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By Charles Lwanga Hoskins
In April 1865, The Rev. James Meriles Simms gave a widely quoted speech in
Savannah, which had its second echo in 1947, when nine blacks were sworn in
as police officers. The third echo occurred in April 2010, with the selection of
the new police chief, Acting Chief Willie C. Lovett. The Republican, of 1865
quoted Simms, the first black elected to the Georgia Assembly from this area,
as saying among other things, we mean to have black aldermen and white
aldermen, black policemen and white policemen. The Savannah Daily Herald
reported Simms as saying white and black shall constitute our police. However,
the New Orleans Tribune version of the same speech has Simms saying offices
should be filled by both white and colored men who are capable of serving with honor,
I would have white and colored aldermen and white and colored policemen and the
sooner people know it the better. Whichever narrative one uses, it is clear that
Simms’ dream never died.
The Savannah Tribune of 1884 reported that some colored citizens, Robert
Charlton, Silvanus C. Lumpkin, B. S. Davison, A. M. Monroe, George Anderson,
Robert West, T. T. Harden, S. B. Davis, Sol C. Johnson, J. F. Andrews and G. A.
Davison, presented a petition to City Council requesting the appointment of
five black police officers. The committee pointed with pride to the conduct of our
colored people in times that tried men’s souls and to the bravery and fortitude which
they exhibited as firemen, largely representing the department at that time. Council
took no action. Over the years, the paper was replete with complaints about
police brutality and unjust treatment of blacks in the court system. Editor Sol C.
Johnson repeated the appeal for black policemen ten years later, and again in
1907. In 1912, Johnson asked for black policemen and black police women,
claiming that the presence of black officers in densely populated Negro
districts would maintain better order and ferret out crime more promptly.
In early 1942, the Savannah Morning News reported that Members of the colored
auxiliary police will meet at the Elks Rest, 508 Minis Street, tonight at 8 o’clock and
receive their registration cards. Also the members will complete a course in first aid.
Captains Delaware and Hayes will be in charge. A full attendance is asked. The
following week the paper carried this report, Forty thousand man-hours were
required to build the Savannah auxiliary police into one of the best trained units in
Georgia and on the Atlantic seaboard. The report stated at present the force is 1,000
men, of which 700 are white and 300 are colored. The colored auxiliary policemen
were assigned to the colored districts. Each man covers about three blocks. The
following year editor Sol C. Johnson wrote, our constant readers may recall our
several references to the need of having colored policemen in Savannah. Others have
seen the necessity of appointing these men on the force. The organization of Catholic
Women sent a communication to the city authorities to consider such appointment.
Several favorable comments were made on it even from some of our white friends.
The Mayor immediately dissented. In 1946, the Supreme Court let stand the Fifth
Circuit decision, which in effect allowed blacks to take part in the Democratic
Primary. The NAACP had pursued the Rev. Primus King case. This case was
the harbinger of political advancement for blacks.
A joint political action committee composed of the Negro Voters League, the
Elks, the NAACP and the Hub, headed by John McGlockton, president of the
Citizens Democratic Club, had registered thousands of new black voters who
supported the Citizens’ Progressive League led by John G., Kennedy, which
got two-to-one black support in the election. By the 1946 election, about half of
the black electorate in Savannah was registered. As it happened many whites
were anxious to shake off the stranglehold of the Johnny Bouham political
machine. Days after the election of Mayor John G. Kennedy met with blacks
and apparently solidified some understandings. As a backup Dr. J. W.
Jamerson and others filed a lawsuit against the city accusing it of
discriminatory election practices. However the election of Governor Herman
Talmadge in 1948 severely hindered the NAACP’s forward march.
In 1947, the Savannah police department employed two black women as
matrons and a black yardman. But Chatham County had a Negro deputy for 25
years or longer and many colored persons had been deputized by the Sherriff
of Chatham County for duty on West Broad Street. The newly elected Mayor,
decided to act. Sixty black men were selected for training in the Masonic Hall at
West Broad and Gwinnett for two and a half months without pay. When Lt. John
White’s mother found out about this training program, he was in Nevada. She
entered his name and told him to return to Savannah. This number was
reduced to 16 and nine were finally chosen and took the oath on May 3, 1947.
Over 1,000 persons attended the presentation of the original nine at the
dedication of the City Recreation Center for Negroes on Ogeechee Road. The
original nine were John Allison White, Milton Hall, Leroy Wilson, Howard Davis,
William Malone, Frank Mullino, Alexander Grant, Jr., Stepney Houston, and
James Nealy. Within the month, William Day replaced Grant. The nine could not
arrest a white person, and they were to patrol black areas, West Broad Street
from Union Station to Henry Street, and on East Broad Street. Their temporary
precinct, precinct 9, was located at the Southeast corner of Waldburg and
Burroughs Streets. They had to store their uniforms, badges, and revolvers
there when not on duty. But these Savannah Gullah/Geechee people are a
tough lot. Over the years, five of the nine were dismissed, but four persevered.
