History:
"On October 17, 1935, black police officers organized the Texas Negro Peace Officers Association, [making] it the first black police organization in the United States." The officers in the Association adopted a constitution on September 18, 1936. "A month later, they met in Dallas to form a statewide organization" (Dulaney 2010).
About this Image:
Group photo from the Tenth Annual Convention of the Texas Negro Peace Officers Association (TNPOA) taken in front of the New Light Baptist Church. Standing from left to right on the front row are: C.F Franklin and Jessie Gamble of Waco; Charlie Walsh, Sam Moore, and Annanias James of Austin; Garnet Young and Phillip Middleton of Beaumont; Henry Breed, William Stevenson, Otis B. Thomas, E.E. Bumberry, and Harvey Hill of San Antonio. On the third row, Detective Investigator and TNPOA President Brown L. Brackens, of San Antonio, is standing in the middle doorway, wearing a dark hat. Special Officer and TNPOA Vice President I.C. Collins stands to the right.
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Credit:
Courtesy of San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation
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