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Jason Lewis

English 1201

Professor Simon Workman

April 25, 2020

African Americans in Law Enforcement

It may be surprising to many people to find out how much history African Americans

have in law enforcement. With the recent Black Lives Matter movement, it doesn't seem that

there are many black officers. However, not only do African Americans have a history in this

field but it dates back at least to the 1800's ("A History of African American Police"). The

history of this is in many countries as well. So how has this influenced law enforcement? Those

who were not allowed to eat in the same restaurants with white people in the 1950's and 1960's

had the power to take one’s life in the line of duty over 100 years earlier. The evolution of the

black community was definitely an emotional journey. When one takes a closer look they will

see that African Americans have influenced law enforcement by making positive changes

through leading by example. They help their culture understand policing is a diverse field.

The first black officer in Britain was John Kent who career was 1835 to 1846.

Surprisingly he was the son of a slave. During his career he was once suspended for

"drunkenness" and later was terminated for the same offense. One must take into account the era

of time this occurred in. Wouldn't it have been very easy to terminate him the first time if one

was looking for a reason to get rid of him secretly because of his race? His career also continued
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in different positions until his death. Upon his death there were a number of articles about him.

One newspaper article was titled 'The Death of a Carlisle Notable' (Greenhow). The first in the

history of America was in 1867 in Selma, Alabama. Another place where African Americans

have long had influence is in New Orleans. In 1870 the city had 177 black officers and three of

the five Police Board members were African American ("A History of African Americans in

Law Enforcement"). Samuel Battle’s story is very interesting. Battle was also a son of a slave

and the first black officer in the New York Police Department. He began working at the

department in 1911 when he was just 28 years old. It is said that he braved years of harassment,

however he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (Secret). This is not an easy rank to obtain

by any standards, today or then, black or white. One may ask how this happened in what many

see as a corrupt organization.

On April 12, 1890 in Jacksonville Florida, the first African American was killed in the

line of duty. His name was William Johnson. The first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal

was Bass Reeves, appointed in 1875. The first African American female officer in the city of Los

Angles was Georgia Ann Robinson in 1916. Dr. Louis Tompkins Wright became the president of

the NAACP Board of Directors, he first was the first black police surgeon in 1928. The first

African American State Trooper was hired by the state of Illinois, William B. Lindsey in 1941.

One very significant event was the election of the first African American sheriff, Sheriff Lucius

Amerson. Very surprisingly not only was he elected but this occurred in 1966 during civil rights

and in Macon County, Alabama of all places. Many organizations have surfaced over the years

including The National Black Police Association in 1972 and The National Organization of

Black Law Enforcement in 1976. (Kulbarsh)

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Australia is definitely a place to note when it comes to how they utilize race to police the

community. This reaches much farther than just the African American community. "The Perth of

Mirrabooka is one of the most multicultural places in Australia. As such, its local police station

has made a conscious effort to recruit officers that reflect the diverse nature of its citizens in

order to better represent them." Just as an example as to just how diverse this force is, the

Sergeant is Zen Mohamad Kassim. She is female, Muslim and the first officer in Australia to

wear a hijab, a head covering that is wore for religious reasons. All five of the officers were

interviewed with the same questions. One of the questions was "What is the hardest part of your

job?” none of which replied that their race was an obstacle with the exception one officer. Her

reply was "Being a person of colour and female, I get mixed reactions from people" says

Constable Jane Smith. (Scott)

Julius Boyd Loving (1863-1938), was one man to overcome racial barriers and to leave

his footprint in law enforcement. He was the first African American deputy is Los Angeles

County Sheriff’s Department. He also had a huge influence in improving the programs in the

penal system. He is credited with creating jail stores in which inmates were able to purchase

goods and foods. He was heavily involved in beginning several crafting programs for the

inmates; carpenter shop, shoe repair, and tailor shop. These programs were started for the

inmates and ran by the inmates ultimately helping to lower jail costs. Another invention of his

that has lasted the test of time is his tote board, a system that is used to keep an accurate inmate

count. The tote board is still in use by many jails today. Loving was admired by his co-workers

and in the early 1920’s he was head of the jail of LASD (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s

