# Bertha Whedbee

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African-American suffragist and police officer

Bertha Whedbee first African American woman to become a police officer in Louisville 1922

**Bertha Par Simmons Whedbee** (1876 - 1960) was an activist, [suffragist](/source/Suffrage), and first [African American](/source/African_Americans) woman to become a police officer in [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky).

## Biography

Whedbee was born as Bertha Par Simmons in [West Virginia](/source/West_Virginia) in 1879.[1][2] She later became a [kindergarten](/source/Kindergarten) teacher, graduating from the first class of the Colored Kindergarten Association in 1901.[3][2][4] She married a physician, Ellis D. Whedbee, in 1898.[2] They moved to [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky) and had four children together.[5] Whedbee became involved in the [women's suffrage](/source/Women's_suffrage_in_the_United_States) movement in Louisville.[6]

In 1919 Bertha Whedbee was inspired to become a [police officer](/source/Police_officer) herself after local police officers arrested her 17-year-old son, Ellis Jr, as a [robbery](/source/Robbery) suspect.[2] Later, the officers charged Ellis with disorderly conduct and a $10 fine.[2] Whedbee didn't believe the charges and confronted the police about the charges, where she was then arrested and charged with a $10 fine as well.[2][7] Bertha's fine was later suspended, but the fine for her son was upheld.[8][9] The Whedbees filed a suit against the police station master.[2] On March 3, 1922, she presented a petition that she be appointed a police officer.[10] Whedbee went on to become the first African American woman to work for the [Louisville Metro Police Department](/source/Louisville_Metro_Police_Department) when she started on March 22, 1922.[11][12][10] Her mandate was to work only among other African Americans in the community.[10] She worked on the police force until 1927 when she resigned in protest when the other African American officers were dismissed by a new city administration.[13]

Bertha Whedbee died in 1960.[14] She was buried in [Louisville Cemetery](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louisville_Cemetery&action=edit&redlink=1).[1] There were no [headstones](/source/Headstone) for either Bertha or Ellis Sr. Whedbee until they were installed in 2018.[15]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) ["Bertha Whedbee"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92988349/the-courier-journal/). *The Courier-Journal*. 2020-03-01. pp. E6. Retrieved 2022-01-19 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:2_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:2_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:2_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:2_2-6) ["Bertha P. Whedbee (1876-1960)"](https://www.lwvky.org/significant-women-in-kentucky-history-2/bertha-whedbee). *League of Women Voters of Kentucky*. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_3-0)** ["Bertha Whedbee"](https://kcaah.org/women-in-history/bertha-whedbee/). *Kentucky Center for African American Heritage*. 25 February 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Six Graduates"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4372896/bertha-whedbee/). *The Courier-Journal*. 1901-06-19. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-01-21 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Dr. Ellis Whedbee"](https://networks.h-net.org/dr-ellis-whedbee). *Humanities and Social Sciences Online*. Retrieved 2022-01-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["African American Women and Suffrage in Louisville"](https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/770f9123d9584795916a12282bdf0865). *ArcGIS StoryMaps*. 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2022-01-21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Negro Boy's Mother Arrested When She Demands His Release"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93137479/the-courier-journal/). *The Courier-Journal*. 1919-05-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-01-21 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Negro Boy is Fined for Abusing Police"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93137637/the-courier-journal/). *The Courier-Journal*. 1919-05-10. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-01-21 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["One Policeman Is Fine and Another Cleared by Board"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93137854/the-courier-journal/). *The Courier-Journal*. 1919-05-21. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-01-21 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_10-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:3_10-2) Childress, Morton O. (2005). [*Louisville Division of Police: History & Personnel*](https://books.google.com/books?id=qPa5vHU470YC&dq=%22bertha+whedbee%22&pg=PA71). Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. p. 71. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59652-060-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59652-060-8).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Famous Firsts: Law Enforcement"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27911085/black-history-month-bertha-whedbee/). *The Courier-Journal*. 2007-02-01. pp. B1. