Robert B. Powers

Biography

Birth and youth

Robert "Bob" Boyd Powers was born October 3, 1900, in Las Vegas, New Mexico. He was the second eldest son of Stephen and M. Powers, themselves both born in Kentucky. By 1910 he had an elder brother Joshua, two elder sisters and three younger sisters. All the siblings were born in New Mexico. Father Stephen had been born around 1866 in Hawesville, Kentucky. His grandfather had many years of service as a soldier, lawyer, and banker in Kentucky. Through his grandfather Powers is kin to Tom Powers and Hiram Powers. Stephen Powers did not serve in the Civil War, though the state sided with the Union, and the family has traces back to Ireland before 1771.

Powers dropped out of school in the fifth grade. He worked as a personnel sergeant in 1920, and the US Census had his as a soldier at Camp Furlong near Luna, New Mexico. He later worked as a clerk in the office of the chief of cavalry in Washington, D.C. until 1922. In the US Census had the Powers family of Robert and Mildred living on 19th St, Bakersfield renting a home paying $30/mth (about $470/mth in 2021 dollars ), listed as a traffic officer. He developed an interest in traffic patrolling and management of security for schools. He also undertook professional training at the University of California, Los Angeles police school, and the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. In late March his father had died in Coronado. Powers was also a strong voice in determining successive chiefs through to 1966. His appointed successor was able to close the remaining 11. Under his review the marchers were allowed to take murdered bodies to City Hall to make their protest, noting, (when interviewed in 1970,) "Their motives may have been to turn this country 'Red', but their activities in attempting to get a living wage for the workers were certainly justified." and Warren let Powers be in charge. Of course the matter was covered in many newspaper stories. However, as time went on the importance of the case, at least to Powers, had more to do with the increasing prominence of Earl Warren. It proved difficult to get the right funding with no officers hired by March 1941. However the first was hired and by the spring of 1942 what women officers and staff should wear was an active area of conversation.

Probed by political backlash Powers had run across a local politician taking a bribe and sought prosecution. Through assistance with then attorney general Earl Warren a case was pursued but ended in a hung jury. Powers took a leave of absence and for a period in World War II Powers and his lead staff were all enlisted in the Coast Guard from May 1942 to July 1943, ending service as chief gunner's mate, and instructor in gunnery. as wartime state committee on law enforcement under then Governor Earl Warren.

In December 1944 Powers wrote for the committee advising fair treatment of Japanese as the war ended. Powers worked under Kenney on the peaceful return of the Japanese returnees with the War Relocation Authority and aided returning Nisei who had suffered vigilante attacks in August 1945.

Race relations In early 1945 Powers was directed to a race relations meeting in Chicago with the new American Council on Race Relations and began an endeavor of learning himself and then promulgating race relations issues across police departments. The first major project of their cooperation then started in Richmond, California with Davis McEntire, in September. The work brought together leaders of the California Department of Corrections, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Japanese American Citizens League, and a Nisei, second-generation American of Japanese descent, US Marine. Together the social norms and prejudices of the day were vented, discussed, and broken down across a week of open-ended discussions. Following the training incendiary incidents arose in the community and the police took novel actions ensuring fairness and peace was retained. The Saturday Evening Post covered it in "Cops don't have to be brutal", December 28, 1946. Following this numerous police departments even outside California were informed of the training and a booklet A Guide to Race Relations for Peace Officers (including excerpts in the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper.) There was a prospective project by the young American Council on Race Relations using it and Kenny and Powers had worked on a documentary film on race relations and police departments but Frederick N. Howser, the next Attorney General, dismissed Powers and the project. Out of this Powers was on a short list of leaders in the field though more recent scholarship critiqued the program for not including the local minority leadership of the time.

Powers retired from police service in 1947 He was attracted by the Baháʼí teaching of an unfettered search after truth. It was written by one of the first Jews of Canada to join the religion. This approach was reflected in his essay for the radio program This I Believe by Edward R. Murrow entitled "I stopped carrying a gun" in 1954.

Los Angeles Powers first appears publicly presenting the religion in February 1948 giving a talk in Los Angeles Baháʼí Center. That year he also publicly reflected on his career in law enforcement writing two articles for the Saturday Evening Post - a two part series "Crime was my business". and continued service in 1950. He gave several talks advertised in the African-American newspaper California Eagle across 1949. Around the same time he served on the Los Angeles Spiritual Assembly, and gave a talk "Religion too is indivisible" for World Religion Day in Fresno, noted as chair of the Teaching Committee of the Western States. In 1950 he cooperated in an effort to integrate a school in Duncan Arizona supporting a local civilian and fellow Baháʼí - Betty Toomis - and then attorney Stewart Udall - Powers was among the people who received votes to fill the vacancies of the national assembly created by the pioneering of Dorothy Beecher Baker and Matthew W. Bullock, amidst a system that has no electioneering.

Around these activities Powers was called upon by the State Assembly Committee on Crime and Correction to investigate a situation in Oakland that suggested police brutality in confronting communists and black-power protestors - issues that continued into the Berkeley riots (1960s). Powers found evidence that convinced him there were several murders by police being pushed into confrontations by leadership. into 1956 and was accorded the title Knight of Baháʼu'lláh for his service to the religion while there.

Arizona The Powers were listed as homefront pioneers for Yuma, Arizona, in early 1954. Powers and son Stephen were visible in September 1956 in a Baháʼí youth group in Tucson and in December 1959 he attended the Arizona state Baháʼí convention coming from Flagstaff. Powers suffered a stroke about 1960 and 1962.

Bakersfield The first known Baháʼí in Bakersfield was Mrs. W. H. Repogle who died about March–April 1934. A talk on the local radio station then named KPMC (now KNZR (AM)) broadcast a Baháʼí's story in 1938. A community of Baháʼís is visible by 1964 and giving public talks in Bakersfield in 1965. Stephen had returned to Bakersfield before 1965 and begun working for the police department, the very year that first female office of the Bakersfield police, hired by his father, retired. However, after working for the force for 3 years Stephen testified against the police, as a policeman, about an incident in Bakersfield resulting in a race harassment case against the police, and then father and son received harassment. Wife Mildred died in Tucson in 1973.

Oklahoma City Powers was visible as part of the Baha’i community of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma which was profiled in April 1976 including being photographed, one of some 800 in the state and 45 adults in Oklahoma City.

Powers died there in December aged 76. The event was marked in Bakersfield. The show remains available. In the presentation the commentators reviewed his forward thinking efforts and the wide scale of his reading across religions and they were struck by his pursuit of knowledge from an awareness of Lawrence of Arabia to actually reading the Qur'an, the way the Bahá'í quote "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens" was emphasized in his life and was found when there were so few Bahá'ís around, and the way the New Testament inspired him to "put down his gun".