ABOUT US

Lt. John Alliston White Sr. is the oldest member of the Mobley-Giles-Willis Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 at the current age of 99; he will turn 100 on October 27, 2024.  Lt. White originally joined Lodge 7 on July 6, 1984, the same year that he retired from the Savannah Police Department marking over 40 years as a member.

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Lt. White was Savannah's first black police officer and the first Black sworn-in law enforcement officer in Georgia.  He served the city of Savannah and the Savannah Police Department for 37 years.  Lt. White is the last surviving member of the original nine black police officers who integrated the Savannah Police Department in 1947.  Lt. White said he was wrapping up a tour as one of the first contemporary U.S. Marines when his mother submitted his name to become one of the first black officers for Savannah Police Department. He was among 60 black men who were first approached to be Savannah’s first black officers. They were considered based on their character, intelligence and military service. Those candidates were narrowed down to 16.  For four months, those 16 trained at the old Masonic Temple, secretly taught by judges and lawyers.  In the end, nine men were selected to be the city’s first black police officers and Lt. White was the first to be sworn in.

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Lt. White got the opportunity to become a police officer after Chief James Rogers visited Miami, Florida, where police had integrated a few months before Savannah.  Chief Rogers was initially hesitant to hire black officers.  The road for the original nine officers was harsh as they were faced with continued discrimination, adversity, and numerous inequities, even from within the police department.  The black officers were not allowed to arrest white citizens.  Before Chief Rogers died in 1948, Rogers had asked the nine black officers to be his pallbearers.  However, that honor stopped, at the church door.  Due to discrimination at the time, Lt. White stated they could remove Chief Rogers' body from the hearse and carry it up to the church doors but were not allowed inside.

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Lt. White retired in 1984 as a Sergeant after 37 years of service with the Savannah Police Department.  He received an honorary promotion from Sergeant to Lieutenant.

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Lt. White served as a United States Marine in the Pacific theater during World War II. There, he became part of the 51st Defense Battalion, the first black combat unit.

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In November 2018, Lt. John White was recognized by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. View Video

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Just before his 90th birthday, Lt. White was named Honorary Chief for a week.  When officers picked him up for events that year, they noticed the house White had lived in since 1960 needed repairs. So, a plan was set in motion to help the history-making lawman. The Savannah-Chatham Police Department joined with the United Way of the Coastal Empire to spruce up Lt. White's home.  It has almost been ten years since and there are needed repairs again. 

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In previous interviews, Lt. White stated that he received an award from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover for arresting a serial killer.  He also received accommodations from Presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.  He even received the Congressional Gold Medal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Obama Administration in 2012.

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One of his most personal achievements was being the bodyguard assigned to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he visited Savannah.  Lt. White said he kept a relationship with Dr. King’s family throughout the civil rights movement, even when making arrests during those political demonstrations. Now, more than 70 years since he was sworn into service, he said it brings him lots of joy to know he paved the way for so many.

 

“I’m proud to say that I am a living example to see the changes that have been made in America,” Lt White said.

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Lt. White was honored by Congressman Buddy Carter on the U.S. House floor on December12, 2018.  Congressman Carter stated “I recognized Lt. John White for his service to both our nation and the City of Savannah on the House floor. Lt. White served as a United States Marine in the Pacific theater during World War II. There, he became part of the 51st Defense Battalion, the first African American combat unit. When he returned from war, he was recruited by Chief James Rogers to join the Savannah Police Department. On May 3, 1947, Lt. White became the first African American officer in the State of Georgia, where he continued to serve for 38 years. He is now the last surviving member of the original nine African American police officers who joined the Savannah Police Department. I want to thank Lt. John White for his monumental service which paved the way for other African Americans to go to work each day and serve their communities in the State of Georgia.”  View Video of Congressman Carter’s Tribute

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In November 2021, just after his 97th birthday, Savannah city officials and law enforcement gathered at the corner of Wheaton and Bouhan Streets, to unveil Lt. John White Avenue, the Honorary renaming of his home street of Bouhan. View Video