Inside One Police Plaza, Black history isn’t just being honored. It’s being carried forward during a Black History Month event held by the NYPD Guardians Association.
What You Need To Know
According to officials, Black officers now account for 17% of the NYPD, about 5,800 members
The department said there are more Black assistant chiefs now than at any point in history
In the 1940s, Black officers formed the NYPD Guardians Association, which later helped protect marchers at the historic March on Washington
“When I think about Black history and the progress we’ve made. I think about the courage, the resilience, the sacrifice that it’s taken for us to be standing here today,” NYPD Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards said.
That courage traces back more than a century to 1911, when Samuel Battle became the NYPD’s first Black officer.
In the 1940s, Black officers formed the NYPD Guardians Association, which later helped protect marchers at the historic March on Washington.
“The goal of the fraternal organization … is recruitment, it’s retention, it’s mentorship and it’s building those community partnerships,” Edwards said.
Now, Black officers account for 17% of the NYPD, about 5,800 members, according to officials.
The department said there are more Black assistant chiefs now than at any point in history.
“I started off in the 112 Precinct and I was one of few African Americans,” First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella said.
Kinsella is the highest-ranking Black officer in the department.
She said the point of progress is not a headline. It’s a pipeline.
“It’s all about breaking barriers and thinking about who’s coming behind us and pulling them up,” Kinsella said.
From the first to wear the uniform to the leaders shaping what the badge looks like now, Black leaders in the department said the event wasn’t just a commemoration, but a promise to the next generation.