In 1988, Lee Roy Young Jr. became the first Black Texas Ranger. Rangers are a branch of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Young was born in Del Rio, Texas on January 8, 1947. His mother was Abby Ward and father was Lee Roy … Read MoreLee Roy Young Jr. (1947- )
In 1962, William “Bill” Goines became the first African American Navy SEAL. Navy SEALs are the United States Navy’s elite special operations force. SEAL is an acronym for Sea, Air, and Land, which indicates all the environments in which SEALs are trained to operate. Goines … Read MoreWilliam Goines (1936- )
Ennis W. Wright is the first African American Sheriff of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina. He’s a native of Cumberland County, North Carolina, born and raised by Mary Malloy Wright in Fayetteville on a dirt road called Simmons Street. In his youth he enjoyed sports … Read MoreSheriff Ennis W. Wright (1959-)
William Henry West was a Civil War-era African American soldier and later a police officer in Washington, D.C. West was best known for arresting U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. This is the only known record of a sitting United States President being arrested. … Read MoreWilliam Henry West (1842-1915)
Benny Nelson Napoleon was an attorney, law enforcement officer, and politician. Napoleon was born on September 10, 1955 to Reverend Harry and Betty Napoleon, in Detroit, Michigan. Napoleon played little league baseball in his youth and graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1973. He … Read MoreBenny Napoleon (1955-2020)
Bill (or Billy) Colbert is best known for serving as an officer of color who upheld the law in the Indian Territory during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though the details of his early life are scant, historical records indicate that he was of … Read MoreBill Colbert (1835-1933)
James Lewis was born free on September 11 in either 1832 or 1833 in Woodville, Mississippi. Early in his life, he worked on steamboats that traveled between New Orleans and St. Louis. Later in life, Lewis recalled how he would use passes issued to him … Read MoreJames Lewis (1832/33-1914)
Born in Brownsville, Tennessee, on February 7, 1949, Walker was one of four children to parents Roger E. Walker Sr. and Ida Currie Walker who later moved to Decatur, Illinois. A graduate of Richland Community College in Decatur, Illinois, he joined the U.S. Navy and … Read MoreRoger E. Walker, Jr. (1949-2012)
Walter Lawson was a Buffalo Soldier, a private with the 25th Infantry Regiment of the US Calvary. Lawson was born in Clark County, Virginia in January 1862, to Thomas and Susan Lawson. Not much is known about Lawson’s life before his public service. He served … Read MoreWalter Lawson (1862-1917)
James Wormley Jones is the first African American FBI agent in the United States. Jones was born on September 22, 1884 to John Bradford Jones and Sally Jones in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Jones had one sibling, a brother named Paul W. Jones. His family later … Read MoreJames Wormley Jones (1884-1958)
