Afro-American Patrolmen's League

Last updated

The Afro-American Patrolmen's League, now known as the African American Police League, was established in 1968 after Chicago police officer Edward "Buzz" Palmer witnessed the effects of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's "shoot to kill" order brought on by Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and the increase of black uprisings that followed his death. Safety of black leaders and citizens from white reactionaries quickly became a pressing issue. Palmer put together a small group of people, consisting of Renault Robinson, Curtis Cowsen, Willie Ware, Jack Debonnett, Tom Mitchell, and himself, to become the Afro-American Patrolmen's League; the group, with the exception of Mitchell, was made up of police officers and was committed to defending and protecting the people in their local black communities. [1]

Contents

Purpose

One major goal of the AAPL was to improve the relationship between black communities and law enforcement personnel. To accomplish this, the organization decided to work on three key points: to work hand-in-hand with the community to resolve issues, to take steps to change the poor image they portray to the community, and to create a symbiotic relationship between law enforcement and the community. Another significant goal of the AAPL was to work to protect black offenders from receiving unjust punishment and conduct by police. According to an article in the Chicago Defender, "[t]hey hope to teach their white counterparts that respect for the black community is essential in enforcing the law, and they hope to teach the black policemen that as a symbol of authority he has a greater responsibility to his brother". [2] Thirdly, it was a goal of the organization to increase the number of African Americans in law enforcement. The League sought support by creating and advertising the slogan "We support the black community" and by reaching out to more powerful organizations, like the Garfield Organization led by Frederick Douglass “Doug” Andrews. The League also received grants from the Ford Foundation that allowed the members to pay for organization development training classes. This newfound organization was highly respected by many. [1]

Reception

Though many supported the Afro-American Patrolmen's League, it sometimes caused great controversy due to the cases in which it was involved, which led to the League receiving criticism and harassment from certain citizens and other law enforcement officials. For example, after defending Reverend Jesse Jackson in a lawsuit, Mayor Daley threatened to remove the League members from their jobs, specifically Officer Palmer. [1] Many officers experienced abuse from their colleagues; Renault "Reggie" Robinson, co-founder of the AAPL, claimed that "between 1967 and 1973 he was unjustifiably suspended more than 100 times. He also alleged that his superiors intentionally gave him subpar assignments in order to ridicule him". [3] Still, the organization was supported by many, like Augustus Savage, president of the Organization for the Southwest Communities, who claimed that "League members deserve praise rather than punishment, for they have done far more than any of the other policemen's associations to satisfy the need of the black community for just a little more respect for and from the police department". [4]

Despite the flack the AAPL received, it continued to fight against anything that was damaging to its beliefs and goals, such as the "stop and frisk" law, which allowed police officers to stop and frisk anyone on the street whom they believed to be suspicious. Instead, the League argued that police officers should be consulted before any legislation that affects the relationship between the community and law enforcement officials is made. The "stop and frisk" law was a prime example of that, as it would cause tension between the citizens and the policemen who chose to enact that particular law either unjustly or excessively, which would lead the black community to have resentment and contempt for all police officers in general. [2]

The AAPL took the necessary measures in order to ensure its goals were met. Representatives from the organization were present in numerous cases involving discrimination or unruly treatment, including their own case against the Chicago Police Department. The League "filed a discrimination suit against the Chicago Police Department challenging the department on hiring, promotion, assignment, and discipline". [3]

The court sided with the AAPL and they won the case. Before the founding of the organization, only fifteen percent of Chicago's law enforcement officials were African American; after the group won the case against the department, that number increased to forty percent. This fulfilled one of AAPL's main goals and was physical proof that the organization was making a difference. Eventually, the case went to the Supreme Court, where the ruling was also in favor of the League. Many subsequent cases similar to this found the case and its results influential, which improved racial integration in police forces across the nation. [3] Through their success in the trial, the League proved that it had accomplished and would continue to accomplish their goal of defending and protecting the black community against maltreatment.

Education

Another way the AAPL took action was through holding classes, which they termed "sensitivity workshops." In these workshops, citizens of the community, black officers, and white officers could gather and learn how to build respect for each other and how to communicate more effectively with one another. [2] This was a step to completing another one of their major goals – to improve the relationship between those three entities. The Afro-American Patrolmen's League is still known today as "one of the pioneers of racial reform in the city [Chicago]". [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Washington</span> Chicago, Illinois politician (1922–1987)

Harold Lee Washington was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as mayor from April 29, 1983, until his death on November 25, 1987. Born in Chicago and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Washington became involved in local 3rd Ward politics under Chicago Alderman and future Congressman Ralph Metcalfe after graduating from Roosevelt University and Northwestern University School of Law. Washington was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1983, representing Illinois's first district. Washington had previously served in the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives from 1965 until 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Police Department</span> Principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, US

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind the New York City Police Department. As of 2022 CPD had 11,710 sworn officers on duty, and in 2020 had over 948 other employees. Tracing its roots to 1835, the Chicago Police Department is one of the oldest modern police departments in the world.

Problem-oriented policing (POP), coined by University of Wisconsin–Madison professor Herman Goldstein, is a policing strategy that involves the identification and analysis of specific crime and disorder problems, in order to develop effective response strategies. POP requires police to identify and target underlying problems that can lead to crime. Goldstein suggested it as an improvement on the reactive, incident-driven "standard model of policing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorish Science Temple of America</span> American national and religious organization

The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American national and religious organization founded by Noble Drew Ali in the early 20th century. He based it on the premise that African Americans are descendants of the Moabites and thus are "Moorish" by nationality, and Islamic by faith. Ali put together elements of major traditions to develop a message of personal transformation through historical education, racial pride, and spiritual uplift. His doctrine was also intended to provide African Americans with a sense of identity in the world and to promote civic involvement.

