Results tagged “Thomas Chatman Jr.” from York Town Square

Thomas V. Chatman Jr., a pioneer in York's (Pa.) black community, passed away this week. Background posts: Mattie Chapman, first black elected county official profiled, Pioneering women in state politics and 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive.

Tom Chatman, York's first black chief of police, died this week, and Mike Argento's obituary story quite rightly details his accomplishments on the road to that office.

"He endured, back in his days as a patrolman and later a detective, the most vile racial epithets from bigots and being called an Uncle Tom by members of his own community," Argento wrote.

To boil down a list of Chatman accomplishments, he became York's police chief within 10 years after the York race riots ended. The practices and policies of York's police department contributed to those terrible summers of 1968 and 1969.

With the spotlight on this pioneer, it seems right to repeat or three-peat his place in this sampling of minority and female "firsts" in York County's past, many of which have occurred since 1970:

Thomas Chatman Jr. was a pioneering member of the York community, serving as York's police chief in the 1970s, the first black man to do so. He is pictured here in 2006, with his patrolman's photo in the background. Background posts: Mattie Chapman, first black elected county official profiled, Pioneering women in state politics and 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive.

On the morning after Barack Obama gained the presidency, some might wonder how minorities and women have fared in gaining public office in York County.

The York Town Square post, First York City Latino councilman temporarily state's top appointed Dem, provides a list of minority and women achievers.

Thomas Chatman Jr. is among those atop the list.

He was the York police department's first black detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and chief. He and Amos Palmer also were the first black city police officers to ride in squad cars... .