Georgia Ann Robinson (née Hill; May 12, 1879 – September 21, 1961) was an American

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

and community worker who was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

woman to be appointed a police officer at the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

(LAPD); she was also one of the first Black policewomen to be hired in the country. She joined the force in 1916 as a volunteer jail matron and was appointed an officer in 1919. She worked on juvenile and

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

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 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

, 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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at the age of 82.

Early life

Georgia Ann Hill was born in

Opelousas, Louisiana Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 in Louisiana, Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 in Louisiana, U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a ju ...

, on 12 May 1879. She was brought up first by an older sister, then in a convent. She moved to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

when she was 18, working as a

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

. She married Morgan Robinson there, and the couple moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and then to

Career

In 1916, when the

(LAPD) was facing a shortage of officers after many enlisted to fight in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Robinson was recruited to leave her community work to join LAPD as a volunteer. She worked as a jail matron for three years. Around this time, African American club women were working to get black women hired by the police. Organizations like the

National Association of Colored Women's Clubs The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) is an American organization that was formed in July 1896 at the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in Washington, D.C., United States, by a merger of ...

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. 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. On 10 June 1919, Robinson was officially sworn in as a policewoman. Robinson was the first Black woman to be sworn into the LAPD, and one of the first African American policewomen in the country. Robinson worked with the first white female policewoman,

Alice Stebbins Wells Alice Stebbins Wells (June 13, 1873 – August 17, 1957) was one of the first American-born female police officers in the United States, hired in 1910 in Los Angeles. Career Early career Alice was a graduate of Oberlin College and Hartford T ...

. The LAPD saw the hiring of black women as a type of

police reform Criminal justice reform is the reform of criminal justice systems. Stated reasons for criminal justice reform include reducing crime statistics, racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, under-reporting, and ...

, because they could deal with black female offenders. Thus, Robinson primarily worked on juvenile and homicide cases, as well as cases involving black women. 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. Robinson often allowed youth she met on the job to temporarily stay at her own home when they had nowhere else to go. 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 1918, Robinson rescued two injured women and sent them to the

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

for treatment. Over the course of her career she also administered

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

to a juror who collapsed in court, rescued kidnapped babies, and searched for kidnapped girls. As an official policewoman, Robinson was paid for her work. However, she was not given a gun, handcuffs, or a police car. Nevertheless, she still succeeded in taking people to jail when the need arose. Robinson's police career was cut short in 1928, when a prisoner banged her head into jail bars, causing a head injury so severe that she permanently lost her sight. Twelve years after she began her career with the LAPD, Robinson retired.

Activism

Robinson was involved in activism throughout her life. As a young woman in Colorado, she was an active

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

. In LA, Robinson was the first treasurer of the local

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP) chapter. She also helped found the Sojourner Truth Home, which focused on helping new black, female LA residents create strong connections in the city, and volunteered with the Eastside Shelter for Women and Girls. Robinson single-handedly desegregated her daughter's high school graduation, ensuring the black students could participate in the ceremony equally with the white students. 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.

Personal life

She married Morgan Robinson in Kansas two weeks after they met. In 1906, Robinson gave birth to their daughter, Marian. She is said to have often brought underprivileged women and children home with her for dinner. Robinson was interviewed by ''

Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the Black-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, and ...

'' in 1954. She died in Los Angeles on 21 September 1961.

References

External links

Photo of Georgia Robinson at the Los Angeles Public Library
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Georgia Ann 1879 births 1961 deaths People from Opelousas, Louisiana Los Angeles Police Department officers American women police officers African-American police officers Activists from California Suffragists from Colorado NAACP activists American women civil rights activists 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women