned an agent named Jimmy Fletcher to track her every move. Harry hated to hire black agents, but if he sent white guys into Harlem and Baltimore, they stood out straight away. Jimmy Fletcher was the answer. His job was to bust his own people, but Anslinger was insistent that no black man in his Bureau could ever become a white man’s boss. Jimmy was allowed through the door at the Bureau, but never up the stairs. He was and would remain an “archive man” —a street agent whose job was to figure out who was selling, who was supplying and who should be busted. He would carry large amounts of drugs with him, and he was allowed to deal drugs himself so he could gain the confidence of the people he was secretly plotting to arrest.“Whether or not the above story is true is irrelevant, what is relevant is that there are too many contradictory statements about his story to make any sense of it. First, according to Charles Lutz, a well-known Anslinger apologists/historian/ex-narc, etc. Anslinger did not begin to hire Black agents until the early 1950’s or the beginning of the Civil rights era, while the Billy Holiday story takes place in the late 1940’s? So how could Jimmy Fletcher have been an FBN agent? Especially as [at least as of this writing] no evidence of Mr. Fletcher’s role within the bureau before the 1940’s can be found; -- Meaning that he was not a legacy employee from the old ‘Bureau of Prohibition”.
It is these factors that lead me to challenge the assertion that he was indeed a full fledged agent (meaning a guy with a badge and a gun), but instead I am led to believe that he was instead an informer. Granted, a well-paid informer (the group photo above proves he had status), but still not an agent.
Next, the fact that there is no paper work trail for Mr. Fletcher, leads me to believe that there is/was no such animal. Now this is not to say that Anslinger didn’t harass Ms. Holiday, especially as he had a history of taking such actions against his political enemies. Just that in all probability Jimmy Fletcher was an assumed name or what the French would term, a ‘Nom-de-Garre.’ That is if he existed at all and wasn’t in-effect a collective, coded, name for of various black informers. As for me, were it not for the world’s most un-viewable picture (see top), published in a DEA publication, [7] I myself (despite the numerous articles/books bringing up his name), would have had to questioned his very existence.
[WARNING] - There is much about him on the Internet, in books/magazine articles etc, but once more the reader should keep in mind that few of those details can be verified. Simply put, most of what we know about James Fletcher originated from either unreliable or second-hand sources.
LAST MINUTE ADDITION: Was Jimmy Fletcher’s name really “James Thomas Fields”?
NOTE: The only information that we have on this individual is what was found via this WW-II Draft Card, which reads is as follows:
| Name: | James Thomas Fields |
| Race: | Black |
| Age: | 32 |
| Birth Date: | 30 Sep 1908 |
| Birth Place: | Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA |
| Residence Place: | Washington, District of Columbia, USA |
| Registration Date: | 1940 |
| Employer: | U S Treasury Department, Bureau of Narcotics |
| Weight: | 165 |
| Complexion: | Dark Brown |
| Height: | 5’ 9” |
Maybe so, especially as no one is able to locate any actual documents related to Mr. Fletcher. However, there is one problem, according to this record he was 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighted 165 lbs. (a little more than average for the time), yet the one picture that we have of him (see above), as lousy as it is, shows a smaller man of below average size? But maybe, everything else fits to a “T”.
Agent Bill Jackson: Unfortunately, IF a “Bill (or William) Jackson was indeed a Federal Agent for the FBN (and there is a strong possibility that he wasn’t), he would have been one of the few (post-1951) black hires that Anslinger was alleged to have made. MEANING, as governmental census data is sealed for 70 years, historical websites would be of little help to us in finding this individual. Thus, all that we know about Mr. Jackson is as follows: According to Douglas Valentine’s book “The Strength of the Wolf” (Chap 4, page 62-63)
“The predicament of Black agents is best expressed by William B. Davis. After graduating from Rutgers University, Davis, while visiting New York City, heard signer Kate Smith praising Agent Bill Jackson on a radio show. “She described him as a Black lawyer who was doing a fine job as a federal narcotic agent, and that was my inspiration. I applied to the Narcotics Bureau and was hired right away, but I soon found out there was an unwritten rule that Black agents could not hold positions of respect: they could not become group leaders, or manage or give direction to Whites. The few Black agents we had at any one time,” he says bitterly, “maybe eight in the whole country, had indignities heaped upon us.”Elsewhere in his book, Valentine states that Mr. Jackson “was poisoned in South Carolina.” And that’s it, but it’s enough to put together some sort of a file on the man. First, he was a black lawyer (probably fresh from college), who joined the F.B.N. soon after graduation, probably in 1951. However, as a lawyer, he would have been a special hire and would probably have worked in the legal department, NOT as an enforcement agent. Which explains how he got to meet Kate Smith (the one holding the mama-doll in the cartoon ad above), etc.
