Black Police Precinct & Courthouse Museum
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Description
In the 1920’s, Black leadership fought back against routine violence by the police force, as well as the openly espoused racist views of the Miami Dade Police Cheif and Sheriff, through the formation of the Colored Board of Trade and the Greater Miami Negro Civic League. After an intense, decade-long lobbying effort, Ralph White, Moody Hall, Clyde Lee, Edward
Kimball, and John Milledge were sworn in as the City of Miami’s first Black patrolmein 1944. This building is the first municipal court where Blacks administered justice for Blacks, and patrolmen banded together to change the inequities of a segregated institution.
Excerpt from the City of Miami Historic Site Designation Report, 2002:
“The Miami Police Department and the Dade County Sheriff’s Office were responsible for keeping the peace. Stories of routine beatings and the torture of Blacks, coupled with the openly espoused racist views of both then Sheriff Dan Hardie and Police Chief Leslie Quigg, combined to create an incendiary condition. African-American leadership fought back through the formation of the Colored Board of Trade and the Greater Miami Negro Civic League that provided a forum for their views and complaints. These leaders attended every City Commission meeting, making their presence known and arguing for services that included African-American policemen. While some progress was made, including the creation of the first Black high school in 1923, race relations themselves did not make the progress needed to fully ease tensions between the races.
By the 1940s, the area called “Colored Town” had become an overcrowded slum, where residents had no access to running water or indoor plumbing, and even electricity was a luxury few could afford. As conditions worsened, AfricanAmericans were relegated to an area north and west of Overtown that became known as Liberty City.
When the United States entered the Second World War, Blacks were extensively recruited to serve in the Armed Forces, although they were relegated to performing only in menial roles. In Miami following the war, the returning Black soldiers caused the Black population to swell, contributing to the need for greater law enforcement opportunities in the historically Black neighborhoods. In 1944, the City’s Black population had reached 43,187, with most living in the Central Negro District, formerly called “Colored Town.” In a feverish lobbying effort, leaders of the newly created Negro Citizens League finally convinced the City that a Black police presence was essential. Don D. Rosenfelder, Public Safety Director (then the Department that had responsibility for police services), began his recruitment of the men who would become the first Black policemen by asking Black leaders to nominate suitable candidates. There was still such resistance on the part of many Whites that the training of the Black officers was achieved “under extreme secrecy.”
On September 1, 1944, five African-American men made history when they were sworn in as the City of Miami’s first Black police officers. They were: Ralph White, Moody Hall, Clyde Lee, Edward Kimball, and John Milledge. These pioneering men, however, were not referred to as “officers” as were their White counterparts, but instead, as “patrolmen.” These patrolmen were assigned to the “Central Negro District,” an area that included parts of Liberty City and Colored Town (Overtown). The newly created Black police force became a division independent of the White police force, and first operated from the office of dentist Ira P. Davis at 1036 SW 2nd Avenue. The patrolmen were allowed to arrest only African-Americans, and had no authority over Whites. There was no job security or retirement benefits, as the patrolmen were not classified as civil service personnel as were their White counterparts.
In a 1986 Ph.D. dissertation entitled “The History of the Black Police Force and Court in the City of Miami” for the University of Miami, Arthur Chapman summarized the role that those first policemen would play: The primary effort by the Precinct was to eliminate all overt manifestations of crime on the streets. The original five were directed to clear the crowded sidewalks, stop all gambling and profanity, and to confiscate any weapons seen. Any suspicious person or “known troublemaker” was to be stopped and “frisked.” Should any of these persons be found with a weapon, they would be promptly arrested. In effect, the police utilized illegal acts to deal with illegal acts. The result was that crimes of violence in the Black areas were reduced by fifty percent. One year later, the number of Black patrolmen had grown to 15, with three additional men expected to be hired in the near future. The patrolmen were assigned to the historically Black areas of Coconut Grove in March 1945, and a sub-station opened. The men were given a prescribed route in traveling between Overtown and Coconut Grove that would keep them from interacting with Whites as much as possible. Because the Black patrolmen were not allowed to join the Police Benevolent Association, the Miami Colored Police Benevolence Association (MCPBA) was founded in 1946. The patrolmen were finally granted Civil Service status in March 1947.
Construction of the Precinct Station By the late 1940s there were more than 40 Black officers, and the City decided that it was time to construct a separate facility. That building would serve both as a headquarters for the patrolmen, and as a courthouse where accused AfricanAmericans were tried for their crimes in a municipal court with an African-American judge presiding. The creation of a special Black municipal court was a highly significant achievement that did much to provide equal treatment under the law. The Miami City Commission authorized the construction of a “colored police precinct station at NW 11th Street and NW 5th Avenue” in August 1949.
The award for the design of the building went to long-time Miami/Coral Gables architect Walter C. DeGarmo. Walter C. DeGarmo (1876–1952) earned his reputation as an architect of distinction early on as a member of the original team of architects that set the standard for the Mediterranean Revival design of the emerging City of Coral Gables.
This 1950 building is clearly representative of the era in which it was built, as it departs from the historicism of Miami’s previous architectural expressions and sets itself solidly in the genre loosely classified as “Modern.” The building relies on its form and the arrangement of its parts for its visual impact; therefore there is an absence of surface ornament.
The Police .Precinct and Courthouse functioned in this location until July 1963. At that time, the Black officers were transferred to the police headquarters, at 1145 NW 11th Street, for an integrated roll call. The closure of the building seems to have been more a matter of fiscal policy than civil liberties. As the Miami Herald article of July 26, 1963, entitled “Police Abolish Negro Precinct” reported: The move, said Colonel D.D. Pomerleau, Director of Public Safety, is to increase efficiency and eliminate duplication of physical properties and assignments. The article made it clear that the Black officers would continue to patrol the “…Negro sections of the city.”
Although the history of the Black Police Precinct occurred in more recent chronological time, numerous men associated with this building have made extraordinary contributions towards the integration of African-Americans in the law enforcement field. They include:
- Leroy Smith, who joined the force in 1950, was promoted to Sergeant in 1955, became the first Black Lieutenant in 1966, and the first Black Major in 1974.
- Clarence Dickson, the first Black officer to attend the Police Academy in 1960, who became the first African-American Chief of Police in Miami’s history in 1985.
- Perry Anderson, the first Black Commander of the Miami Police Enforcement and Motor Unit in 1980.
- Robert Ingraham, the first motorcycle officer, former Mayor of the City of Opa-Locka, and current Dade Country School Board member.
- Lawson E. Thomas, Municipal Judge, who was first appointed to the Black Precinct.
- Courthouse where he presided from its opening in 1950 through the 1960s. In his first year, the judge handled 6,374 cases and collected more than $60,000 in fines and forfeitures.”
The precinct closed in 1963 and the police department was integrated at the main MPD police station. Having been vacant for several years, the restoration of the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum was completed in 2009.
References:
//dadeheritagetrust.org/portfolio-item/black-police-precinct-and-courthouse-museum/
//www.historicpreservationmiami.com/pdfs/Black%20Police%20Precinct.pdf