Howard Saffold
Template:TOCnestleft Howard Saffold, was born on January 26, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois to Eva Saffold and DeWitt Saffold. Saffold held odd jobs while attending Farragut High School. Upon graduation in 1959, he joined the U.S. Army. He married Carol Randall Saffold in 1960 and completed his military service in 1962. Saffold worked as an expediter for the regional office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs before the Chicago Police Department hired him as a beat officer in 1965.
Saffold holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Chicago State University and an M.A. in urban studies from Northeastern Illinois University. He was honored by the Midwest Community Council in 1988, the Peoria Afro-American Police League in 1993 and the South Austin Coalition in 1994. He consults community organizing initiatives and community-based organizations, including prison ministries and public schools.[1]
Afro-American Patrolman's League
After being on the police force for about a year, Officer Buzz Palmer experienced the “shoot to kill” order issued by mayor Richard J. Daley during the Black uprisings and looting that occurred on the Westside of Chicago following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Those events had a significant impact upon him.
Several Black police officers became concerned for the safety of unarmed Black leaders and Black citizens in general, being killed by white reactionaries. Officer Palmer decided to organize Black officers and began with a small cadre who also had not been on the force very long. Renault “Reggie” Robinson, Curtis Cowsen, Willie Ware, Wilbur Crooks, Jack Dubonnet and Tom Mitchell, who was not a police officer and Palmer, became the Afro-American Patrolman’s League. Howard Saffold and others came shortly, thereafter. They met initially in Palmer’s apartment and later, after chipping in, opened their first office on east 63rd Street.[2]
When the Afro-American Police League was founded in 1968 by Renault Robinson, Saffold immediately joined, recruited others and eventually served as the League's president. When a 1976 court decision forced the Chicago Police Department to change its discriminatory hiring and promotional practices, membership soared. In 1978, Saffold co-founded the National Black Police Association, serving as its president as well. In 1979, he co-founded Positive Anti-Crime Thrust with fellow Afro-American Police League leader Renault Robinson; promoting cooperation between police and the communities they serve.
In 1991, Saffold retired from the Chicago Police Department and resurrected the Positive Anti-Crime Thrust. As CEO, he attempts to stem the flow of young black men into the prison system.[3]
Working for Washington
When Harold Washington unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the City of Chicago in 1977, Saffold provided security on a volunteer basis. When Washington ran again and won in 1983, one of Mayor Washington's first official acts was to name Saffold as chief of executive security, making Saffold responsible for selecting, training and assigning personnel. Saffold served in the same capacity for Mayor Eugene Sawyer after Mayor Washington's untimely death.[4]
Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights Bicentennial Celebration
On November 10, 1991 Howard Saffold was listed on the Tribute Program for the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights Bicentennial Celebration.[5]
References
- ↑ Historymakers bio, accessed July 5, 2011
- ↑ Founding of the Afro-American Patrolman’s League, written by Edward “Buzz” Palmer titled “A Voyage of Discovery” and can be read in its entirety in a publication being written by Dr. Useni Perkins scheduled to be published in 2008 by Third World Press.
- ↑ Historymakers bio, accessed July 5, 2011
- ↑ Historymakers bio, accessed July 5, 2011
- ↑ Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights Bicentennial Celebration Program, Nov. 10, 1991