They weathered the storm, and eventually trailblazers James Neely served for
25 years, William Malone for 35 years and John A. White for 37 years.
According to the Savannah Morning News, Mayor Kennedy asserted that the
appointment of black officers had become necessary because, the inroads on
the moral fiber and finances of many Negroes has reached an alarming stage and it is
up to the city to help them help themselves in permanently ridding their race of the
evil of gambling, liquor violations and communistic influences to which they are being
made subject.
In 1973, attorney Bobby L. Hill represented 28 black Savannah police officers in
a class action suit in federal court, alleging discrimination in hiring practices,
compensation and terms of employment, including promotions. Two years
later two police officers answering a vandalism call from his home shot and
killed Henry J. Brown. The NAACP called for the establishment of a Police
Review Board, and a group of ministers led by the Rev. William Daniels
marched to City Hall and threatened a massive business boycott if the matter
was not settled by the city. Further legal action followed and in 1978, the
federal court accepted an agreement the city worked out with the black
community. Major William L. D. Lyght, Jr., was one of three local officers in
contention for the post of Police Chief in 1980.
In time, Frank Ingram, Willie Williams, Fletcher Cross, William Benyard, David
Jenkins, Eddie Williams, and others would hold command positions. As does
that glass ceiling smasher Juliette Tolbert. Lt. White described her as the
bravest woman I ever met.
Now comes Chief designate Willie C. Lovett who joined the police department
in 1973, was trained by, and metaphorically stands on the shoulders of stalwart
85-year-old pathfinder Lt. John Allison White. Lovett’s hard work and
perseverance, a 30-year distinguished service medal, 37 years in the
department, two stints as acting chief, are a testament to that farsighted
Gullah/Geechee, the Rev. James Meriles Simms who had the vision and must
be proud to see his bloodline echo and bring to full completion that 145 year
old yearning for black and white police officers, and black and white city
aldermen. Chief Willie C. Lovett was sworn in on April 17, 2010 as head of the
Savannah/Chatham County Police Department.
Savannah, which had its second echo in 1947, when nine blacks were sworn in
as police officers. The third echo occurred in April 2010, with the selection of
the new police chief, Acting Chief Willie C. Lovett. The Republican, of 1865
quoted Simms, the first black elected to the Georgia Assembly from this area,
as saying among other things, we mean to have black aldermen and white
aldermen, black policemen and white policemen. The Savannah Daily Herald
reported Simms as saying white and black shall constitute our police. However,
the New Orleans Tribune version of the same speech has Simms saying offices
should be filled by both white and colored men who are capable of serving with honor,
I would have white and colored aldermen and white and colored policemen and the
sooner people know it the better. Whichever narrative one uses, it is clear that
Simms’ dream never died.
The Savannah Tribune of 1884 reported that some colored citizens, Robert
Charlton, Silvanus C. Lumpkin, B. S. Davison, A. M. Monroe, George Anderson,
Robert West, T. T. Harden, S. B. Davis, Sol C. Johnson, J. F. Andrews and G. A.
Davison, presented a petition to City Council requesting the appointment of
five black police officers. The committee pointed with pride to the conduct of our
colored people in times that tried men’s souls and to the bravery and fortitude which
they exhibited as firemen, largely representing the department at that time. Council
took no action. Over the years, the paper was replete with complaints about
police brutality and unjust treatment of blacks in the court system. Editor Sol C.
Johnson repeated the appeal for black policemen ten years later, and again in
1907. In 1912, Johnson asked for black policemen and black police women,
claiming that the presence of black officers in densely populated Negro
districts would maintain better order and ferret out crime more promptly.
In early 1942, the Savannah Morning News reported that Members of the colored
auxiliary police will meet at the Elks Rest, 508 Minis Street, tonight at 8 o’clock and
receive their registration cards. Also the members will complete a course in first aid.
Captains Delaware and Hayes will be in charge. A full attendance is asked. The
following week the paper carried this report, Forty thousand man-hours were
required to build the Savannah auxiliary police into one of the best trained units in
Georgia and on the Atlantic seaboard. The report stated at present the force is 1,000
men, of which 700 are white and 300 are colored. The colored auxiliary policemen
were assigned to the colored districts. Each man covers about three blocks. The
following year editor Sol C. Johnson wrote, our constant readers may recall our
several references to the need of having colored policemen in Savannah. Others have
seen the necessity of appointing these men on the force. The organization of Catholic
Women sent a communication to the city authorities to consider such appointment.
