As a young man Robert S. Scurlock and his brother George
learned photography in their father Addison’s Washington studio. Robert was
impatient with the constraints of formulaic studio portraiture, however, and
sought different avenues of expression, especially photojournalism—such as the
picture stories made popular by Life and Look magazines, as well as the picture
magazines published for an African American clientele. Robert Scurlock
photographed on assignment or on
speculation for some of them. One
example is his documentation of James Edward Amos (1879-1953), one of the first
African Americans to be hired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Amos spent his early career in the Interior Department and
the Customs Office, and had been an investigator for the Burns International
Detective Agency. He gained notoriety as personal attendant, confidant, and
bodyguard for President Theodore Roosevelt for twelve years. Roosevelt, some claimed, had died in Amos’s
arms.
James Amos and colleagues at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Negative by Robert Scurlock, ca. 1940s.
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of
American History. NMAH-AC0618-004-174.
Amos was recruited
as a special agent for the F.B.I. on August 24, 1921 after William J. Burns
(formerly of the Burns International Detective Agency) became the Bureau’s
fourth director in 1921, Amos’s application for employment included references
from Theodore Roosevelt, former Secretary of State Elihu Root, Senator Hiram
Johnson, General Leonard Wood, and former Interior Secretary Gifford Pinchot.
Although some of Robert Scurlock’s pictures for this story
utilized dramatic angles and lighting to suggest the shadowy life of a crime
fighter, others show Amos enjoying meetings with both black and white
colleagues in offices and laboratories. It appears that Amos was no longer
engaged in field work, but was enjoying a more sedentary career during the
1940s when Robert Scurlock photographed him.
James Amos with colleague at Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Negative by Robert Scurlock, ca. 1940s.
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of
American History. NMAH-AC0618-004-0000180.
Amos’s thirty-two year career with the Bureau often
had its thrills. He participated in many investigations, including those
targeting the Buchalter Gang, black nationalist Marcus Garvey’s Black Star
Steamship Company, and the German spy Joubert Duquesne, and assisted in the
apprehension of the gangster Dutch Schultz.
He retired October 15, 1953, and died two months later. [Athan G. Theoharis, The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide. Oryx Press, 1999, pp. 314-315.]
The FBI’s web site includes an article on Amos. It concludes: “Professor Theodore Kornweibel,
Jr., sums up Special Agent Amos’s career in Seeing Red: Amos ‘proved’ what
should never have needed proving: that African Americans could serve the
federal government in sensitive positions with objectivity, intelligence, and
professionalism. We can sum it up too:
Amos was a superb agent who served with fidelity, bravery, and
integrity.”
From “A Byte Out of History: One African-American Special
Agent's Story”
By David Haberstich
Curator of Photography, Archives Center
National Museum of American History
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