A Word on Words; 2622; Carl Patton

building so you know once again welcome to word on were a book they'd ralph reflection from a black police chief a guest charlie patton welcome to word on words but in football it's good that we're talking to talk about about big round of the late big ralph the gentle giant of the chattanooga police department who started at the rank of patrolling and worked his way right to the top and it's an interesting approach of taking this book because it's not just the marquee is a biography that is surrounded by the history of past and present a racism in america talk for a minute about that approach to buy about radical account well as a writer

i feel that you have a particular freedom like when you are creating a poor mr this is surreal expressions on a bike riders to be delivered to grow mold to write a biography just like how everybody else has written a biography so when i started researching and are gaining noticed room but ralph regarding his part biographer we don't talk about anything that regard to the civil rights movement and i felt that it would be best served to place in an active listening and it would make the book even more interesting well i've i found that the fsa two of you look at the approach first wall from slavery when you when you when you delve into that hole is to the above that slave heritage that legacy that that even today still haunts is one thing to deal with is the natural resentment that that flowed from it you write

about how love a father who was denied the identity of fatherhood with the nine slaves talk about that resentment a little bit because it seems to me that that exists in society today to exist and one ralph join the police force and he managed to overcome whatever reason you felt as is as you said a call and the gentle giant well many of the problems that are black people expressed today one can trace the development are in slavery are as a historian wants to look toward a historic development of something where did it begin to do good hand alone all what is it about so in reference to fatherhood are and our resentment in regard to certain institutions a certain people want to look at this whole legacy of slavery

owned plantations are black people were brain it often times others like cattle and they head north was built to support the children are and all of this whole family allowing situation that we have so over time some of his things have carol that we still have some black people even today they have their latest in the family setting of family values and our respect for the fathers and our responsibilities to the children you also in that same world a book clearly on a deal with the e m first noted and rolled played by people like booker t washington bun b b b warns frederick douglass

marcus garvey and i was surprised or perhaps i should have been because when i read what you have written critically ago of almond from left from atlanta exposition speech that the water lake isle a surprise then you'd describe him as the old little bit about about about the well armed as the writer and a black historian we have responsibilities to make an analysis of our history that's not to say that people outside our community cannot make a problem else's but surely i could not go to east india and be most correct and look in at this sort of all of the care system and things like that i might be able to make for some piecemeal austerity and it will be some of both so black historians of the so called black scowl the intellectuals really have a

responsibility to correctly look at some of these issues and black leadership is very important i think when we look at the writings of booker t washington is critical pasta in regard to white america we find that he did not work in the best actors of the masses of black people and always maintained a comparative analysis between a washington and for the douglas county water that says but he wasn't and chain all are all policy right out the slavery that at that point i'm black people were twenty years old at this labor that one could not have a black men could not have an attitude of them wanted was miss it but for the dallas not express that the gratitude imposter it was born and sleigh ride that made around eating carrots leeks bacon flavored e i was with a man that was it had pride in his racial are orphans and he stood up for all black people in reference to them being i respect and and people with dignity and when we look at our this whole attitude wasn't in and we look at

ah the power that be in there and they're critical inches we see that he was designated as a leader audrey job controlling all the black community well because he lived and that exposition address with longtime for ralph became a lot less less less delve into ralph life because that's the other side of what you take why'd you take me and that strain from slavery to the civil rights movement very effectively in and we ultimately come late to book you will for that point where oh where the civil rights movement began to take hold and supreme court decision again to change things is at something about us a lot but but ralph fits into into that history and i thought a very unique way and he was and he was on the apparent

to head great pride talk about them were they were grandma died when the rays tried to i guess when an inn in the service and more war to arm when his father was a little slow i was at a man that had great dignity in albany and ralph respect him greatly his mother was a church leader and they taught him basic family values family values civic stand tall community some people think that only are the so called republican got right of all the people in a dissonant than a viable threat of it as a positive for all people so they the heck this can a real upbringing in regard to allowing been religious ruling ever by the fed are realizing that the deposit later having a mother and father to teach and died two and throughout life you realize these things and what often i realized that when when certain youngster did not have their

particular background that they missed out on something that he would try to make up for that as a police officer he rented a while put people in jail we were timid as my job i have to do that it would rather have that status community programs are recreational programs boxing leads and things like that which i had built a pretty good there will support it up is mother of the best he was the best thing woman as you said he and he'd expected him to be and a good churchgoing citizen is also a quotation they're from or was it a bridge then that the cb robinson unlike the state legislator from our lead story it's very very funny i thought well ms beiser well she would just go with ct runs in and she felt that she was smart and as he said how the work that they'd name of rejected this man when she had to help him like with his homework

