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Perl digs into allegations that the U.S. Secret Service discriminated against black agents in considering them for promotions, and tolerated an atmosphere of racial harassment in its offices. Secret Service veteran Ray Moore and nine other black agents filed a race discrimination suit in U.S. District Court in May 2000. Thirty-eight current and former agents who were black made sworn statements alleging that the Secret Service had discriminatory practices. "The heart of the current case hinges on numbers: Veteran black special agents claim that while increased recruiting has expanded their ranks to 10 percent, a 'glass ceiling' keeps most of them from being promoted to management, whose ranks are only 4.2 percent black." The agents also claim that the service allows a culture of racial intolerance. "The worst example, they allege, is that about a dozen white agents were never disciplined for attending a notoriously racist 'Good Ol' Boys Roundup,' and alcohol-fueled law enforcement gathering held annually in Tennessee. The event regularly featured obscene and racist skits and the hanging of black effigies."

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