City of Florence hires black policeman

This is a newspaper account of Will Vaughn, an African American hired to patrol the black business district in East Florence. According to Florence historian Lee Freeman: Vaughn would not receive a salary but would instead be paid out of fines levied on offenders and had no authority over whites. In...

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Bibliographic Details
Format:	Electronic
Published:	Project Say Something: The Shoals Black History Collection
Subjects:	Photographs, documents, and clippings
Online Access:	https://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/673

format	Electronic
collection	Community Collection
building	Project Say Something: The Shoals Black History Collection
publisher	Project Say Something: The Shoals Black History Collection
topic	Photographs, documents, and clippings
spellingShingle	Photographs, documents, and clippings City of Florence hires black policeman
fulltopic	Photographs, documents, and clippings Community
description	This is a newspaper account of Will Vaughn, an African American hired to patrol the black business district in East Florence. According to Florence historian Lee Freeman: Vaughn would not receive a salary but would instead be paid out of fines levied on offenders and had no authority over whites. Interestingly, Vaughn was not the first black officer hired in Florence: according to the city council minutes for December of 1867 Mayor James Brock was authorized to employ eight "night policemen" to patrol from 7 pm to 7 am, four men to be on duty all the time, with four of the eight men to be black. Brock also appointed two "day policemen," one black and one white, to assist the constable, or chief of police. I'm not sure how long these "night" and "day" officers, esp. the black officers, were employed. I'm not certain, but I believe this Will Vaughn, whose wife's name was Catherine, was a son of William, Sr. and Mattie Vaughn, was born ca. 1902-1903 and died in 1972 in Decatur. In 1920 he was 17 years old, working as a "laborer" for the "city" and living with his 42 year-old aunt Annie Nabers on Larimore St. in Florence. I don't know how long Vaughn was on the force in Florence only that by 1942 he seems to have moved to Decatur.""
spelling	City of Florence hires black policemanCommunityThis is a newspaper account of Will Vaughn, an African American hired to patrol the black business district in East Florence. According to Florence historian Lee Freeman: Vaughn would not receive a salary but would instead be paid out of fines levied on offenders and had no authority over whites. Interestingly, Vaughn was not the first black officer hired in Florence: according to the city council minutes for December of 1867 Mayor James Brock was authorized to employ eight "night policemen" to patrol from 7 pm to 7 am, four men to be on duty all the time, with four of the eight men to be black. Brock also appointed two "day policemen," one black and one white, to assist the constable, or chief of police. I'm not sure how long these "night" and "day" officers, esp. the black officers, were employed. I'm not certain, but I believe this Will Vaughn, whose wife's name was Catherine, was a son of William, Sr. and Mattie Vaughn, was born ca. 1902-1903 and died in 1972 in Decatur. In 1920 he was 17 years old, working as a "laborer" for the "city" and living with his 42 year-old aunt Annie Nabers on Larimore St. in Florence. I don't know how long Vaughn was on the force in Florence only that by 1942 he seems to have moved to Decatur.""Florence Times Lee Freeman 1921-09-30Still Image JPGCity_Puts_on_Colored_Cop_FT_Fri_Sept_30_1921.jpghttps://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/673https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/36745/archive/files/20705d883e3e558b2b8ca4c4135ca39e.jpg?Expires=1708560000&Signature=voz2H8NrAfIWdqEZ88%7EfRqLUQyFXG1FYgfvlGQWvPT57VFuilpHty7UuLUrozEWbEmOADrUroOlicdHIvfzOlEY3bfWDgwMfjuXEsWoCsQ7HkEat2LtKuqTCx8-5kX9FwJD08W-1IiUY2gl945GGdzKFTkM%7EmToH4M8NIwruAn73ePosC7VnvS618KSdLo6rgfI8ZWg1zcOk4KwFE-iyE7hUAbdloQ-uOsS-1t9UcsFbfbZZqqm00Dn%7Ec4WTHEG5tVO1ZpEI03wzdjnu-ohw6cR2rJlUMA8QVM%7EklqLe1WMYLxZ3Tq0Tf6%7EuWWe3uAPBA%7EHoj7JiIF0ETOvaeKl45w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZMFlorence TimesEnglishImages are available for educational and research purposes. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the interested party to identify the copyright holder and receive permission.
title	City of Florence hires black policeman
titleStr	City of Florence hires black policeman
id	PSScommunity673
url	https://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/673
_version_	1790442685028368384

City of Florence hires black policeman

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