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Jason Lewis

English 1201

Professor Simon Workman

March 29,2020

Literature Review

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.

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? 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, that 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. So,

one must ask why would an African American even consider working in such a field? And when they do,
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does it have an impact on how they police other African Americans?

One argument is the length of history African American have in the 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 in different positions until his death. Upon his death there was a number of articles about him.

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

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
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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)

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 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?

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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/

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 .
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