Marguerite P. Justice

Marguerite P. Justice (July 1921 – 17 September 2009) was the second woman, and the first black woman to serve as a police commissioner in the United States.[1]

Early life

Marguerite P. Justice was born Marguerite P. Lecesne in New Orleans in July 1921. She was the youngest of the three children of her parents, Albert and Louise Lecesne. She moved to Los Angeles in 1945 and found work as a seamstress. In the early 1950s she became the private secretary to actress Linda Darnell. In 1954 she was to marry Pittsburgh Courier columnist Don Brown, but instead left her job with Linda Darnell to marry William H. Justice (who she had met at church that same year).[2]

Police Commissioner

Marguerite was appointed to a two-year term on the 5-seat Los Angeles Police Commission in 1971 by Mayor Sam Yorty becoming the second woman, and the first black woman to be named to the Los Angeles Police Commission. Her experiences were loosely adapted for an episode of the TV series "Adam-12". She was affectionately known by the LAPD as "Mama J". (NOTE: That very episode of Adam-12 was "Clear With a Civilian." It's a 2 part episode 14 and episode 15 during Season 5. At the end we are told "MRS. MARGUERITE P. JUSTICE THE FIRST AND ONLY WOMAN POLICE COMISSIONER IN THE UNITED STATES" This was in 1972.

Community Service and Activities

Marguerite became a well-known community activist in Los Angeles, and once stated in a 1971 Los Angeles Times article, "I'm fortunate to be married to a fine man who has provided me with leisure time for community work". In 1969, Marguerite formed a service group known as the Southwest Sweethearts, supporting the Southwest Division of the LAPD. The group was used during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics to set up a hospitality house for police officers that ran around the clock, providing meals and showers for the officers. Marguerite was given the Police Historical Society's Jack Webb Award for "her sustained commitment to law enforcement". She helped the society with its remodeling of its historic exhibit of LAPD uniforms, which was named the Marguerite Justice Gallery upon completion. She was appointed in 1984 by Governor George Deukmejian to the Bicentennial Commission for the U.S. Constitution. Marguerite worked with various youth groups, such as the youth fellowship program at St. Mark United Methodist Church, in the Los Angeles area throughout her life. She died at Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.[3]

References
  1. "Marguerite P. Justice and the Case of the Missing First Name - latimes.com". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  2. Jet - Google Books. Johnson Publishing Company. 1954-04-15. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  3. Nelson, Valerie. "Marguerite P. Justice dies at 88; first black woman to serve on L.A. Police Commission". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
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