A group of Black former FBI special agents is urging Director Chris Wray to deal immediately with his bureau's diversity issues otherwise the country's premier law enforcement team won't be able to effectively address a worrisome spate of hate crimes, Insider has learned.
The ex-agents, under the auspices of an organization called The Mirror Project, has met twice w/ Wray on the topic — a January session lasted 5 hours — and also sent the FBI director a list of proposals last month that he should act on to address race issues within his own ranks.
Insider obtained an exclusive copy of the proposals. They include:
- Hiring a chief diversity officer who reports directly to the FBI director.
- Ensure qualifications for each step in the promotion process are shared throughout the workforce to increase transparency.
- Reaching out to different organizations such as Black professional associations & career fairs focused on diversity to enhance recruitment of Black FBI agents.
- Develop a process to track the reasons why Black applicants fail to complete the hiring process for the FBI.
Wray's meetings with the former Black FBI agents comes as the bureau plays a critical role in investigating and confronting an escalating number of violent attacks against Asian Americans.
Mirror Project representatives held two meetings with the FBI director and his senior staff. The first session came last year and a more recent conversation in January lasted for more than five hours.
Michael Mason, a Black former FBI agent who led the bureau's Criminal Investigative Division, told Insider that Wray acknowledged the lack of diversity in the bureau. But Mason said words are not enough.
"I'm less impressed by a spectacular performance in a meeting, than I am by what happens after the meeting," Mason told Insider. "I'm going to judge Director Wray by what he and his leadership team actually do."
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