By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – February is Black History Month, and for one Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent, it’s a month to spend time reflecting on a “complicated history.”
FBI Special Agent Kegan Walker said while he is still new to the bureau, he found joining the force as an African American a personal learning and teaching journey.
” Certainly, there is a complicated history with being an African American in the United States. Ultimately, when it comes to challenges, it wasn’t necessarily a challenge of being in the FBI, but for me, making sense of okay, there’s history, what does that history mean for me, what does it mean for others.
That was more of a personal journey for me, and ultimately, a lot of those questions were answered in a very positive way as I entered the training and some of the other requirements that I was required to go through.”
Agent Walker said the FBI also provides love and admiration for the African American community.
“I would say for other African Americans when we think about our history, that has really been our history in the United States is you know showing the deep love and admiration in services for not only ourselves but to other people. And if they are interested in the FBI, I think it’s a good opportunity to continue that legacy in a very positive and approachable way.”
The FBI values and leverages human differences, opinions and perspectives to empower our FBI community to achieve its greatest potential and accomplish our mission. That's why #diversity is one of the FBI's core values. #blackhistorymonth pic.twitter.com/NNtzxfRzBj
— FBI Springfield (@FBISpringfield) February 3, 2021
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].