Agent Homer R Johnson :
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This census was also physically taken in April of that year (1930), so whatever else, Anslinger had nothing to do with this hire either. Nothing else is known about this guy.
Bernard Mc Guire or Bernard McGinie :
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Note, nothing is known about this agent, other than (yet again) as the 1930 census shows/proves, Anslinger had nothing to do with hiring this black agent. Note that he might have/have not worked for the FBN, we don’t know. But the timing is about right.
George F Taylor:
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This census was also physically taken in April of that year, so whatever else, Anslinger had nothing to do with this hire. Unfortunately nothing else is known about him.
Johnny Boxill: He probably would have been officially known as John Boxill, but other than his name, nothing else is known about him. A total mystery.
NO RECORDS LOCATED
(THE LAST OF THE OLD, THE FIRST OF THE NEW)
“The man at the right is Narcotic Inspector Wade McCree. He and three others — Josh Taylor, James Fletcher, and William "Cappy" Davis — were our first Black officers, who started their careers in the late twenties and early thirties. “However, as has already been noted, other than for paid informers, Ansliger simply didn’t hire any black agent’s during that stated time period. With the exception of Davis, those others mentioned were all either legacy employees, inherited by Anslinger from the Bureau of Prohibition or informers (not actual agents with guns and badges) etc. However, Bill (William Davis) was different, he was indeed an actual hire. Once more re-quoting Douglas Valentine’s book “The Strength of the Wolf”:
“My research revealed that most of the statements attributed to him had actually been made by others. Some of them were misrepresented and others totally fabricated, but my epiphany came when I interviewed William B. Davis, one of the first five Black agents hired by Mr. Anslinger and I'm very pleased to say that Bill Davis is here with us today. Bill, will you please raise your hand? [applause] In 1992 Bill wrote a feature article for AFMA's newsletter, The Connection.* In it he described the indignities that had been heaped upon him and other Black agents and he'll be the first one to tell you that there were racists in the old FBN. But he'll also tell you as he told me that Harry Anslinger was not one of them. Bill told me that he had met Anslinger on four or five occasions and had always been treated with respect.“* I’ve tried repeatedly to obtain a copy of the stated article without success.
And while this statement (again written by an Anslinger apologist) was meant to bolster the claim that Anslinger was not a racist, the way I see it, it does just the opposite. It in effect acknowledges the fact that “indignities” (probably verbal racial slurs) were commonplace during that time period. So if Anslinger was not a racist, as is the claim, then why didn’t he simply send out an internal memo asking his agents to cool it on that subject? Isn’t that what we would expect a “Saintly-Like Civil Rights Leader” like Anslinger (or so he is being painted) to do?
Yet, nothing. A situation which of-and-by itself leads me to ask yet another question? What would happen if such a situation were to happen in today’s world? Assuming such racist touts were going on throughout the bureau (and everyone agrees that they were), wouldn’t we hold the boss-man in charge responsible?
In addition, yet one other (living) black agent has spoken out about the situation under Anslinger. According to Arthur H. Lewis [10] in an interview he gave to a relative (as well as news journalist) in 2014 he also didn’t think very highly of him either:
“Lewis . . began (work) in 1956* in the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In those days of policing, Lewis says the color of your skin had a large impact on your position within the agency. . . . “In those days black agents were always charged to be undercover.” Lewis said. “[After a bust] I would disappear into the city because they didn’t want people to know who we were.”* Technically Mr. Lewis began work as a desk clerk for the Bureau in 1956 and was not promoted to full agent status until a couple of years later.
However, returning back to the case of Bill Davis, it must be acknowledged that some statements (attributed to him or about him) are indeed inaccurate. As already documented above; No, Harry Anslinger did not fire Mr. Davis after he had filed racial based complaints. But instead the person in question was another black employee of the FBN named Wade McCree. It was he that made the complaint that subsequently got him fired and as shown, it appears that Anslinger went after him with a vengeance.
Thus, overall, not exactly glowing remarks about Anslinger from the standpoint of being some sort of ‘Civil Rights Leader,’ but very consistent with what we know about his racial viewpoints in general.
