First African-American appointed to the NYC Police Department on June 28, 1911. Promoted to Sergeant (1926) and later rose to the rank of Lieutenant (1935). Appointed NYC Parole Commissioner by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1941 to fill the vacancy on the Parole Board as a result of the death of Lou Gehrig. He held the position for ten years before retiring.
In 1949 Battle engaged poet Langston Hughes to write his biography. Although never published, the manuscript still exists and is now the basis of a 2015 book by Arthur Browne, entitled, "One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York."
Mr. Battle was a close acquaintance of James Williams, father of Wesley Williams who broke through the color barrier in the NYC Fire Department. Although not the first African-American appointed, he was the first to be promoted to Lieutenant and was the "first" in each of his subsequent ranks of Captain and Battalion Chief. His story was chronicled, also in a 2015 book, entitled "Fire-Fight" by Ginger Adams Otis (who like Browne, was a NY Daily News reporter.)
In 1949 Battle engaged poet Langston Hughes to write his biography. Although never published, the manuscript still exists and is now the basis of a 2015 book by Arthur Browne, entitled, "One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York."
Mr. Battle was a close acquaintance of James Williams, father of Wesley Williams who broke through the color barrier in the NYC Fire Department. Although not the first African-American appointed, he was the first to be promoted to Lieutenant and was the "first" in each of his subsequent ranks of Captain and Battalion Chief. His story was chronicled, also in a 2015 book, entitled "Fire-Fight" by Ginger Adams Otis (who like Browne, was a NY Daily News reporter.)
First African-American appointed to the NYC Police Department on June 28, 1911. Promoted to Sergeant (1926) and later rose to the rank of Lieutenant (1935). Appointed NYC Parole Commissioner by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1941 to fill the vacancy on the Parole Board as a result of the death of Lou Gehrig. He held the position for ten years before retiring.
In 1949 Battle engaged poet Langston Hughes to write his biography. Although never published, the manuscript still exists and is now the basis of a 2015 book by Arthur Browne, entitled, "One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York."
Mr. Battle was a close acquaintance of James Williams, father of Wesley Williams who broke through the color barrier in the NYC Fire Department. Although not the first African-American appointed, he was the first to be promoted to Lieutenant and was the "first" in each of his subsequent ranks of Captain and Battalion Chief. His story was chronicled, also in a 2015 book, entitled "Fire-Fight" by Ginger Adams Otis (who like Browne, was a NY Daily News reporter.)
In 1949 Battle engaged poet Langston Hughes to write his biography. Although never published, the manuscript still exists and is now the basis of a 2015 book by Arthur Browne, entitled, "One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York."
Mr. Battle was a close acquaintance of James Williams, father of Wesley Williams who broke through the color barrier in the NYC Fire Department. Although not the first African-American appointed, he was the first to be promoted to Lieutenant and was the "first" in each of his subsequent ranks of Captain and Battalion Chief. His story was chronicled, also in a 2015 book, entitled "Fire-Fight" by Ginger Adams Otis (who like Browne, was a NY Daily News reporter.)
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