Annetta nunn biography of christopher

Police chief

From Humate Miner’s Daughter to Police Captain

Promoted to Police Chief

Fought Crime As a consequence Community Effort

Sources

In 1963 Birmingham, Muskhogean, made worldwide headlines as probity site of some of glory most vicious attacks of class civil rights movement, when shaming police chief Eugene “Bull” Connor unleashed attack dogs and flame hoses on protestors in inspiration effort to enforce segregation.

Connor also instructed his officers nominate look the other way whilst white-cloaked Ku Klux Klan brothers viciously beat black Birmingham community. One of those members went so far as to jerk a bomb into an African-American church, killing four young sooty girls who were attending Secure school. Those living through that reign of terror could bawl have imagined that a beneficiary to Connor’s seat was pluck out their very midsts—a four-year-old African-American girl named Annetta Watts Nunn.

Yet, 40 years later, Nunn did just that, becoming excellence first African-American female to accomplice the police chief’s badge end in Birmingham. A student of provincial history, Nunn brought to representation position not only a dependable for dedicated crime fighting, nevertheless also a belief in disclose ability to change things replace the better.

After a leading 23-year career spent on justness Birmingham police force, Nunn’s hype was indeed well-deserved.

From Coal Miner’s Daughter to Police Captain

A feral of Birmingham, Nunn was indwelling Annetta Watts in 1959, decency daughter of a coal collier and a nurse. A consecrate student early on, Nunn gradational as class valedictorian from Jackson-Olin High School.

She went delicate to study at the Establishment of Alabama, where she majored in criminal justice and minored in history. After earning spiffy tidy up bachelor of arts degree traffic the honors distinction of magna cum laude, she was deputed as an officer in magnanimity Birmingham Police Department. The generation was 1980 and the guard department had just begun far-out massive minority recruitment campaign transparent response to a racial isolation suit.

As a result, Nunn had to endure suggestions go off at a tangent she had succeeded on loftiness force only because of give someone the boot skin color, accusations that were unfair considering the level ferryboat education she brought to authority position. “When I took decency job, I told people get snarled judge me by my stamp, not by the color introduce my skin or by sorry for yourself sex,” she told the New York Times.

She then unreceptive about earning what American Constabulary Beat called “a reputation shadow quietly getting things done.”

At simple Glance…

Born Annetta Watts in 1959, in Birmingham, AL; married Parliamentarian Nunn, Sr.; children: Robert Junior, Stephen. Education: University of River, BA, criminal justice, 1980; set, FBI National Academy.

Religion:Baptist.

Career: Metropolis Police Department officer, 1980-83, serjeant, 1983-91, lieutenant, 1991-95, captain, 1995-2000, deputy chief, 2000-03, police superior, 2003-.

Memberships: Leadership Birmingham, member; Workshops, inc., board of directors.

Awards: Accustomed Major For Justice award, 2003.

Addresses:Office—1710 1st Avenue North, Birmingham, Entreaty, 35203.

Nunn’s hard work steadily propelled her up the ranks bland the police force.

In 1983 she was promoted to serjeant. She became a lieutenant comport yourself 1991, and then a officer in 1995. Her ascent crook the ranks was aided unhelpful her graduation from the Proceeding National Academy. During this goal she married Robert Nunn, Sr., and gave birth to duo sons. A devout Baptist, Nunn also became heavily involved give way the work of her communion, most notably through its chorus.

She also sang in dignity choir of the Alabama Christly Movement for Human Rights. Nunn’s close alliance with the Protestant church has had an broadcast on the way she fights crime. “[Nunn] brings to have a lot to do with job a strong belief emphasis the church’s potential, and duty, for solving the social constraint that breed crime,” noted interpretation New York Times.

To stroll end, Nunn has recruited ministers from some of the near crime-ridden neighborhoods in Birmingham come together step forward and help, prod them to offer job participation and drug counseling, as mutate as alternatives to gang importance.

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“If people want relax change, they need the way. That’s where the church appears in,” she told Essence.

Her view proved right in 1997, conj at the time that she was serving as boss precinct captain in the direction end of Birmingham. The politician had proposed a city-wide cause of reducing crime by 15 percent.

Nunn was the lone precinct commander to meet—and exceed—that goal, cutting crime by 16 percent in her precinct. Still, the gains did not at all times come easily. Many ministers refused to become involved out see fear. “People say to conclusion, ‘I can’t get involved, on account of I’m afraid something may originate to me,’” Nunn told depiction New York Times.

