Archive Record
Metadata
Accession number |
A2000.001 |
Collection |
Phoebe Smith Collection |
Title |
Phoebe Smith Collection |
Catalog Number |
A2000.001.010 |
Object Name |
Book |
Credit line |
courtesy Mr. Powell |
Dates of Creation |
1964 |
Access Conditions |
Open for research |
Copyrights |
Held by the publisher. 1964, cat # 6414668, Publ. Greenwich BK NY, NY , LCCN# 64014668 |
Scope & Content |
"The Black Imp" by Virgil Powell: hard cover book with jacket. |
Biographical History |
Virgil Powell was born near St. Joseph, Missouri in 1891. His parents were born into slavery, but were freed by the Emancipation Act in 1863 and received their freedom accordingly. In 1909 Powell graduated with high honors from Bartlet High School. He then went on to attend the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. In his freshman year at KU Powell played football, but attending school was difficult financially, and scholarships for black athletes was rare. In 1918 Powell came to Cedar Rapids intending to stay only for a two-day visit, and decided to stay. Through a friend Powell obtained a job driving a coal truck at Haskel Coal Yard, which was a large local company at the time. Then, he attended the first auto-laundry car wash in Cedar Rapids. Years later Powell also operated a successful car wash service. Powell and his partner Bill Olivan would wash, clean, grease, and oil cars. Shortly after moving to Cedar Rapids, Virgil joined the military in 1918 and was stationed at Camp Dodge. He was honorably discharged the same year. In the early part of the twentieth century, there was no social security for retired workers, and after hearing about pension plans for police officers, Powell applied for a position at the Cedar Rapids Police Department. Powell received a high score on the police examination, but the police department hesitated in giving him a position. The media speculated that it was a matter of prejudice, and many in the community spoke out in support of Powell. Finally, in August 1924, four months after the examination, Powell was offered a position at the police department. His new job helped Powell to become the first black police officer on the force. After serving on the force for five years, Powell was promoted to the Identification Bureau. In his new position he became a finger print expert, and helped establish the Identification Bureau as one of the best in the Midwest. Powell later became the Head of the Identification Department, and after twenty-two years of working for the police department, Powell retired in 1946. During the late 1940's, Virgil took up the application of writing music. He ended up writing dozens of different songs. Virgil was also accepted into The Nation Sings, of the countries finest publications out of New York in 1952, with the song "I'm Riding and Dreaming." His singles have also been published in newspaper music lists In addition to his music, he was an avid historical writer. He had such books as Adeline: A Child of Yani, 1979; From the Slave Cabin of Yani, 1971; A Fury of Passion, 1983; and Notable Black Americans all published. His book on Notable Black Americans won fame with TV shows and radio broadcasts. WMT Broadcast Company decided to publish the book in 1971. Virgil also had written a great deal of short stories and lectures. Outside of music and publications, Virgil was also a very active member in his community. He committed his time to "African American Heritage Week," the "Cedar Rapids Negro Civic Organization," and the "Freedom Banquet" in 1978. Virgil Powell died on October 18, 1989 in the care of the Smith family. Virgil Powell and the Smith family had been close friends for several years. When Virgil became ill and was no longer able to take care of himself, the Smith family took him in. Virgil died at the age of 99 from Hyperkalemia. |
Search Terms |
Cedar Rapids Writers Authors - Cedar Rapids Authors Books African American authors |
People |
Powell, Virgil |
Creator |
Virgil Powell |