Department). (Kulbarsh)
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V al Demings made history by becoming the first black Chief of Police in the city of

Orlando, Florida in 2007. Her career has 27 years and with many accomplishments. She is

currently serving as a Congresswoman in Florida’s 10th District in the U.S. House of

Representatives. She attended Florida State University and obtained her B.S. in Criminology in

1979. She began working with foster children working as a social worker. In 1984 she began the

police academy. She became the class president and immediately joined the Orlando Police

Department. During her career she has served in many ways. One of her responsibilities included

Commander of Special Operations. In this position she was responsible for some of the most

important roles such as special events and dignitary protection. “Under her leadership, the

Orlando Police Department reduced violent crimes by more than 40 percent”. Her programs

include; Operation Positive Direction: a mentoring program for at-risk students and Operation

Free Palms: a project focusing on rejuvenating Orlando’s most crime-ridden housing complex.

She is also an active member is a multitude of organizations. (Kulbrash)

Many movies have been made over the years about influential African Americans. One of

the most interesting one can find is about a man named Ronell Eugene Stallworth and his work

during his law enforcement career. Stallworth began in 1972 by enrolling in the Colorado

Springs Cadet Program. He again was a first, the first African American cadet in the history of

the program. Right away in his career he was the first African American in two more things. He

was the first African American detective as well as the youngest to make detective, he was age

22. He was assigned to the intelligence section of the department. In 1978 he began one of the

most interesting investigations one has heard of, he became a member of the Ku Klux Klan

(KKK). This all started when Stallworth replied to an ad in the classifieds placed by the KKK.
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He pretended to be white and responded by mailing a letter to the PO Box in the ad. Within just a

few days he received a phone call from the local KKK chapter organizer. Stallworth told the

organizer that he wanted to join the KKK and was accepted. When it came time for an in person

meeting, he recruited a white officer to fill in for him. This investigation went on for months.

During which many KKK operations we foiled by Stallworth. Events such as cross burnings and

exposing KKK members of our military were uncovered. Stallworth was able to strike up a

friendship with the Grand Wizard David Duke, during his investigation. He was doing so well

fooling the KKK that he was asked to be and was willing to accept the position of organizer. The

chief then stopped the investigation. He was also informed to stop all communication with the

KKK and to destroy all paperwork related to it. A movie of this very unusual event in history

was released in 2018, “BlacKkKlansman”. (Kulbrash)

Even today there is some stigma that lingers with black law enforcement officers. I spoke

with Demarco Marable, a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Marable is

familiar with the some of the history of African Americans in law enforcement. “Samuel J.

Battle on the New York Police Department. I absolutely believe that his courageous decision to

become a police officer in the early 1900’s, in the height of the Jim Crow era, was nothing less

than honorable. His courage opened doors for me and other officers like myself.” History is still

an influence among young men; however, this does not come without challenges according to

Marable. He stated that he felt as though he did not belong among the other officers and often

felt he was the “token black officer”. He has a deep commitment to the black community and

feels that his humble background has helped with communicating with those within these

communities. Marable also experienced ridicule from the black community. Many have given
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him negative feedback or made such comments as calling him an “Uncle Tom”. He faces issues

every single day that are not common among white officers. When encountering a black offender

he knows he has a job to do but the black offenders feels that he should give him a break because

he is black. This is a choice not faced by any other race in America. As for what the future looks

like Marable commented, “As law enforcement transitions into modern way of policing,

naturally Hip-Hop culture has fused with this transition. Today law enforcement agencies

challenge each other using some form of a Hip-Hop dance and song.” He feels that there is great

hope for cultures to begin to understand, appreciate and even enjoy other cultures. (Marable)

In Baton Rouge Louisiana they have attempted to address this by organizing the Baton

Rouge Area Violence Elimination (BRAVE) Project (Barthlemy). The officers selected for this

project must complete two specialized training courses. One issue that they have found is that

what law enforcement perceives as a crime and way the community views as crime may be

different. The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund compounded a list. In the list it

named 76 black citizens, both men and women, which had been killed by a police officer during

the years between 1999 and 2014. With most of individuals the killings were found to be

justified. Some citizen feel that officers are guilty of stereotyping the black community as a

result this has led to over policing in predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods. Within the

black community, young male seem to have the most negative attitudes towards the police.

When citizens of these community were asked about how they felt overall towards police they

based their answers on personal experiences. Also, when they were asked about specific

incidents they responded that the interactions with the officers were unfair. Another interesting

fact is Latinos born in the U.S. have a lower opinion of police that Latinos born in their native
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land. However, U.S. born Latinos that live in upper- middle class neighborhoods. The

neighborhood one is raised defiantly seems to influence the views towards law enforcement. Law

enforcement officer also seem to be able to persuade the community simply by their demeanor.

According to the New York Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act, the level

of trust felt by the victim towards the officer is a direct reflection of the demeanor exhibited by

the officer. BRAVE conducted a research study in August 2012. The research study included 12

focus groups with each group containing 10 participants in each group. Of the participants 75%

felt that some type of early prevention would work to directly reduce crime rate. Just under half

felt that certain actions made risk factors worse, such as, arresting parents in front of their child.

One question asked was, “What do you consider to be the most serious problem in the

neighborhood?” The use or dealing of drugs in neighborhoods was the most common issue

reported. When the groups were asked what law enforcement officers could do to improve their

relationship with the community, the majority responded with more one on one contact and for

officers to be more visible in the community. Surprisingly only 15% stated that officers should

show more compassion for the victims. And even more shocking is that on 9% needed to

improve on communication skills. As far as the community response to offenders, they openly

admit that may crimes go unreported due to the fear of retaliation. They also expressed that they

felt law enforcement was already aware of these offenders but choose not to do anything about

them. Most offenders are fatherless males, often feeling they are rejected by programs which

they qualify for. The majority of participants do not feel that anything tried by law enforcement

has worked so far. There is an overall feeling that law enforcement does not care about the

community. The BRAVE Project has been in progress for 2 years. However most of the

participants in the study had not heard of the BRAVE Project. A few of the participants had
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heard of it through their churches. Those who were aware of the Project had mixed responses. A

lot of people feel that anyone involved in the Project is a “snitch”. Many participants have

noticed a change in the community since the BRAVE Project but apparently not all want to give

some or any credit to the program. Other opinions of the Project are that it simply is not effective

while others claim murders have risen since the beginning. When asked for suggestions from the

community they responded by offering these answers, “see police come through neighborhoods

and get out of cars and talk to people, would like to see more night patrols, suggested that law

enforcement knock door to door between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. to see if children are at home”.

Another suggestion was for BRAVE to conduct community meetings. Obviously how law

enforcement views the community and how the community views law enforcement is not in a

positive light at this moment.

One issue that has been ever present is racial tension and conflict with law enforcement.

How much racism was shown to black officers throughout the years and how much is shown

today? Also, how much racism is shown by officers towards the black community? So, one must

ask why would an African American even consider working in such a field? And when they do,

does it have an impact on how they police other African Americans?

Not everyone may agree that African Americans have made a positive influence to the

community through law enforcement. Or they may agree that influence has been made but that it

has not necessarily been a positive one. The most common conception about African Americans

is that law enforcement for them has been a long uphill battle and that almost all black citizens
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that chose the path have been a trailblazer of sorts. Many believe that black people in law in

enforcement is a new or newer concept without a history. Those who are aware of this history

may pose the question as to how this was allowed during such a racist time. Some may question

the difficultness faced by those brave enough to be the first and/or only in the field. Many of us

have the idea that being a black person automatically meant we would never be allowed to

succeed no matter how good we were at something. So has this accomplishment of being an

African American police officer really that big of an accomplishment? On the other hand, one

may question if the black officers have been fair or positive in their changes to society. Is it fair

for black officers to only lend a helping hand to other blacks in the community with their

organizations and programs? If a white officer went into an impoverished community and stated

the program was only for poor white kids, would this be accepted by the black community? The

bigger question is, should we be focused on the ethnicity of who makes the positive changes and

more so limit who benefits from them bases entirely on the color of their skin? The sense of

unity and equality seems to disappear when we start to focus on the color of anyone’s skin.

Once, the black community fought to be treated as equals. They wanted to be able to blend in

without judgment of anything. Now it seems as though we blended for a short time but are

beginning to segregate our own selves. Another example of this is trying to get people with a

certain background to police an area of people with the same race. Black officers in black

communities appear to be the right answer for some. Is this sending the right message?

So how have African Americans changed law enforcement? It seems that many places

are recognizing one another’s differences and trying to reflect those differences within those who

are going to protect and serve them. One concern that seems to be apparent is segregation. Is
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putting certain officers in with primarily people of their own race segregating themselves? The

community seems to like having an officer that they can related to but is this really a good

practice? If a black citizen requests to speak with an African American officer due to fear of

racial profiling or cultural differences, does the same rule apply to a white citizen without the

stigma of sounding racist? How would it sound if a white man said "Black officer you don't

understand me because I'm white and you don't understand my culture", or "I fear for my life

with you, you may try to retaliate because you may think my ancestors owned slaves". So, is the

influences good, bad, or both? The influences of African Americans in law enforcement have

been prevalent and have changed over time or with the times. They have been influenced as

much as they have been an influence. For the positive side, the first black officers opened a door

up for future young black men and women to pursue their dreams of becoming a law

enforcement officer. They have reached out to the black community and tried to make a

difference to those still there. They have been a good influence to those that feel that there is no

way out of the ghettos. They have shown to be black is not to be criminal. The influences of

black officers will always be a part of society because it has become a part of American history.

However, the influences are going to change as the years go by. New times will present new

challenges and the old challenges will be all but forgotten. Hopefully the changes for the black

community will be acceptance of black officers and there will be an understanding and

appreciation for those who stand up for what they feel is right, even at the cost of ridicule from

their own people to the unacceptable eyes of the white community. Black officers have an

extraordinary struggle unlike any other. They stand against everyone in following their dreams.

They are an influence as well as an inspiration to not just law enforcement but American society.
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Work Cited

Barthelemy, Juan J.et al. “Law enforcement perceptions of their relationship with community: Law enforcement surveys and
community focus groups.” Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. Apr-Jun2016, Vol. 26 Issue 3/4, p413-429. 17p. 2
Charts.

https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=c9b46c59-a4aa-4196-a885-4ef9d57314eb
%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=113271581&db=hlh

Greenhow, Raymond. “John Kent – Britain’s First Black Policeman” Black History 365 Celebrating Great black British Achievers
21/07/2019 © Copyright Sugar Media and Marketing 2020. ENTWURF: Design and Build

https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/bhm-firsts/john-kent-britains-first-black-policeman/

Marable, Demarco Interview March 29, 2020

Scott, Gavin. “Behind the Blue Line’ goes inside the Mirrabooka Police Station” Meet the cops from Australia’s most diverse police
department 8 JUN 2018 - 3:54 PM UPDATED 14 JUN 2018 - 12:27 PM

https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2018/05/12/meet-cops-australias-most-diverse-police-department

Secret, Mosi. “The Story of New York’s First Black Police Officer, Told with the Help of Langston Hughes” The New York Times June
26, 2015

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/nyregion/the-story-of-new-yorks-first-black-police-officer-told-with-the-help-of-langston-
hughes.html

“A History of African Americans in Law Enforcement.” Community Policing Dispatch, The e-newsletter of the COPS Office Volume
10 Issue 2, February 2017

https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/02-2017/african_americans_in_law_enforcement.asp .