Georgia ann robinson biography
Georgia Ann Robinson
American police officer (–)
Georgia Ann Robinson | |
---|---|
Born | Georgia Ann Hill ()May 12, Opelousas, Louisiana, United States |
Died | September 21, () (aged82) Los Angeles, California, United States |
Nationality | American |
Occupations |
|
Knownfor | First African-American woman police officer at the LAPD |
Notable work | Founded a shelter for women and girls (Sojourner Truth Home) |
Georgia Ann Robinson (née Hill; May 12, – September 21, ) was an American police officer and community worker who was the first African American woman to be appointed a police officer at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD); she was also one of the first Black policewomen to be hired in the country.
She joined the force in as a volunteer jail matron and was appointed an officer in She worked on juvenile and homicide cases, as well as cases with black women. She often referred the people she came in contact with to social agencies. Her police career ended when she permanently lost her sight after being injured by a prisoner.
Robinson was also an activist who founded the Sojourner Truth Home, a shelter for women and girls, while working on the force.
After retiring, Robinson continued her community activism, working with the NAACP, volunteering in shelters, and campaigning to desegregate schools and beaches. She was married to Morgan Robinson, and had a daughter, Marian. She died in Los Angeles at the age of
Early life
Georgia Ann Hill was born in Opelousas, Louisiana, on 12 May She was brought up first by an older sister, then in a convent.
She moved to Kansas when she was 18, working as a governess. She married Morgan Robinson there, and the couple moved to Colorado, and then to Los Angeles.[1][2]
Career
In , when the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was facing a shortage of officers after many enlisted to fight in World War I, Robinson was recruited to leave her community work to join LAPD as a volunteer.[1][3] She worked as a jail matron for three years.[2]
Around this time, African American club women were working to get black women hired by the police.[4] Organizations like the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs believed having black female police officers would both protect black women and girls from white male violence and would help combat harmful stereotypes about black women being more sexually active/available.[4][5]
There were strict requirements for becoming a policewoman, such as being between age 30–44, being married, and holding a degree in education or nursing.
Robinson was thirty-six years old, married, and had a degree in nursing, so she met all these requirements.[2][5] On 10 June , Robinson was officially sworn in as a policewoman.[2] Robinson was the first Black woman to be sworn into the LAPD, and one of the first African American policewomen in the country.[2][5][6] Robinson worked with the first white female policewoman, Alice Stebbins Wells.[2]
The LAPD saw the hiring of black women as a type of police reform, because they could deal with black female offenders.[2][3][4] Thus, Robinson primarily worked on juvenile and homicide cases, as well as cases involving black women.[2][3] Instead of arresting the women and girls she came in contact with, Robinson often sent them to social services.
This was an early attempt at police reform, and one of the first times the LAPD sought to help the black community.[7] Robinson often allowed youth she met on the job to temporarily stay at her own home when they had nowhere else to go.[5][6][8]
Though juvenile cases were her specialty, Robinson dealt with any situation she encountered on the job.
When there was a car crash on 18 September , Robinson rescued two injured women and sent them to the hospital for treatment. Over the course of her career she also administered first aid to a juror who collapsed in court, rescued kidnapped babies, and searched for kidnapped girls.[2]
As an official policewoman, Robinson was paid for her work.
However, she was not given a gun, handcuffs, or a police car.
Georgia ann robinson biography video However, she was not given a gun, handcuffs, or a police car. Robinson was also an activist who founded the Sojourner Truth Home, a shelter for women and girls, while working on the force. Her police career ended when she permanently lost her sight after being injured by a prisoner. Boston MA: Beacon Press.Nevertheless, she still succeeded in taking people to jail when the need arose.[2]
Robinson's police career was cut short in , when a prisoner banged her head into jail bars, causing a head injury so severe that she permanently lost her sight.[2][6] Twelve years after she began her career with the LAPD, Robinson retired.[2]
I have no regrets.
I didn't need my eyes any longer. I had seen all there was to see.
—Georgia Robinson, [8][1]
Activism
Robinson was involved in activism throughout her life.
Ann robinson obituary The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. Around this time, African American club women were working to get black women hired by the police. Parchment , had been appointed as a police officer by the New York Police Department. Los Angeles , California , United States.As a young woman in Colorado, she was an active suffragist.[9] In LA, Robinson was the first treasurer of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter.[9][2] She also helped found the Sojourner Truth Home,[1] which focused on helping new black, female LA residents create strong connections in the city,[10] and volunteered with the Eastside Shelter for Women and Girls.[2][10]
Robinson single-handedly desegregated her daughter's high school graduation, ensuring the black students could participate in the ceremony equally with the white students.[2] Robinson also worked with H.
Claude Hudson to desegregate Venice Beach by trying to put an end to “The Ink Spot,” the black section of the beach.[1][2]
Personal life
She married Morgan Robinson in Kansas two weeks after they met.[2] In , Robinson gave birth to their daughter, Marian.[1] She is said to have often brought underprivileged women and children home with her for dinner.[6] Robinson was interviewed by Ebony Magazine in [8] She died in Los Angeles on 21 September [1]
References
- ^ abcdefg"Robinson, Georgia Ann Hill (–) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed".
. 19 March Retrieved 24 June
- ^ abcdefghijklmnopqBricklin, Julia ().
"Georgia Ann Hill Robinson: The LAPD's First African American Policewoman". California History.
Ann robinson weakest link biography: Opelousas, Louisiana , United States. Robinson and Parchment became the first two African American women police officers in the nation. ISSN The LAPD saw the hiring of black women as a type of police reform , because they could deal with black female offenders.
95 (1): 54– doi/ch ISSN
- ^ abcRasmussen, Cecilia (9 June ). "Policewomen's Battle to Serve and Protect". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 June
- ^ abcSchulz, Dorothy ().Ann robinson pics The Crisis. There were strict requirements for becoming a policewoman, such as being between age 30—44, being married, and holding a degree in education or nursing. She would often bring them into her home for extended periods when they had nowhere else to go Ibid. She often referred the people she came in contact with to social agencies.
"Preventative Justice: Fears over Female Immorality in the USA Lead to Police Positions for Women, to the First World War". International Journal of Police Science & Management. 4: – via HeinOnline.
- ^ abcdCorsianos, Marilyn ().
Policing and gendered justice: examining the possibilities. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. ISBN. Retrieved 24 June
- ^ abcdJanik, Erika (). Pistols and Petticoats: Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction.
Boston MA: Beacon Press. ISBN. Retrieved 24 June
- ^Olsen, Marilyn (). State trooper: America's state troopers and highway patrolmen. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co. p. ISBN. Retrieved 24 June
- ^ abc"First Negro Policewoman Joined L.A.
Force in ". Ebony Magazine. 9 (11): September Archived from the original on Retrieved 24 June
- ^ ab"Two public appointees". The Crisis.Georgia ann robinson biography Though juvenile cases were her specialty, Robinson dealt with any situation she encountered on the job. March Corsianos, Marilyn Retrieved 24 June
The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. March p. Retrieved 24 June
- ^ abBoyd, Kaitlin Therese (). The Criminalization of Black Angeleno Women: Institutionalized Racism and Sexism in Los Angeles, (Thesis). UCLA.