Renault Robinson was one of Chicago's few black police officers in the 1970s. He was a founder of the Afro-American Patrolmen's League.
We first learned about Robinson from Studs Terkel's book Working. Studs went around the country in the 1970s interviewing people about their jobs. Robinson's interview is one of the most powerful parts of the book. He is incredibly honest and blunt about what it was like to be a black police officer, and about the tensions between the police and the black community.
A few years ago, we interviewed Robinson for our series "Working, Then and Now." When you listen to his words from the 1970s, and from 50 years later, what's most striking is how much things haven't changed.
Teenage Diaries Revisited 1-Hour Special
A Guitar, A Cello, and the Day that Changed Music
Mandela: An Audio History
The Last Man on the Mountain
The View From the 79th Floor
Teenage Diaries Revisited: Juan
Burma ’88: Buried History
Teenage Diaries Revisited: Melissa
Teenage Diaries Revisited: Josh
Teenage Diaries Revisited: Amanda
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Criminal
Ear Hustle
Song Exploder
The Truth
the memory palace