Several favorable comments were made on it even from some of our white friends.
The Mayor immediately dissented. In 1946, the Supreme Court let stand the Fifth
Circuit decision, which in effect allowed blacks to take part in the Democratic
Primary. The NAACP had pursued the Rev. Primus King case. This case was
the harbinger of political advancement for blacks.
A joint political action committee composed of the Negro Voters League, the
Elks, the NAACP and the Hub, headed by John McGlockton, president of the
Citizens Democratic Club, had registered thousands of new black voters who
supported the Citizens’ Progressive League led by John G., Kennedy, which
got two-to-one black support in the election. By the 1946 election, about half of
the black electorate in Savannah was registered. As it happened many whites
were anxious to shake off the stranglehold of the Johnny Bouham political
machine. Days after the election of Mayor John G. Kennedy met with blacks
and apparently solidified some understandings. As a backup Dr. J. W.
Jamerson and others filed a lawsuit against the city accusing it of
discriminatory election practices. However the election of Governor Herman
Talmadge in 1948 severely hindered the NAACP’s forward march.
In 1947, the Savannah police department employed two black women as
matrons and a black yardman. But Chatham County had a Negro deputy for 25
years or longer and many colored persons had been deputized by the Sherriff
of Chatham County for duty on West Broad Street. The newly elected Mayor,
decided to act. Sixty black men were selected for training in the Masonic Hall at
West Broad and Gwinnett for two and a half months without pay. When Lt. John
White’s mother found out about this training program, he was in Nevada. She
entered his name and told him to return to Savannah. This number was
reduced to 16 and nine were finally chosen and took the oath on May 3, 1947.
Over 1,000 persons attended the presentation of the original nine at the
dedication of the City Recreation Center for Negroes on Ogeechee Road. The
original nine were John Allison White, Milton Hall, Leroy Wilson, Howard Davis,
William Malone, Frank Mullino, Alexander Grant, Jr., Stepney Houston, and
James Nealy. Within the month, William Day replaced Grant. The nine could not
arrest a white person, and they were to patrol black areas, West Broad Street
from Union Station to Henry Street, and on East Broad Street. Their temporary
precinct, precinct 9, was located at the Southeast corner of Waldburg and
Burroughs Streets. They had to store their uniforms, badges, and revolvers
there when not on duty. But these Savannah Gullah/Geechee people are a
tough lot. Over the years, five of the nine were dismissed, but four persevered.
They weathered the storm, and eventually trailblazers James Neely served for
25 years, William Malone for 35 years and John A. White for 37 years.
According to the Savannah Morning News, Mayor Kennedy asserted that the
appointment of black officers had become necessary because, the inroads on
the moral fiber and finances of many Negroes has reached an alarming stage and it is
up to the city to help them help themselves in permanently ridding their race of the
evil of gambling, liquor violations and communistic influences to which they are being
made subject.
In 1973, attorney Bobby L. Hill represented 28 black Savannah police officers in
a class action suit in federal court, alleging discrimination in hiring practices,
compensation and terms of employment, including promotions. Two years
later two police officers answering a vandalism call from his home shot and
killed Henry J. Brown. The NAACP called for the establishment of a Police
Review Board, and a group of ministers led by the Rev. William Daniels
marched to City Hall and threatened a massive business boycott if the matter
was not settled by the city. Further legal action followed and in 1978, the
federal court accepted an agreement the city worked out with the black
community. Major William L. D. Lyght, Jr., was one of three local officers in
contention for the post of Police Chief in 1980.
In time, Frank Ingram, Willie Williams, Fletcher Cross, William Benyard, David
Jenkins, Eddie Williams, and others would hold command positions. As does
that glass ceiling smasher Juliette Tolbert. Lt. White described her as the
bravest woman I ever met.
Now comes Chief designate Willie C. Lovett who joined the police department
in 1973, was trained by, and metaphorically stands on the shoulders of stalwart
85-year-old pathfinder Lt. John Allison White. Lovett’s hard work and
perseverance, a 30-year distinguished service medal, 37 years in the
department, two stints as acting chief, are a testament to that farsighted
Gullah/Geechee, the Rev. James Meriles Simms who had the vision and must
be proud to see his bloodline echo and bring to full completion that 145 year
old yearning for black and white police officers, and black and white city
aldermen. Chief Willie C. Lovett was sworn in on April 17, 2010 as head of the
Savannah/Chatham County Police Department.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| First Nine Black Police in Savannah - 1947 |
| Willie Lovett - First Black Chief of the City of Savannah Police Department |
| If We Forget: Who Will Remember? From Last of “Original Nine” to “First of New Breed.” |