Margie Annette Hawkins Duty (August 28, 1922 – April 23, 2001)[1] was an African American law enforcement officer. She was the first black woman to serve on the police force in Houston.
Biography
Duty was born in Jennings, Louisiana.[1] Duty married Nathaniel Duty, who later joined the military, in Shreveport in December 1945.[1] Nathaniel was stationed at Ellington Air Force Base and the couple moved to Houston.[1] Prior to joining the police force, Duty worked at the Houston Housing Authority.[2]
Duty started working as a police trainee in Houston in July 1953.[3] Duty was not able to attend the police academy in Houston.[4] When she joined, there had already been three black male officers, making her the fourth African American on the force.[5] She was assigned to the Juvenile Division, where there were fewer instances of prejudice than in other departments on the force.[6][7] However, Juvenile did have two different seniority lists: one for white officers and one for black officers.[7] There were also separate bathrooms and water fountains for black and white officers.[5] Duty stayed in the Juvenile division as a plainclothes officer for twenty-three years.[7] She later worked for eleven years in the jail.[7]
Duty retired from the police department in 1986.[7] She died on April 23, 2001, and was buried in Houston National Cemetery.[1]
References
Citations
Sources
- Roth, Mitchel; Kennedy, Tom (2012). Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department. Denton, Texas: University of North Texas Press. ISBN 9781574414721.