BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA  (November 21, 2013) – On Monday, Nov. 25 at the Birmingham Public Library, Leroy Stover will share his experiences on the BPD, infamously known for harassing and intimidating African American citizens and civil rights advocates during the civil rights movement 50 years ago..
Stover’s stories are in the new book, Leroy Stover, Birmingham Alabama’s First Black Policeman: An Inspirational Story. He will sign copies of the book from 4 to 6 p.m. in the library’s Arrington Auditorium, 2100 Park Place. The books are $14.28. The Metro Birmingham Branch NAACP is hosting the event.
A Korean War paratrooper, Stover integrated the police department in 1966. He retired as a deputy chief in 1998. As Birmingham commemorates the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement, the 80-year-old Stover said that 2013 was an ideal time to release the book.
“They didn’t spit on me or push me (on the first day.) But they did call me racist names and suggested I wouldn’t last the first day,” Stover said. When Stover entered the police roll call room, all of the white officers went to one side of the room, leaving Stover on the other side. Several of the officers pulled guns out of their holsters, blowing away imaginary gun smoke and using a racial slur while asking who was going to work with him. That incident only happened the first day, he said.
“All of the guys weren’t obnoxious and hateful. Some were very helpful,” Stover said. “But when they got around their peers, I was ignored. And I could understand that because there was peer pressure.”
Stover didn’t let the hate defeat him. He said he stayed on the force because he wanted to make it better for other blacks coming behind him. “I wasn’t going to give up,” he said.
When Stover retired, there were more than 860 police officers on staff, said Stover’s niece, Dr. Bessie Stover Powell of South Carolina, who wrote the book.
Powell’s husband, Dr. Don L. Powell, and Stover, contributed to the book. “We are honored to write his story because it is not only American history, black history but it’s also the first account of Deputy Chief Stover’s bravery and achievement,” Powell said.
To arrange interviews:
Call Leroy Stover at 205-925-7798 or Debra Powell 205-541-4486.
For more information about the book signing:
Call Hezekiah Jackson IV, President Metro Birmingham Branch NAACP, at 205-516-9806.
Press Release courtesy of the Birmingham Public Library.
