Mary Horn, African American History, Black History, Black Law Enforcement, Tulsa History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

Throwback Tulsa: Mary Horn, city’s first black policewoman, was a crack shot | Tulsa World

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Throwback Tulsa: Mary Horn, city’s first black policewoman, was a crack shot | Tulsa World



[dropcap]Twice[/dropcap] widowed with four children to raise, Mary B. Horn applied for a job with the Tulsa Police Department, although friends warned her she was too old at age 42.

In 1939, Horn became Tulsa’s first black policewoman. And, despite the naysayers, she proved to be a crack shot with a pistol.

“I hadn’t shot a gun once in my life but I wasn’t afraid to try,” she told a Tulsa Tribune reporter in 1985.

Mary Horn, African American History, Black History, Black Law Enforcement, Tulsa History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

In her first trip to the police firing range to practice, she scored bulls-eyes in her first dozen shots. She carried a gun for 23 years as a TPD officer, but never had to use it. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

“That’s pretty successful as far as I’m concerned. Thank the Lord,” she said.


Mary Horn, African American History, Black History, Black Law Enforcement, Tulsa History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN