Draft:Atlantas First Black Officers

• Comment: Potentially could be an article, but the tone reads like an essay not an encyclopedia entry. Please also follow our referencing tutorial at WP:INTREFVE so your references include in-line citations please. Qcne (talk) 21:56, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

---

Introduction  

On April 3, 1948, eight officers stepped outside to meet a crowd of 400 members of their community joyously cheering and following the men on Auburn Ave as they began walking their beat for the first time. These were Atlanta Georgia's first black police officers. These men faced extreme prejudice and despite many of them being overqualified for the job, their employment came as a result of decades of support and community organizing from activists and community leaders. These pioneering figures came in an era before the Civil Rights movement of the 60s, but just as before a tide of progressive legislation met the black southern population. Despite a still dangerous and complicated time for many black communities struggling with segregation, in the late 1940s on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, African American entrepreneurs were able to make a sustainable life. At the same time, however, the town dealt with serious economic inequality. The social and racial tensions surrounding law enforcement and the black community were tense, but Atlanta needed change. Black community leaders strategically found ways to effectively stand up for themselves and a cause they believed would help their people. The real story of Atlanta's First Black Police officers is a socially nuanced tale of a resilient and often overlooked era of progress where eight men gained an opportunity to make an impact in their community that no one else could. The men proved the value of black officers went far beyond a badge and a gun in the way they cared for their community through professional and respectable community policing.  

Historical Background at Auburn Ave

Inflammatory claims in print media, caused racial tensions to erupt between competing business owners resulting in the 1906 Atlanta Riot. The event led to the tragic loss of at least 27 individuals and caused over 70 injuries. In the aftermath, black businesses, seeking safety, migrated from downtown Atlanta to the Atlanta University Center and Auburn Avenue in the Fourth Ward. Auburn Avenue emerged as a new economic nucleus for the black community, hosting small businesses. At the heart of this burgeoning community was Sweet Auburn, was a Black business district that epitomized Black entrepreneurship and cultural richness. By 1956, Fortune magazine hailed Sweet Auburn as "the richest Negro street in the world."   As a focal point for various Black institutions, Auburn Ave contained restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, newspapers, barber shops, and doctor's offices. The bustling strip in downtown Atlanta not only symbolized economic prosperity, but also served as a cultural hub. Pivotal financial institutions like Atlanta Life Insurance, Standard Life, and Citizens Trust Bank, together, formed what historian Gary Pomerantz termed Atlanta’s “three-legged stool of Black finance.” The visionary Alonzo Herndon, Atlanta’s first Black millionaire, founded Atlanta Life Insurance, a move that significantly contributed to the consolidation of African American wealth. Beyond its economic vitality, Auburn Avenue evolved into a multifaceted hub encompassing churches like Ebenezer Baptist Church and Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Auburn Avenue also hosted the offices of influential civic organizations, including the NAACP, the Odd Fellows, the Masons, and the National Urban League. Notably, the Atlanta Daily World, the nation’s first successful Black-owned daily newspaper, was headquartered on Auburn Avenue, amplifying the community's voice. This transformation not only shaped a prosperous commercial corridor but also became a nexus for community organizing, cultural expression, and influential voices that played key roles in shaping the narrative of racial issues during the transformative period of the 1930s to 1960s their decision to hire the police may not have stopped Atlanta's high homicide rates and despite the limitations placed on these officers they found a way to make a resounding impact in people's lives and do right by the community leaders that got them there.

Darktown

Darktown was an area in Atlanta In the 1940s that consisted of several streets, including Pryor, Decatur, and Butler, as well as Auburn Avenue. Despite Sweet Auburn being an enclave for affluent African-Americans, impoverished sections like Darktown and Shermantown existed. These areas were marked by derogatory labels from the white community.  Darktown was a sight of socio-economic desperation faced by the Black population amid Jim Crow laws and economic struggles. Historian Christopher Silver and John V. Moeser wrote that the area was characterized as a "hell-hole of squalor, degradation, sickness, crime, and misery.”

