1960: Raymond Weir

First African American Polygrapher

When Raymond Weir started working at the NSA in 1951, he was the first African American polygrapher in the United States. In an era of segregation, he was also only allowed to conduct polygraph examinations for other African Americans. It wasn’t until the early 1960s that NSA policies allowed Weir to examine white employees and, even then, only male employees from the north. It took nearly a decade before Weir was permitted to examine all NSA employees. In recognition of his work, he received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award for "unusual and highly significant contributions to agency missions.” When he retired in 1976, Weir was the chief of the Investigations Division and had paved the way for other African Americans throughout the IC.