course at robison with this longtime politician at all now unrivaled police department as a roman it was saying it was a different place an infant talk a little bit about what he bumped into the air well in the sixties when there was a move to include a black presence within please support across this nation is when ralph cochran came all around nineteen sixty four he's fallen law first mention the possibility to write and why katherine didn't want him to do it she would were no word that it was so dangerous right michael to avoid right my father had been involved politically to some degree with the republican party and at that time in seven that you had certain political contacts and all you could help someone builds up so that a police officer when they were moving to include black

was considered a pretty good job and ralph did not have a real desire to work in the founders and seven and so muscles that did not was she was fearful of what happened right that all police work was dangerous but along route and his military background and have interests in egypt to succeed in art was just think about all he really took to police work and you work and seven through the ranks the landau and anywhere they will survive corruption at the tijuana police department of this notable odd and one time he did not receive a promotions because he was honest from the time he came on the force and he would not be involved in payoffs and things like that when other guys were moving up in the ranks because they we're more open to that re upstate evident that but in time he moved up because of his leadership qualities but there were raised there was quite a bit of racism all in the department and of course

blacks now allowed to risk why people weren't before that time the officers before that time were not allowed to address why people and on this was something new but that they would say then as they moved through the sixties a decade on to the seventies things changed considerably you mention that he was a big man and elaine kahl and she played basketball played by escobar really was in the air force we came out here for the wife of was interested in the in medicine he got a job an airliner ideas while he was still looking for an early gospel while he was still looking for him replace it's interesting to me that that given the racism that was pervasive in the police are rejoined that he was able to move up detective work of repairing serve at those

levels even though all races and ages not i guess he began well before we ever heard of and call affirmative action right but but what was it what was it about the drought that you think made the difference what was it that attracted attention to him ultimately as we go through the book we find that he was that he was always calm and face a riot always common in the face of of danger always calm love in the face of tragedy we also find that the audio towering physical presence of me knew he was around you knew there was a policeman or out in the house or in the room but beyond that there must've been so characteristic of that that lifted him up and put him apart from her mother's who also could be calmer more so

an imposing presence so it was a simple yet this uncanny ability of that we note in the book that when he would color line a with psychotic all right patients are people have been arrested their muscles that the fire that he had this knack of just dealing with these people to calm down the same count are are guilt we saw all the one riot situations where he could walk out and also for products which is the largest housing products and seven in the end as quill and disturbance the people have been out there shooting on the rooftops of the graft would walk in the midst of all of this and then to say nothing isabella and all the leaders selling medicare a weapon now when he was a narcotics detective and things like that it's listed he didn't care and gun he didn't like in another gun and a house he had a gun in the trunk of his car and seek an updike a

machete or something and you probably would have a problem that's a fine but didn't really like the carrot beyond even like our own but people really respected his presence and here that this all told we could just talk to people and to scour raises hay and valves hum and people would just respond and it's just was amazing just say this there came a time when i guess at least without you though its roman i guess realistically we sweep out the young and always want police departments and undo the day of the day the time when will please without a really came to play a role and in his own career talk about the world are bottle rocket the say in the press and seven and this one and doing that they have been real positive and krill oh big royal rulers when he came aboard he put a stop to police

brutality and gotten some foolish or proud of that time that has some serious problem between the police the pollen the black community i knew you recite their incidents there where where are those all came really have a community disgraced right and ralph are was there so he admits the discipline across the board you black white whoever you were if you were in or in in fractions of a lot of the rules of the regulations of the law you were disciplined and get to be removed from the police department you will remove an i also began to see that the community began to see that and eight they found other dozen been the best episode the community are proud of that time that was no real sensitivity toward maybe what the black community felt so black people then felt that they had if we're and you might say within the police department it was unsafe in the white community knew that they had a friend also odd that with that steve because his door was opened in and everybody thought you

could call them on a telephone if you had a problem in the community about an officer awful crime i think and he was well liked and people knew him he had a presence he was always out in the community discuss how he finally was selected to lead that department well that the government won about a change in the law on constitutional commission former government by nineteen eighty nine and ninety and he was appointed in nineteen eighty nine are within the new city government when they brought on the ultimate form of government and by this time big rapid that was pretty good roles assistant chief that he had his leadership qualities you're the first black officer selected to go to the fbi academy and in fact the fbi want to keep him in washington that you would return back to the city that he loved arm and he had demonstrated that he could be the respect of his man and respect in the community and that you the best man for the job and awe

that he had already made him a real impact in regard to this conflict between the black and white communities and so when he would actually point she had made at those problems the us has subsided altogether you know i notice that you used that correspondence letters some of the love letters twain big ralph and catherine avenue q their segments of the book we let those letters tell a story and also is almost a photo album both of his life both his family life and his professional life there at the same time i know that you feel it then in the rainbow it was almost though some advice for avoiding young that i probably should say to people who want to get a copy of a big rouse can do so by writing to call a patent at post office

