Black Police Precinct & Courthouse Museum

The following article, in part, was in the City of Miami Office of Communications newsletter:

In celebration of Black history month, the City of Miami celebrates the opening of  "In the Line of Duty", an exhibit on the history of Miami’s first Black officers. The opening reception for the exhibit took place on February 2, 2009 at the Black Police Precinct & Courthouse Museum, located at 1009 NW 5th Avenue, behind the Jefferson Reeves Clinic. The exhibition details the history of the building & of Miami’s 1st black officers ………………...

During the reception, City of Miami officials along with members of the City of Miami Retired Police Officers Community Benevolent Association (COM-R-POCBA) unveiled the first inductees into the Black Police Precinct & Museum Courthouse Wall of Honor. The inductees included: Judge Lawson E. Thomas, Jessie Mc Crary, Esq., Father John Edward Culmer & the first five original officers, Edward Kimble, Ralph White, John Milledge, Clyde Lee & Moody Hall.

The Black Police Precinct & Courthouse Museum is located in the only known structure in the nation that was designed, devoted to & operated as a separate station house & municipal court for Blacks. The precinct serves as an important icon in Miami's Black history as a reminder of the pioneers who le d the way for African Americans to serves in various roles of police enforcement through the years.

The Black Police Precinct & Courthouse was recently restored with funding assistance from the City of Miami, the members of the City of Miami Retired Police Officers Community Benevolent Association (COM-R-POCBA), & a generous grant from the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources. The movement to preserve the precinct was initiated by members of COM-R-POCBA (among them many who served in the Black precinct) & the late former City Commissioner Arthur E. Teele, Jr. Project completion & the museum opening were greatly assisted by members of COM-R-POCBA, the City of Miami & Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones. The building is owned by the City of Miami & operates as a public museum by the members of COM-R-POCBA.

MESSAGE FROM CHIEF CLARENCE DICKSON (EXCERPTS)

The Miami Police Veteran’s Association news letter kept our fellow Vets updated on the museums’ progress. We kept you aware of our setbacks and now we are proud to share with you our successes. It has been nine years since this project started, and you guys stayed with us all the way. All of us have a piece, a stake, in this museum, we should all rejoice. It is an accomplishment that we all share.

We are sorry that most of you were not able to make the Grand Opening, it was a grand affair. But I did get a chance to publicly thank you in our grand opening speech. It was well received. A special invitation is always open to Miami Police Vets. You will always get the royal treatment when you visit this building. As you requested, below is our mission statement.

The “Negro Precinct” was built in 1950. A segregated south demanded separation of black and white police officers. Black police officers were without a police headquarters for 6 years. Black officers moved into this building in 1950. The Department was integrated in 1963, and the Precinct, after nearly 60 years stood weather beaten and hurricane weary. After several years of sacrifice and hard work, and help from City of Miami retired police veteran’s organization it was restored to its natural state and crowned a Museum.

The museum mission statement is as follows:

MISSION STATEMENT

“Negro Police Precinct and Courthouse” Museum
This museum’s mission is to acquire, preserve, display, and promote collections of a historical nature that will be of educational value to the preservation of African American history as it relates to the struggles and accomplishments of Black Police Officers in Over town, as they served during the pre Civil Rights era of the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 60’s.

The museum will be a full service facility. It will display police memorabilia; artifacts; documents; video; and word of mouth stories by the men and women who worked there. It will provide a community center for its citizens, a tutorial center, and learning center for children in the City of Miami’s most underprivileged neighborhoods. It will create outreach programs for juveniles that live in these neighborhoods; it will partnership with community organizations in this area and develop crime prevention programs, all of which will enhance the quality of life for children and families, making our community a better place to live.

We congratulate the Retired Officers Community PBA for an outstanding job in completing this project. Community PBA President Otis Davis, Chief (Ret) Clarence Dickson, and the many retired officers who assisted in this nine year project should be immensely proud of their accomplishment. We lived in a different world just a generation ago but now go forward together. Miami, even back in the ‘old’ days, was ahead of the rest of the country when they put black officers on the street in 1944. The precinct was a part of the Miami law enforcement transition and now is a Museum for the entire community and the entire nation. I have been personally aware of tremendous hard work in reaching this goal, especially the leadership and vision of Otis Davis and Chief Dickson. Also helpful was retired Capt George Haller, who was one of the last white commanding officers at the precinct. His memory and photos helped in reconstructing the building to what it was in the late 50's and early 60's. The City of Miami deserves much applause also. Great job.

Phil Doherty
President, MPVA