Lee Roy Young Jr. (1947-  )

Lee Roy Young Jr. (1947- )

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 Young. As a child, Young was...
William Goines (1936-  )

William Goines (1936- )

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....
Sheriff Ennis W. Wright (1959-)

Sheriff Ennis W. Wright (1959-)

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...
William Henry West (1842-1915)

William Henry West (1842-1915)

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....
Benny Napoleon (1955-2020)

Benny Napoleon (1955-2020)

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...