Civil Rights Leaders Urge Location of New FBI Headquarters in Prince George’s County

The leaders of the National Urban League, Greater Washington Urban League, and National Action Network have urged the Biden Administration to select a site in Prince George’s County for the new Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters.

“Prince George’s County is home to the largest suburban majority Black population in the region and one of the largest in the nation,” the leaders wrote in a letter to President Biden and Administrator of General Services Robin Carnahan. “Though there is a talented and educated workforce in the county, this community has historically been left out of federal office space allocations and other investments from the Federal Government. Such disparities in the county contribute to a median income that is 18% lower than the median income of the region as a whole and 48% lower than the median income of Fairfax County.”

The letter is signed by National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial, Greater Washington Urban League President and CEO George H. Lambert, Jr., National Action Network Founder and President Rev. Al Sharpton,  and Nia 2X, President of the National Action Network Greater Washington, D.C., Chapter.

Noting that President Biden solidified the Administration’s commitment to racial equity on his first day in office with the “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” the leaders wrote, “Selecting a Prince George’s County site to house the consolidated FBI headquarters would help effectuate the Administration’s written commitment to racial equity.

“Prince George’s County has 48% of federal warehouse space and 20% of the region’s federal workforce, yet only 4% of the region’s federal office spaces are housed in the county,” they wrote. “A federal investment in this county the size and significance of the new FBI headquarters would begin to address the low rate of federal office space and bring economic growth and development to this community that has been historically underserved.”

The full letter is here.