Guide to the Hadwick Thompson Papers

Sean Heyliger

African American Museum & Library at Oakland

659 14th Street

Oakland, California 94612

Phone: (510) 637-0198

Fax: (510) 637-0204

Email: aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org

URL: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/african-american-museum-library-oakland

Guide to the Hadwick Thompson Papers

Collection number: MS 45

African American Museum & Library at Oakland

Oakland, California

Processed by:: Sean Heyliger
Date Completed:: 06/29/2013
Encoded by:: Sean Heyliger

Descriptive Summary

Title: Hadwick Thompson papers

Dates: 1901-2002

Collection number: MS 45

Creator: Thompson, Hadwick.

Collection Size: .15 linear feet (1 box + 1 oversized box)

Repository: African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)

Oakland, CA 94612

Abstract: Hadwick A. Thompson (1919-2002) was born on November 17, 1919 the son of Hadwick and Edna Thompson of Willows, California and the grandson of California pioneer Alvin Aaron Coffey. The Hadwick Thompson papers consist of twenty photographs, correspondence, business cards, and a funeral program that document the life and activities of Hadwick Thompson as the first African American police officer to join the Oakland Police Department.

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.

Access Restrictions

Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.

Publication Rights

Permission to publish from the Hadwick Thompson Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

Preferred Citation

Hadwick Thompson papers, MS 45, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

Processing Information

Processed by Sean Heyliger, 06/29/2013.

Biography / Administrative History

Hadwick A. Thompson (1919-2002) was born on November 17, 1919 the son of Hadwick and Edna Thompson of Willows, California and the grandson of California pioneer Alvin Aaron Coffey. Thompson was raised in Willows, California and graduated from Willows High School in 1938 before joining the U.S. Navy the following year. During World War II, he was stationed on the U.S.S. Ramsey in Hawaii and witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thompson was eventually transferred to submarine service and stationed on the submarine U.S.S. Pollack for the remainder of the war earning four Bronze Stars.

Following the war, Thompson joined the California National Guard and the California State Police. In 1947, Thompson and Clarence Williams became the first African American police officers to join the Oakland Police Department. Thompson was as a police officer with the Oakland Police Department for over twenty five years, working as a specialist in the community affairs department and supervising youth programs until his retirement in 1973. After his retirement, he continued to work as a police officer with the Bay Area Rapid Transit police force and as a fraud investigator with the Bank of California before retiring in 1992.

Thompson was also active in a many civic and service organizations. He serviced as the president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Oakland Chinatown Lions Club, and was a national director for the U.S. Navy League and was an active member of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Commonwealth Club, California Pioneer Society, and Men of Tomorrow, Inc.

The Hadwick Thompson papers consist of twenty photographs, correspondence, business cards, and a funeral program that document the life and activities of Hadwick Thompson. Photographs in the collection include portraits of the Thompson family, a class photograph of the Chrome School in Glen County, California, Thompson’s activities as a member of the Oakland police department, and several social and civic events attended by Thompson. Correspondence includes a complaint letter written to Thompson while he served on the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and Thompson’s funeral program following his death in 2002.

Arrangement

Series I. Photographs Series II. Correspondence Series III. Printed material

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Oakland (Calif.). Police Department--History.

Thompson, Hadwick.

African American police--California.

African American families--California--Oakland.

Glenn County (Calif.)--History.

Oakland (Calif.)--History.

Photographs

Physical Description: 2 folders + 1 oversized box

Series Scope and Content Summary

Includes 41 photographs of Hadwick Thompson working as an Oakland police officer, Thompson attending political and social events, and assorted photographs of the Thompson family.

Arrangement

Arranged by photograph identification number.

Box 1:4

Chrome School class photograph (Hadwick Thompson back row, 2nd from the left), Glenn County, California [001] 1924

Box 1:4

Oakland police department basketball players [002] circa 1940s

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson speaking to grammar school students, Hoover School, Oakland, California [003] circa 1948

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson in police uniform, State Police Officer Station, San Francisco, California [004] 1947

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson arresting seven bank robbers who robbed eight banks in the Bay Area over a period of three weeks, 52nd St. and Market St. in Oakland, California [005] 1969

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson in police uniform standing in front of Johnny’s Barbershop [006] undated

Box 1:4

Exchanging of badges, pictured (left-right): Hadwick Thompson Jr., Hadwick Thompson Sr., Ken Paulson Jr., Ken Paulson Sr. [007] 1972

