This week in black history

Jet, Oct 30, 2006

October 25, 1940--Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. was named the first Black General in the U.S. Army on this day. Davis was born on July 1, 1877, in Washington, D.C., and attended the Washington public schools and Howard University. Davis' career in the military spanned 50 years. In 1905 he was commissioned as a first lieutenant after he volunteered to serve in the Spanish American War. During World War II he was a special advisor and coordinator to the theatre commander, European Theatre of Operations. All through his military career, Davis was the recipient of many decorations and awards that included World War I and World War II service medals, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star medal and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm from France. He retired from the Army in 1948. Davis died of leukemia on November 26, 1970, at the age of 93 in North Chicago, IL. He was honored with a Black History Commemorative Stamp in 1997.

October 26, 1994--Beverly Harvard became the first Black woman to run a major police department when she was appointed Atlanta's police chief on this day. Chief Harvard began her distinguished career in 1973 as a patrol officer and worked her way through the ranks, serving in a number of posts within the department. A native of Macon, GA, she is a graduate of Morris Brown College and Georgia State University and holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in urban government and administration. Chief Harvard also was the first woman in the Atlanta Police Department to graduate from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy in Quantico, VA, and is a graduate of the FBI's National Executive Institute.