Oral history interview with Reuben C. Bankhead, Charles C. Coleman, Lester Grissom, Leroy Hendricks, and Robert Nero, 2015

Biographical Note

Reuben C. Bankhead, Charles C. Coleman, Lester H. Grissom, Leroy Hendricks, and Robert Nero served on the New York City Police Department and were members of the NYPD Guardians Association, a fraternal organization of African-American NYPD members

Scope and Contents

This is a group oral history interview with Reuben C. Bankhead, Charles C. Coleman, Lester H. Grissom, Leroy Hendricks, and Robert Nero. They share stories from their time in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. They were all members of the NYPD Guardians Association, and speak about how the organization influenced their careers. The conversation spans racial equality issues in NYPD, including promotion exams, and instances of retaliation for speaking out against prejudice. They describe the conflict between the NYPD Guardians Association and the NYPD Patrolmen's Benevolent Association over the attempted establishment of a Civilian Complaint Review Board in 1966. They also remember several lawsuits reversing discriminatory hiring and promotional practices

Subjects

• African American police--New York (State)--New York.
• Bankhead, Reuben C.--Interviews.
• Coleman, Charles, interviewee.
• Coleman, Charles--Interviews.
• Grissom, Lester, interviewee.
• Grissom, Lester--Interviews.
• Hendricks, Leroy, interviewee.
• Hendricks, Leroy--Interviews.
• Interviews
• NYPD Guardians Association.
• Nero, Robert, interviewee.
• Nero, Robert--Interviews.
• New York (N.Y.). Police Department--History.
• New York (N.Y.). Police Department. Civilian Complaint Review Board.
• Oral histories
• Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York.
• Strong, Liz, interviewer.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2015