From January 1934 to July 1936, Atlanta witnessed 418 murders, exposing a disturbing trend where Black Atlantans were 13% more likely to face violence than their white counterparts. This period coincided with the city's population growth, prompting the Atlanta Police Department to seek "greater efficiency" through workforce expansion and the establishment of the Central Headquarters Building.

Central to this historical context is the role of leaders like C.A. Scott, the general manager and editor of The Atlanta Daily World. Scott, who took over the paper after his brother's murder in January 1934, made it a “personal mission” to have black officers in Atlanta. His revealing and detailed coverage of crime data and efforts in the integration of police set the stage for the newspaper's argument for Black police officers. Notable for being based on facts and empirical data, Dulaney’s writing focused on the disproportionate numbers of Black victims and perpetrators in reported homicides and crimes.

The reasons behind this disparity, as outlined by the newspaper in the mid-thirties, included the rapid increase in unemployment during the Depression, the influx of job seekers from rural areas into Black neighborhoods, and a perceived laissez-faire attitude of the police and courts in cases involving Black individuals. The densely populated town experienced high crime rates while white police struggled to develop sources and witnesses in Black areas due to a lack of cooperation.

Walter R. Chivers, a sociologist at Morehouse College, contributed intellectually to the Black civil rights cause. In a three-part series, he recommended the addition of Black police officers, describing a self-generated secret self-defense society among the majority of Negroes due to a lack of trust in White police. Chivers argued that hiring Black police officers was in the city's own interests and could address the issue of lawlessness. Chivers contended that Atlanta’s reputation had paid a significant price due to the persistence of violent crime, emphasizing the need for a proactive approach to restore law and order.

His rationale extended to the practical benefits of diversifying the police force. Chivers posited that the uniforms and insignia of White police officers symbolized fear to the majority of Negroes, rooted in the trauma of slavery and the police operated to… for social control in encounters with law enforcement in the South. By introducing Black police officers, Chivers argued, the city could break down these barriers of fear and mistrust, fostering a sense of intimacy, self-confidence, and interest in crime prevention and investigation. Chivers's arguments, supported by Scott's data, played a crucial role in influencing the narrative and fostering a growing desire for Black police officers in Atlanta during the early 1940s.

Activism

Importants events leading to hiring of first black police force in Atlanta

• 1940s: Pragmatic civil rights leaders in Atlanta. "Atlanta pragmatists" are specifically highlighted for emphasizing political strategies over legal tactics.
  • Tomiko Brown-Nagin's concept of the "Atlanta pragmatists" provides a theoretical framework for understanding the strategic activism that prioritizes political power to drive specific reforms
• 1941: C.A. Scott, through the Atlanta Daily World, initiates a campaign to repeal the poll tax, pushing for the unimpeded right of blacks to vote.
• 1944: U.S. Supreme Court rules in Smith v. Allwright, declaring the use of all-white primaries unconstitutional, a significant victory for black enfranchisement.
• 1945: The Georgia legislature repeals the poll tax, further enhancing black voting rights.
• 1945: The Atlanta Daily World launches a mass voter-registration drive, contributing to a significant increase in registered black voters in the South.
• 1946: Black Atlanta intensifies efforts to register African Americans over 18 in order to vote. These efforts were supported by the Atlanta Urban League and influential figures like Martin Luther King Sr.
• 1947: Atlanta's black leadership establishes the Southern Regional Council (SRC) to work towards equal opportunity for all people in the region.
• 1948: Mayor William B. Hartsfield actively courts black voters, appoints eight black police officers, and takes measures against white vigilante organizations, demonstrating a commitment to racial progress. This marked a change in Atlanta with the hiring for the first black police force. In 1948, the first Black officers were: Claude Dixon, Henry Hooks, Johnnie Jones, Ernest Lyons, Robert McKibbens, John Sanders, Willard Strickland and Willie Elkins.
• 1948: AFL-CIO demands an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan, signaling a push against racial violence and discrimination.
• Post 1948 - early 1950s:
  • President Truman proposed a civil rights program. Continued challenges with segregation
  • Herman Talmadge, a gubernatorial candidate, campaigns against Truman's civil rights program, pledging to preserve segregation in Georgia.
  • The Atlanta Negro Voters League (ANVL), formed by merging black Democrats and Republicans, gains political power, endorsing candidates and influencing city development.
  • Atlanta's African American community begins to experience progress in various areas, including race relations, education, citizenship, employment, housing, religion, and politics.

