Plenty of bullets of African-American accomplishments have failed to hit the history books. Black U.S. marshals were on that list, according to retired U.S. Marshal Robert Moore – but not anymore.
Moore is on tour with a traveling exhibit: The Presidents Men – Black United States Marshals, which is currently on display in Downtown St. Louis at the 8th Judicial Learning Center inside the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse, 111 S. 10th St.
The exhibit chronicles 132 years of service by African-American men as U.S. marshals and deputy marshals in the agency’s 218-year history.
The Marshals Service provides protection for federal judges and courts, serves subpoenas, transports and manages federal prisoners, protects federal witnesses, apprehends fugitives and sells assets and property ordered seized in federal court cases.
They are appointed by presidents, something that made Moore – “a kid out of Mississippi” – proud.
“I can talk to the president and governor and have power and influence,” Moore said. “It’s the top of law enforcement.”
Moore was appointed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, who appointed more black U.S. marshals than any other president (about 15 percent of his appointees were black).
U.S. marshals are let go and new ones appointed when a new president takes office. Six presidents have appointed African-American U.S. marshals. St. Louis has produced four black U.S. marshals.
Fredrick Douglas – an escaped slave, abolitionist, orator and publisher of the first African American newspaper (Freedom’s Journal) – served as the first black U.S. marshal, 1877 to 1881.
However, the first black employed by Marshals Service was another former slave, Bass Reeves, who became a deputy marshal in 1875, the year the job became available to blacks.
When Moore served as U.S. marshal of the Central District of Illinois (1994-2002), he hung photos of Douglas and Reed on the wall behind his desk.
“The accomplishment and contributions of black police officers and police executives in America and their impact on the criminal justice system as managers, reformers, practitioners or heroes, are simply not studied or celebrated,” Moore wrote in his manuscript, Changing the Debate on Black Americans and the Criminal Justice System: One Hero at a Time.
While Douglas has graced many history books, Moore noted that his role as a U.S. marshal goes untold. Moore traveled this weekend to Howard University in Washington D.C., where the school gave him a warrant signed by Douglas to add to his exhibit.
Another prominent African-American U.S. marshal was George McKinney. Though appointed by President Richard Nixon, McKinney served a subpoena on Nixon in conjunction with the Watergate scandal.
John Marshall, son of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, is the black to serve as director of the U.S. Marshal Service.
Moore noted that criminology primarily portrays African Americans as victims and perpetrators.
“This in part may explain the reason why historians, black and white media outlets and museums have failed to publicize the accomplishment of the African-American men and women who have worn the badge since the early 1800s,” Moore said.
To date, there have been 57 black U.S. marshals. And only one African-American woman, Flora Gant (of St. Louis), which Moore aims to change. There have been several white females, one Hispanic female and one Asian female in the service.
The odds of becoming a U.S. marshal are far greater when prospects are active in federal politics, since U.S. senators usually make recommendations to the president.
Moore is a graduate of the National Police Academy, Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville. He holds a BS in criminal justice and a master’s in public administration from the University of Illinois-Springfield.
He has served the nation in three different states as a law enforcement officer and executive.
His law enforcement career began in 1970 as a Deputy Sheriff in Rockford, Illinois. He joined the Illinois State Police in 1972, the Savannah (Ga.) Police Department in 1985, and the U.S. Marshal Service in 1994. Moore became the 25th chief of police in Jackson, Miss. in 2002.
For more information, visit www.blackpoliceresource.com
