The Wire was a popular television series which aired for five seasons on the HBO network, from June 2, 2002, to March 9, 2008. The show, set in Baltimore, Maryland, was created by former police reporter David Simon and based on his experiences and those … Read MoreThe Wire (2002-2008)
Operation Hammer, a law enforcement program by the Los Angeles Police Department that began in 1987 was ostensibly an attempt to crack down on gang violence in Los Angeles, California. Many critics, however, saw the operation as racial profiling because it targeted the city’s African … Read MoreOperation Hammer (1987-1990)
Carmen Best, a veteran police officer, became the first African American woman police chief of the Seattle Police Department. Born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, Best graduated from Lincoln High School in 1983. After high school, she attended Eastern Washington University where she ran track. … Read MoreCarmen Best (1965- )
On June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, an African American night watchman, detected an early morning break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The five men arrested had ties to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, igniting a political scandal … Read MoreFrank Wills (1948-2000)
Bessie Virginia Blount, pioneer physical therapist, inventor, and scientist, was born in Hickory (today Chesapeake), Virginia, on November 24, 1914. In the sixth grade, she had to discontinue her elementary education, although she would later earn a GED after her family moved to New Jersey. She studied nursing at the Community … Read MoreBessie Blount Griffin (1914-2009)
Founded in September of 1976 during a three-day symposium, The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), was created to tackle crime in low-income urban areas. Committed to justice and action, NOBLE serves to ensure equity in justice for all communities during citizens interactions with law … Read MoreNational Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (1976- )
David Alexander Clarke Jr. or Sheriff Clarke is the sixty-fourth sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. While originally appointed by Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum in 2002 to fill a vacancy, Clarke has been re-elected four times (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014). Clarke is one of a … Read MoreDavid A. Clark Jr. (1956- )
Ronald Kenneth Noble is the first African American to serve as Secretary General of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) headquartered in Lyon, France. Born in 1956 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Noble is the son of an African American soldier and a German mother. … Read MoreRonald Noble (1956 -)