Significance: Pragmatic civil rights leaders strategically expanded the black voting bloc in Atlanta, enhancing political influence. With the support of ANVL's, Atlanta saw improvements in city services. The groundwork set by "Atlanta pragmatists" were key in the historic hiring of Atlanta's first eight black police officers in 1948.

Efforts to Integrate Atlanta’s Police Force

In the 1940s, efforts to integrate the Atlanta Police Force were part of a broader national movement for civil rights and racial equality. While the integration of police forces was a gradual process across the United States and specifically, Atlanta. Below is a summary of the changes and challenges faced during this time:

• Individuals and civil rights groups took legal action to challenge racial segregation in the police force. They used the legal system to stop unfair hiring practices and push for equal opportunities for black individuals to become police officers.
  • Legal victories, such as the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Smith v. Allwright (1944), play a pivotal role in dismantling barriers to black voting. The Atlanta Daily World, under the leadership of C.A. Scott, actively  supports enfranchisement and initiates a mass voter-registration drive in 1944, resulting in a substantial increase in registered black voters in the South.
• Civil rights activists and organizations  advocated for the desegregation of public institutions, including law enforcement agencies. These activists utilized protests, petitions, and public awareness campaigns to push for changes in the discriminatory practices of the Atlanta Police Force.
• The media, including African American newspapers like the Atlanta Daily World, played a crucial role in advocating for integration. These publications highlighted issues of racial inequality within the police force, raised public awareness, and urged city officials to address the need for a more inclusive law enforcement agency.
• Political leaders, particularly those sympathetic to the civil rights cause, were involved in efforts to integrate the police force. They used their positions to advocate for policy changes, support anti-discrimination measures, and work towards the appointment and hiring of black officers.
• Black leaders and activists strategically formed alliances with sympathetic white leaders who understood the importance of police force integration.
  • In the 1940s, Atlanta's black community skillfully builds alliances, understanding the importance of collaboration. The Southern Regional Council (SRC), founded in 1943, aims to provide equal opportunities and eliminate white supremacy as a barrier, reflecting the strategic approach to collective empowerment.

The process of integration in the 1940s was often gradual and incremental. The first eight black police officers in Atlanta are considered pioneers. Progress was not without significant challenges as they paved the way for future advancements in police force integration and civil rights as a movement.

