First African-American police officer in Boston
This story made me happy today.
For much of the last century, the official record was that the first African-American police officer in Boston wasn’t hired until after the great police strike in 1919.
Then, a while back, Margaret Sullivan, the Boston police archivist, found an obscure reference in a book written by a 19th-century police chief to "the first colored officer" being appointed in 1878.
Here's to Sergeant Horatio Julius Homer, the first African-American police officer in Boston -- and the *second* in the United States. (The first was in Cleveland; I'll have to go look him up now.)
And also to Margaret Sullivan, the archivist-cum-detective who tracked down the truth like a long-forgotten cold case.
For much of the last century, the official record was that the first African-American police officer in Boston wasn’t hired until after the great police strike in 1919.
Then, a while back, Margaret Sullivan, the Boston police archivist, found an obscure reference in a book written by a 19th-century police chief to "the first colored officer" being appointed in 1878.
Here's to Sergeant Horatio Julius Homer, the first African-American police officer in Boston -- and the *second* in the United States. (The first was in Cleveland; I'll have to go look him up now.)
And also to Margaret Sullivan, the archivist-cum-detective who tracked down the truth like a long-forgotten cold case.