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Okay, I’m not going to play games here with the reader. Due to the nature of this book, everyone expects me to say Bad things about Anslinger. But that doesn’t change the facts any, and just take my word for it (regardless of established viewpoints) I Follows Where The Facts Lead. And the facts clearly point in the direction that Harry Anslinger was indeed a racist-pig and one of the worst kind. So let’s look at those facts:
His apologists (or historical revisionists if you will), would have you believe that the late Commission of the FBN ( Federal Bureau of Narcotics) is presently being maligned by those they see as being nothing more than so many unwashed hippies. Who they claim are now trying to paint him as being nothing more than some kind of racist-pig of one variety or another. Instead of (we must presume) the pre-Martin Luther King, civil rights leader that they would want us to envision that he was. As proof, they point out that Anslinger actually had hired blacks agents (giving them guns and badges) long before other Law Enforcement bodies (say the FBI) did. Thus, they claim; How could he have been a racist-pig? Why he was hiring black people, long before others did. etc., etc., . . .blah, . . . blah, . . . blah.
And in truth (at least technically) they are correct. Leaving paid informers out of the picture, it does appear that starting in the early 1950’s, Anslinger did indeed begin to hire blacks as full fledged agents. Now once more, we are talking about full-fledged agents, not just paid informers. HOWEVER, that’s where things quickly start to all apart.
- First, Anslinger became Commissioner of Narcotics in 1930 and remained in office until 1962, yet even his defenders state that he hired no black agents until 1951. Meaning that (1951 – 1930 = 21 years) for the first two-thirds of this tenor in office, he didn’t hire any.
- And granted given the standards of the times, it could be stated that black people just weren’t hired back then for (ah) those kinds of jobs. This ignores the fact that Anslinger inherited a number of black agents/inspectors, etc., from the old ‘Bureau of Prohibition.’ In other words, there were black agents on the force, right from the get-go. Thus the ‘keeping with the standards of the time’ argument makes no sense.
- Next, there is the timing of the hires themselves, just at the start of the Civil Rights Era. A fact that of-and-by itself brings up a question; -- Why not before the start of the Civil Rights era?
- In addition, there are the statements made by the employees (black narcotics officers) themselves. All of them seem to point to a glass ceiling for blacks. Simply put, you could ONLY go rise up so far within the ranks and no farther.
- In addition to the glass ceiling, blacks also had very limited job opportunities with the Bureau under Anslinger. Mostly they were relegated to undercover work within black communities.
- Last but most important of all, there were the racist-verbal abuse that black agents had to tolerate in order to keep their jobs within the Bureau.
I believe we all know the reason. Perhaps his treatment of Wade McCree provides us with a perfect example of Harry Anslinger’s racial views. Thus why I myself must question today’s apologists for Anslinger. Granted he did hire black agents during his last decade in power, but he did so solely out of necessity and desperation. Just like Hitler who hired Jews to track down fellow Jews. Anslinger, the pragmatic being that he was, realized that black individuals could do what whites could never do. Infiltrate their own communities.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1]- https://genius.com/Kate-smith-thats-why-darkies-were-born-lyrics - Note, after looking over the lyrics, I personally am of the opinion that the song (also sung by Paul Robeson) is not actually racists but a sort of “We shall over Come” type song. But than I could be wrong.
[2]- Historical Documents as per www. Ancestry(dot)com – a great website NOT Affiliated with this museum. – Historical statements assign Mr. McCree in Hawaii during this time, which are confirmed via steamship travel records.
[3]- Douglas Valentine’s book “The Strength of the Wolf” page 62-63
[4]- Obtained via www.Ancestry.com” is a paid service, not affiliated with this museum
[5]- Referring to ‘Drug Enforcement Magazine’ (an official DEA publication) Vol.7, No. 2 Dec 1980 – “The Early Years”
[6]- https://xaktaylor.wordpress.com/tag/henry-anslinger/
[7]- See footnot No. 5.
[8]- Ibid
[9]- https://www.deamuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/101514-DEAMuseum-LecturesSeries-StandingintheShadows-transcript.pdf
[10]- “Former Law Enforcement Agent Reflects on His Pioneering Career” -- Feb. 27, 2014, by EyeOpener, https://phl17.com/category/eye-opener/
--https://phl17.com/2014/02/27/mr-hall-recounts-law-enforcement-career-in-which-he-trailblazed-for-black-agents/?share=email&nb=1&nb=1&nb=1&nb=1
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