A Terry stop in the United States allows the police to briefly detain a person based on reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activity. Reasonable suspicion is a lower standard than probable cause which is needed for arrest. When police stop and search a pedestrian, this is commonly known as a stop and frisk. When police stop an automobile, this is known as a traffic stop. If the police stop a motor vehicle on minor infringements in order to investigate other suspected criminal activity, this is known as a pretextual stop. Additional rules apply to stops that occur on a bus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in the United States</span> Major component of the American criminal justice system

As of 2020, more than 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers have been serving in the United States. About 137,000 of those officers work for federal law enforcement agencies.

Orlando Winfield Wilson, also known as O. W. Wilson, was an American police officer, later becoming a leader in policing along with authoring several books on policing. Wilson served as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, chief of police in Fullerton, California and Wichita, Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisking</span> Act of searching a persons outer clothing to detect concealed objects

Frisking is a search of a person's outer clothing wherein a person runs their hands along the outer garments of another to detect any concealed weapons or objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis Police Department</span> Municipal police department in Tennessee, U.S.

The Memphis Police Department is a law enforcement agency in Tennessee in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milwaukee Police Department</span> Police department for the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. Norman is the current chief of police, serving since December 2020.

Donald D. Pomerleau was the commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department from 1966 to 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault Robinson</span> American police officer (1942–2023)

Renault Alvin Robinson was an American police officer who served at the Chicago Police Department from 1964 to 1983. Robinson served as chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority under the leadership of former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington from August 1983 until January 1987. He was most known for founding the African American Patrolman's League. During his career as a police officer, Robinson was responsible for bringing a civil rights lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department for discrimination against minorities.

The Rainbow Coalition was an antiracist, anticlass multicultural movement founded April 4, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois by Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party, along with William "Preacherman" Fesperman of the Young Patriots Organization and José Cha Cha Jiménez, founder of the Young Lords. It was the first of several 20th century black-led organizations to use the "rainbow coalition" concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police brutality in the United States</span> Use of excessive force by a police officer

Police brutality is the repression by personnel affiliated with law enforcement when dealing with suspects and civilians. The term is also applied to abuses by "corrections" personnel in municipal, state, and federal prison camps, including military prisons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community policing</span> Strategy of policing centered on building close ties with communities

Community policing or community-oriented policing (COP) is a strategy of policing that focuses on developing relationships with community members. It is a philosophy of full-service policing that is highly personal, where an officer patrols the same area for an extended time and develops a partnership with citizens to collaboratively identify and solve problems.

The stop-question-and-frisk program, or stop-and-frisk, in New York City, is a New York City Police Department (NYPD) practice of temporarily detaining, questioning, and at times searching civilians and suspects on the street for weapons and other contraband. This is what is known in other places in the United States as the Terry stop. The rules for the policy are contained in the state's criminal procedure law section 140.50 and based on the decision of the US Supreme Court in the case of Terry v. Ohio.

Humza al-Hafeez was an American Islamic minister, author, and social activist. He was the first Black Muslim police officer in the New York Police Department (NYPD).

<i>Floyd v. City of New York</i>

Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al., 959 F. Supp. 2d 540, is a set of cases addressing the class action lawsuit filed against the City of New York, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and named and unnamed New York City police officers ("Defendants"), alleging that defendants have implemented and sanctioned a policy, practice, and/or custom of unconstitutional stops and frisks by the New York Police Department ("NYPD") on the basis of race and/or national origin, in violation of Section 1983 of title forty-two of the United States Code, the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Constitution and laws of the State of New York.

Racial profiling by law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels, leads to discrimination against people in the African American, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, Arab, and Muslim communities of the United States. Examples of racial profiling are the use of race to determine which drivers to stop for minor traffic violations, or the use of race to determine which pedestrians to search for illegal contraband. Besides such disproportionate searching of African Americans and members of other minority groups, other examples of racial profiling by law enforcement in the U.S. include the Trump-era China Initiative following racial profiling against Chinese American scientists; the targeting of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the investigation of illegal immigration; and the focus on Middle Eastern and South Asians present in the country in screenings for ties to Islamic terrorism. These suspicions may be held on the basis of belief that members of a target racial group commit crimes at a higher rate than that of other racial groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police reform in the United States</span> Ongoing left-wing political movement

Police reform in the United States is an ongoing left-wing political movement that seeks to reform systems of law enforcement throughout the United States. Many goals of the police reform movement center on police accountability. Specific goals may include: lowering the criminal intent standard, limiting or abolishing qualified immunity for law enforcement officers, sensitivity training, conflict prevention and mediation training, updating legal frameworks, and granting administrative subpoena power to the U.S. Department of Justice for "pattern or practice" investigations into police misconduct and police brutality.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "African American Police League." African American Police League. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.aapoliceleague.org/ Archived 2013-05-18 at the Wayback Machine >.
  2. 1 2 3 "Black Police League Has Tough Job Ahead." Sheryl Fitzgerald. Chicago Daily Defender (Big Weekend Edition). (1966-1973). Sep 14, 1968. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender (1910-1975). pg. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Power, Politics, & Pride: Afro-American Patrolmen's League." WTTW.com. n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
  4. ↑ "OSC Prexy Raps Harassment Of Afro-Cop League." Chicago Daily Defender (Daily Edition). (1960-1973). Oct 2, 1969. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender (1910-1975). pg. 5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.