The Towner January/February Issue Volume 1 | Page 21

BLACK HISTORY IN MIAMI— The

Black Police Precinct

Contributed by Stephanie Van Vark

The Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum is a 62-year
old resting place for historical memorabilia of City of Miami’s first black police
officers. It’s the only building of its kind
in the country.
In 1944, the Miami Police Department
began a new era in law enforcement hiring the first five African American patrol
officers in the City of Miami. Because of segregation, the officers couldn’t
operate out of the main Miami Police Station. So, they policed by walking
and riding bicycles. There are even stories of arrested prisoners being taken
to jail on bicycle handlebars, or by walking and even hailing rides from citizens driving by. They had no cars, no radio contact and, most of all, no headquarters, until 1950 when renowned Miami architect, Walter G. DeGarmo,
designed the first and only Black Precinct and Courthouse.
Fully restored in 2008, it is now a designated historic museum that acquires, preserves, displays and promotes collections that relate to the struggles and accomplishments of City of Miami black police officers in the 1940s,
50s and 60’s.