Activism

Important events leading to hiring of first black police force in Atlanta

• 1940s: Pragmatic civil rights leaders in Atlanta. "Atlanta pragmatists" are specifically highlighted for emphasizing political strategies over legal tactics.
  • Tomiko Brown-Nagin's concept of the "Atlanta pragmatists" provides a theoretical framework for understanding the strategic activism that prioritizes political power to drive specific reforms
• 1941: C.A. Scott, through the Atlanta Daily World, initiates a campaign to repeal the poll tax, pushing for the unimpeded right of blacks to vote.
• 1944: U.S. Supreme Court rules in Smith v. Allwright, declaring the use of all-white primaries unconstitutional, a significant victory for black enfranchisement.
• 1945: The Georgia legislature repeals the poll tax, further enhancing black voting rights.
• 1945: The Atlanta Daily World launches a mass voter-registration drive, contributing to a significant increase in registered black voters in the South.
• 1946: Black Atlanta intensifies efforts to register African Americans over 18 in order to vote. These efforts were supported by the Atlanta Urban League and influential figures like Martin Luther King Sr.
• 1947: Atlanta's black leadership establishes the Southern Regional Council (SRC) to work towards equal opportunity for all people in the region.
• 1948: Mayor William B. Hartsfield actively courts black voters, appoints eight black police officers, and takes measures against white vigilante organizations, demonstrating a commitment to racial progress. This marked a change in Atlanta with the hiring for the first black police force. In 1948, the first Black officers were: Claude Dixon, Henry Hooks, Johnnie Jones, Ernest Lyons, Robert McKibbens, John Sanders, Willard Strickland and Willie Elkins.
• 1948: AFL-CIO demands an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan, signaling a push against racial violence and discrimination.
• Post 1948 - early 1950s:
  • President Truman proposed a civil rights program. Continued challenges with segregation
  • Herman Talmadge, a gubernatorial candidate, campaigns against Truman's civil rights program, pledging to preserve segregation in Georgia.
  • The Atlanta Negro Voters League (ANVL), formed by merging black Democrats and Republicans, gains political power, endorsing candidates and influencing city development.
  • Atlanta's African American community begins to experience progress in various areas, including race relations, education, citizenship, employment, housing, religion, and politics.

Significance: Pragmatic civil rights leaders strategically expanded the black voting bloc in Atlanta, enhancing political influence. With the support of ANVL's, Atlanta saw improvements in city services. The groundwork set by "Atlanta pragmatists" were key in the historic hiring of Atlanta's first eight black police officers in 1948.

Efforts to Integrate Atlanta’s Police Force

In the 1940s, efforts to integrate the Atlanta Police Force were part of a broader national movement for civil rights and racial equality. While the integration of police forces was a gradual process across the United States and specifically, Atlanta. Below is a summary of the changes and challenges faced during this time:

• Individuals and civil rights groups took legal action to challenge racial segregation in the police force. They used the legal system to stop unfair hiring practices and push for equal opportunities for black individuals to become police officers.
  • Legal victories, such as the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Smith v. Allwright (1944), play a pivotal role in dismantling barriers to black voting. The Atlanta Daily World, under the leadership of C.A. Scott, actively  supports enfranchisement and initiates a mass voter-registration drive in 1944, resulting in a substantial increase in registered black voters in the South.
• Civil rights activists and organizations  advocated for the desegregation of public institutions, including law enforcement agencies. These activists utilized protests, petitions, and public awareness campaigns to push for changes in the discriminatory practices of the Atlanta Police Force.
• The media, including African American newspapers like the Atlanta Daily World, played a crucial role in advocating for integration. These publications highlighted issues of racial inequality within the police force, raised public awareness, and urged city officials to address the need for a more inclusive law enforcement agency.
• Political leaders, particularly those sympathetic to the civil rights cause, were involved in efforts to integrate the police force. They used their positions to advocate for policy changes, support anti-discrimination measures, and work towards the appointment and hiring of black officers.
• Black leaders and activists strategically formed alliances with sympathetic white leaders who understood the importance of police force integration.
  • In the 1940s, Atlanta's black community skillfully builds alliances, understanding the importance of collaboration. The Southern Regional Council (SRC), founded in 1943, aims to provide equal opportunities and eliminate white supremacy as a barrier, reflecting the strategic approach to collective empowerment.

The process of integration in the 1940s was often gradual and incremental. The first eight black police officers in Atlanta are considered pioneers. Progress was not without significant challenges as they paved the way for future advancements in police force integration and civil rights as a movement.

Legacy of the Atlanta Police Force

These officers collectively laid the groundwork for racial integration in law enforcement, each leaving behind a unique legacy in the fight for justice and equality.