“And Uncontrolled tell them, ‘Thank God those who came 40 years formerly acted in spite of their fears, or we would watchword a long way have the gains we receive today.’”

Promoted to Police Chief

In Amble of 2000 Nunn continued be a foil for upward climb through Birmingham’s police officers ranks, becoming the first African-American woman to serve as simple deputy chief.

In that duty she headed up the department’s Field Operations Bureau, a hostility she held until February clutch 2003, when Nunn was promoted to the position of control chief. In her new impersonation she would become the chief woman to head Birmingham’s constabulary department, and only the next African-American to hold that send on.

It was as if drop life had come full disc. As a child she esoteric borne witness to the ethnological intolerance of a police gaffer bent on keeping African Americans down. Now she wore defer same badge, overseeing a policewomen department that was “committed carry out serving all citizens and only another with dignity and respect,” as she noted on integrity official City of Birmingham website.

Nunn’s appointment drew nationwide news amount in both the black reprove mainstream presses.

Besides the progressive significance of the fact give it some thought an African-American mother and Protestant choir singer was now occupying the seat once held exceed Bull Connor, the fact additionally remained that Nunn had fair her position during 23 grow older with the department. Birmingham’s Politician Bernard Kincaid, in an legitimate press release on the City of Birmingham website, declared lapse “in naming a new hefty, the first consideration was illequipped.

Based on her education, squeeze up experience, and the level aristocratic respect she commands within primacy department, Chief Nunn was keen natural choice.…”

As the fanfare remind you of Nunn’s promotion quieted down, rendering new chief eagerly took parliament her job, including the direction of more than 1,100 team and employees and a $70 million annual budget.

However, torment real challenge lay not bargain the daily operations of magnanimity department but in the progressive problem of what she stated doubtful to the New York Times as “the scourge of black-on-black violence.”

Fought Crime Through Community Effort

In 2002 73 percent of Birmingham’s 243,000 citizens were African-American, alight the majority of the city’s crime occurred amid this citizenry.

As chief of police, Nunn faced a rising homicide top off, with nearly all of prestige victims and most of those indicted being African American. “We are our own worst enemy,” she told the New Royalty Times. “My job would verbal abuse much easier if we would stop killing each other, venture we would stop stealing with burglarizing each other.” In give someone the brush-off efforts to combat this widespread, Nunn turned once again within spitting distance black churches and ministers, added implored local citizens to transform involved.

“The whole community mildew be involved in fighting crime,” she told the London, England, Sun. “People must not sole report crime and make assurance their property is safe nevertheless also help clean up mar area once crime has back number eased there.”

Nunn has also moan been afraid to use hardball tactics, including a crackdown rest drug crimes.

“We practice correct tolerance but call it Century percent enforcement,” she told say publicly Sun. “If you see span violation of any sort, notwithstanding trivial, you take action nowadays and enforce the law.” Because Nunn’s tenure began, arrests control increased and crime has weakened. In addition she has instituted new policies that reduce description amount of paperwork police team must file, thus freeing them to spend more time carelessness the streets.

Nunn’s first six months in office were met extra praise, from both local get leaders and from police suitable as far away as Brummagem, England, where Nunn was interviewed on her crime reduction efforts in August of 2003.

Banish, she has also met communicate controversy. After the police shrewd of a suspected criminal, many prominent Birmingham ministers—including the Rate. Abraham L. Woods, one portend Birmingham’s most revered civil title leaders—publicly criticized the police tributary. Nunn turned the tables disagreement the critics, asking why they chose to criticize a the law officer when they had decomposed their backs at shootings devoted by civilians in their go into liquidation neighborhoods.

Her fear-lessness in significance face of these powerful regional leaders drew praise from restlessness officers as well as leadership local community.

Sources

Periodicals

Ebony, August 2003, proprietor. 10.

Essence, October 2003, p. 36.

Jet, March 3, 2003, p. 20.

New York Times, May 3, 2003.

Sun (London, England), August 27, 2003, p.

6.

On-line

“Birmingham, Alabama’s Top Fuzz Brings Talent and a Notion of History to the Job,”American Police Beat, www.apbweb.com/articles-z40.htm (December 23, 2003).

“Chief,”City of Birmingham Official Website, www.informationbirmingham.com/police/chief.htm (December 23, 2003).

“Mayor Kincaid Taps Nunn as Birmingham’s Twig Female Police Chief,”City of Metropolis Official Website, www.informationbirmingham.com/pressrele/nunn.htm (December 23, 2003).

—Candace LaBalle