box sending forty five in murfreesboro tennessee but i know you think that that is your opinion that that those boots of television in the printing of the book over the years the air as it turned out there and you would stop doing about it well on the top with an attorney here that deals with the first human rights and is a good friend of yours are and he had told me that i disgusted with you and that you would be willing to follow your lead election ad be taken that he thought for sure that with your influence that you possibly could help me deal with some of these attacks on our first amendment rights on why not legally or may weaken them a week and follow a path of the program and see what they've been up about the

arm they told us that their life he really he really was robbed of reluctant to do all the service you could go to canton i think that or that your view of a us army he had great plans are up again it'll you would have been able to wear down some resistance in regard to stab that in some the right racial problems we were interested in preventing crime to just locking people up like a mitten before a utility by it's my job to put people in jail and if you commit crimes us without due but he had a great love for the youth he loved to go out to the school to take a swat team to monitor are patrolled and motorcycle patrolman all of the kids love those things and armed he really wanted to stay they happened at a law school that had closed down and he had tried repeatedly to do it a school not an awesome part and

one on the west side of town and the turn into least free slaves and sms racial type facility but amina the menaces in the senate we're not supportive and many the council people would not support they were confused i guess but after his death some of these people began to beat below more positive so it is a really unique situation in regard to this whole of the political arena and sometimes our logic does not exist wes discuss that because there is a white i think there there's a seminal book that deals with politics and the police and and it's not a condition that is unique to anyone say but certainly certainly plays a role in this biography of of a raft describe me of politics that come into play in the book what they get it is you know this isn't all that all

you have politics throughout this country but i would argue that i think that at some of these political factors that we've mentioned are taken to a new level in seven and eight on saturday the typesetting that our political column broke of until you who to vote for what to read oland who will go out with are and how they do this is that it you've threatened by losing your job and sometimes <unk> primarily about say employees would write an end and did the change in government bring about a change in politics but they could say the government really brought about a societal commissioned time come into the government run ibm in riyadh we get for blacks or place on the city council and i initially we had some independents and then some would not independent so we have had some

significant changes in regard to the change in government but there's a local always ago one thing i'd like to know now is that i we have a new mayor and senator jon kenzie are we have to have a reason to place at a new chief chief dotson you've done so as a christian man on this the kansas seems to be quite fair they just recently renamed the police armour summer app a rough coffin it took the name oft that was previously there which was in rob's the past man who had been previously found police commissioner and they unveiled three boss oh a lot of the two so others <unk> he's trying to do something that not apologize for the activities of the previous administration an island i don't expect that they would but i think that in the future in the control and salomon one cannot stop true social no matter how much money one has on lookout now as the amount they will not continue to control channel like as a plantation but they could eventually you have democracy throughout the valley all that all

black people are poor people though that had been dispossessed will have equal rights and where the freedom of vote for whoever they would like to vote for the read whatever they would like to read and not feel threatened have anxieties about losing their jobs and i've been able to take it if i am so i am optimistic about some changes and seven and we got the truth will stay and you can remove me buy me up sharply up in little pieces of killed me for what i stand for dr chu will stand it will move on some of the great prophets lives and they beheaded him but this calling russia's the good news still spends so you cannot stop true for both the stand in the way of two the tribe and the constitution will not be successful they may stop afford middle of this like a great running back you keep coming and keep coming tell me how you write off a new sound and you write longhand already use a computer or a typewriter apart with his prose about is how

our buyers go about their work will become really serious scholarly type work i love longhand write longhand and all ten and then take notes palm if i'm going something you have a certain freedom a formal about historical novel where you can create these characters and all and i can just get on the computer and do some of that work but and best serve their work with with the more serious work ah by writing longhand notes as i go along and anne and i categorize and and and make amid ongoing outlines of that work and i pod this right girl in the mornings eu of you do it early morning rain and why you think that i was an apple that what you think but they get minus first the rest that you know that you can get on the computer and do like all it'd work you know to get there quite tightly together really do a consumable about thinking on you you don't have the sort

of you know up to your work when you try to stay up to three o'clock in the morning and actually create something unlike in writing portrait is the best seven minus four second look out maybe have a stream of look out at the trees at the sky and you just didn't think we are an ant and then in the more creatively socket enjoy writing this i mean some thought of someone is ten minutes painful ride but it but others say that there's a real joy i was a week you was a state is we're going out and book i don't like that you can really put together these manuscripts that that takes so much time if you really don't enjoy at a bank it's ruined no no