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson in police uniform standing in Mexican restaurant [008] circa 1950s

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson arresting man in front of the Clef Club Wolf Records [009] circa 1947

Box 1:4

Group photograph of Oakland fire and police officers, pictured (left-right): B.A. Gray, Willie Thomas, Otto Honore, Jimmie Stanislaus, Ernest Allen, Eugene Jones, Hadwick Thompson, Royal Towns (fire engine) [010] 1953

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson Sr. giving Hadwick Thompson Jr. police badge [011] 1972

Box 1:4

(left-right): Hadwick Thompson, Wade Johnson, Jimmy Perkins, Officer William Lovejoy [012] undated

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson at Police Citizen Committee ceremony [013] circa 1965

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson at Police Citizen Committee ceremony [014] circa 1965

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson with group of men and women at the Men of Tomorrow Christmas dinner [015] 1966

Box 1:4

Portrait of Hadwick Thompson, Faces Around the Bay [016] undated

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson, Martin Luther King Jr., Oakland Mayor Clifford E. Rishell, and members of the Ministerial Alliances of Oakland [017] 1965

Box 1:4

Citizens holding Oakland Police Department award batches [018] 1965

Box 1:4

Men of Tomorrow planning award board meeting, pictured (left-right): Markus Foster, Charles Baker, Hadwick Thompson [019] 1965

Box 1:4

Catholic breakfast meeting, pictured (left-right): Hadwick Thompson, Judge Fisher, Wiley Manuel, Assistant State Attorney General [020] 1951

Box 1:4

Judge Joseph Kennedy, Hadwick Thompson, Miss Men of Tomorrow, Inc., Lionel Wilson, [021] 1965

Box 1:4

Adele Thompson Anderson and unidentified man at the Larks Club, Berkeley, California [022] 1939

Box 1:4

Hadwick Thompson teaching police science class at Merritt College [023A/B] 1978

Box 1:4

Hardwick Thompson with grandsons Eric Thompson (left) and Odell Sylvester (right) in football uniforms [024] 1989

Box 1:4

Chrome School class reunion [025] 1965

Box 1:5

Portrait of Thompson family, pictured (left-right): Sally Mae Thompson, William J. Thompson, Edwin Thompson, Hadwick Thompson, Stine Thompson, Sacramento, California [026] 1901

Box 1:5

Portrait of Col. Alvin Coffey [027] undated

Box 1:5

Unidentified man smoking [028] circa 1940s

Box 1:5

Hadwick Thompson riding tractor on his rice farm in Williams, California [029] 1987

Box 1:5

Hadwick Thompson and Mitch Daniels in Oakland police uniforms [030] circa 1947

Box 1:5

Edna Ora Thompson reading to her children Hadwick Thompson (right), Adele Thompson (far left), and Betty Thompson (left) [031] circa 1920s

Box 1:5

Hadwick William Thompson, Edna Ora Thompson, and unidentified man [032] 1941

Box 1:5

Portrait of four men in military uniforms, pictured (left-right): Edwin Thompson, three unidentified soldiers, France [033] 1918

Box 1:5

Portrait of Thompson family, pictured: W. Hadwick Thompson (standing), Edna Thompson (seated), Hadwick A. Thompson (seated on chair arm), Adele Thompson (standing), Elizabeth Thompson (seated) [035] circa 1920s

Box 1:5

Portrait of Hadwick Thompson and Lily Aubert Thompson [036] 1943

Box 1:5

Portrait of Peter J. Williams [037] undated

Box 1:5

Portrait of Orafina Coffey Williams [038] undated

Box 1:5

Edna Williams standing next to fence [039] undated

Box 1:5

Hadwick Thompson in police uniform [040] undated

Box OM21

Society of California Pioneers certificate recognizing Hadwick Thompson as a descendent of Alvin Aaron Coffey [041] 1986-11-25

Box 1:6

Correspondence 1986-1990

Physical Description: 1 folder

Series Scope and Content Summary

Includes a letter written by an U.S. Navy commander to Hadwick Thompson as a representative of the National Black Chamber of Commerce complaining about service he received while in Oakland. Also includes an invitation to a reception honoring Colin Powell.

Box 1:6

Printed material 1989-2002

Physical Description: 1 folder

Series Scope and Content Summary

Includes Hadwick Thompson's funeral program, biographical timeline, business cards, and the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club roster which includes a photograph of Thompson.