In 1953, the Auburn Avenue precinct, initially restricted to black officers and confined to the basement, was finally closed, allowing black officers access to the main headquarters, albeit still confined to the basement. Despite civil rights victories, racial disparities persisted, with the city promoting its first black officer, Howard Baugh, to the rank of major only in 1961. Eldrin Bell, who witnessed the first day of black officers as a schoolboy, joined the force on the same day as Baugh's promotion. Shockingly, the unwritten rule against arresting white citizens persisted, even in the 1960s. Bell recalled being told this by older black officers, and during his first arrest of a white man, he had to call white officers to execute the arrest, leaving him infuriated.

In January 1961, just before Bell's entry into the force, Officer Claude Mundy, the 12th black cop hired in 1950, was tragically shot and killed in the line of duty. This event led some white officers to finally appreciate the sacrifices made by their black colleagues. Chief Jenkins formally allowed black cops to arrest white perpetrators the following year, and as the black community expanded, white detectives increasingly relied on black officers for assistance in finding suspects or witnesses. However, even in 1969, when Clarence Perry began his service, it remained uncommon for black officers to be assigned to nonblack areas.

References

Much credit must be given to the following sources which provided historical context in their reviews of media coverage of black Atlanta and specifically covered the story of these officers.

Darktown: Newspaper Coverage of Atlanta’s First Black Police, 1930–1960, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08821127.2022.2064363.  Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

Odum-Hinmon, Maria E. "The Cautious Crusader: How the Atlanta Daily World Covered the Struggle for African American Rights from 1945 to 1985". (Dissertation 2005). Online. https://api.drum.lib.umd.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/8698a0d7-449f-4e6a-9284-448a4aefae13/content

Sources

Aiello Thomas. 2018. The Grapevine of the Black South: The Scott Newspaper Syndicate in the Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement. Athens: University of Georgia Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1936809

Atlanta's First Black Police Officers. Lee et al. https://historyatlanta.com/atlantas-first-black-police-officers/

"Black History Facts - First African American Atlanta Police Officers." DKSuperiorClerk, https://www.dksuperiorclerk.com/mt-content/uploads/2020/02/csc-black-history-facts-first-aa-atlanta-police.pdf

Burns, Rebecca. "Black & Blue: Atlanta's First African American Police Officers, the Vanguards of the Civil Rights Movement." Atlanta Magazine. https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/black-blue-atlantas-first-african-american-police-officers-vanguards-civil-rights-movement/

Bates, Karen Grigsby. "Darktown Imagines What It Was Like For Atlanta's First Black Policemen." NPR, NPR, September 23, 2016. https://www.npr.org/2016/09/23/495065415/darktown-imagines-what-it-was-like-for-atlantas-first-black-policemen

Chivers, Walter. "Walter Chivers Says: Atlanta Needs Negro Police." Atlanta Daily World, September 7, 1941.

Darktown: Newspaper Coverage of Atlanta’s First Black Police, 1930–1960, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08821127.2022.2064363.  Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

Georgia Encyclopedia. "Auburn Avenue / Sweet Auburn." Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/auburn-avenue-sweet-auburn/#:~:text=Its%20bustling%20retail%20trade%20and,Negro%20street%20in%20the%20world.%E2%80%9D

Harrell, Erica. “Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report.” Black Victims of Violent Crime, August 2007. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/bvvc.pdf

Hobson, Gary M. Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn: A Saga of Race and Family. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.

Marsteller, Duane and Tracy. "Atlanta's First Black Policemen / The Atlanta Police Department.” https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=186417

Odum-Hinmon, Maria E. "The Cautious Crusader: How the Atlanta Daily World Covered the Struggle for African American Rights from 1945 to 1985". (Dissertation 2005). Online. https://api.drum.lib.umd.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/8698a0d7-449f-4e6a-9284-448a4aefae13/content

Politico. "The Broken Promise of Black Mecca: Why Atlanta's Black Elite Are Still Struggling." Politico Magazine, September 16, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/16/atlanta-black-mecca-inequality-00055390

Tucker, Cynthia. "Atlanta's First African American Cops." Moral Universe, 24 Jan. 2019. https://moraluniversecynthia.wordpress.com/2019/01/24/atlantas-first-african-american-cops/