The NAACP supports Maryland’s bid for the new FBI headquarters and wants President Biden to intervene in the process to help make that happen.
The General Services Administration has three sites to choose from for its new headquarters. Two of the sites are in Prince George’s County — Greenbelt and Landover — and one is in Springfield, Virginia.
The current FBI headquarters, located in D.C., is considered outdated by agency officials. District officials aren’t working to keep the headquarters in the city.
In a letter to Biden, NAACP President Derrick Johnson said moving the headquarters to Maryland would serve Prince George’s County majority-minority population “and generate a wave of quality government jobs, contracting opportunities, and customers for local small businesses in the surrounding area,” WTOP reported.
“The NAACP strongly believes that choosing Prince George’s County as the FBI’s new home will do the most to advance your equity agenda,” Johnson wrote. “Such a decision would not be charity.”
The letter pointed out that Prince George’s receives only 4% of the region’s federal office space which doesn’t stimulate the local economy or give residents occupational development or economic mobility. On the other hand, the Springfield site is nearly 64% white and ranks second for economic mobility out of the country’s 150 counties according to data collected by Connected DMV, the letter said.
Gov. Wes Moore and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, as well as Maryland lawmakers, thanked the NAACP for the support.
“Bringing the FBI to Maryland is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do, and we’re glad to have the NAACP by our side in this effort,” the lawmakers said in a statement, WTOP reported.
