By Patrick George
Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas — When Louie White joined the Austin Police Department in 1959, there were only seven black officers, and none of them was allowed to arrest white suspects.
He began his career at a time of widespread racism but persevered and was promoted to captain, later leading the department’s diversity hiring initiative in the 1970s and helping recruit a generation of black officers.
White, described as one of the most influential leaders in the city’s history, died Saturday morning at St. David’s Medical Center in Central Austin. He was 76. The cause of death was unknown.
He served on the force for 29 years before retiring in 1988. But he remained active in the community.
Nelson Linder , president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said White, who served on the NAACP board for 20 years until his death, rarely missed meetings despite health problems. He said White was involved in the firefighters’ union contract negotiations last month.
“He’s the single most important black man in this city’s history, in terms of being a role model,” Linder said.
White was born in Mexia, near Waco, the youngest of eight children. He moved to Austin to be with his older sister, said his niece, Betsy Mayfield.
“I think it was just his love of family and community and wanting to make things better” that drove him to become a police officer, Mayfield said. “He was really sincere about helping anyone he could.”
White didn’t just enforce the law on Austin’s streets; he battled bigotry within the uniformed ranks.
When he joined the department, black officers could work only in East Austin, said Assistant City Manager Mike McDonald , a former assistant chief mentored by White.
The n-word was prevalent at cadet school, White told the American-Statesman in 1992.
In 1972, White put himself in the line of fire to save a hostage and was awarded the department’s medal of valor. But he didn’t get his picture taken at a big ceremony as a white officer would. Instead, a superior tossed the medal onto his desk.
“That was the era he came through,” McDonald said. “He told stories to all of us to say the challenges we faced were minuscule compared to what the first black and Hispanic officers faced.”
Yet White earned many awards and commendations. In the 1970s, Chief Frank Dyson put him in charge of recruiting and training. He oversaw the hirings and careers of many black officers, including Cathy Ellison, who became an assistant chief and acting chief before retiring last year.
She said Saturday that she remembers how White went to bat for the officers he recruited.
“Once he recruited you, he followed your whole career and made sure you were OK,” Ellison said.
She said he wasn’t the type to go fishing when he retired. He spent the next 20 years following the department closely, keeping track of new recruits, and was critical of the use of force against minorities.
In 2006, he was finally given a spotlight ceremony to receive his medal of valor.
Former Chief Stan Knee said Saturday that White was respected by Austinites from all backgrounds and dedicated his life to making the department a better organization.
“I thought he had probably the strongest character of any individual I’d ever met,” Knee said.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said: “Captain White was a man of courage who was known as a trailblazer for others who followed him. He will be sorely missed by the men and women of the Austin Police Department as well as the City of Austin.”
White’s niece, Mayfield, remembered him as the man who used to come by her mother’s house on breaks and make sure everything was OK.
“I think he made a difference,” Mayfield said. “He was one of those special men whom you would hear a lot of men and women say, ‘I respect him.’”
A memorial service will be held Friday evening at David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church on East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Copyright 2008 The Austin American-Statesman