When Samuel Battle broke the color line as New York City’s first African American cop in the 1920s, he had to deal with racist colleagues, death threats, and government corruption, along with criminals and gang members. His rise through the ranks is chronicled in Arthur Browne's new book One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York

Battle grew up in North Carolina. Both his parents were slaves, and he belonged to the first generation of African-Americans to be born free. As a child, he longed to move to New York City and find his fortune. He moved to Harlem in 1905, just on the cusp of when Harlem was transitioning into the capital of black America.

"Harlem was still an upscale, white community," said Browne, but Battle saw how the neighborhood was changing and became "one of the founding citizens of black Harlem."

The turn of the 20th century was a time of unprecedented police violence against the black community. Browne describes a police riot in 1900 as a time "where the police force just took out their clubs and went wild." Despite this abysmal brutality, the newly-formed NAACP pushed for young black men to apply to the NYPD. Very few members of the community took the risk, but Battle was one of them.

An integrated police force had already been tried in Brooklyn in the early 1890s. Three African-American officers joined, and “the Brooklyn police force turned against them, harassed them, hassled them, disciplined them, drove them out of the police department...then it all dissipated," said Browne.

When Battle applied to the NYPD in 1911, the doctor assigned to his physical attempted to exclude him from service for a supposed heart murmur. But Battle, backed by NAACP support, got a second opinion from a top cardiologist and was admitted upon receipt of a signed note from him.

Battle's rise through the ranks was slow, but he didn’t shy away from controversy. He even antagonized corrupt political figures in his pursuit of justice, including Democratic political boss Jimmy Hines. After the Great Depression, Battle had reached the rank of Lieutenant. He became Mayor LaGuardia's go-to peacemaker during several riots in Harlem, which resulting from police action against young black men.

Late in life, Battle approached the legendary poet Langston Hughes to write his biography. Hughes took the job, and Battle’s $1,500 commission, but he “not particularly interested in doing the job,” said Browne. “It wasn't a terrific narrative."

Despite the notable stature of both men, and an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt, publishers ignored the manuscript. “The larger problem was that no publisher of the time was ready to put out, into the market, a book focused on a black hero who challenged the prevailing racism of the day, including of the NYPD. The manuscript was put aside for 65 years until I happened to come across it," said Browne. 

From the Archives: Great Americans : Samuel J. Battle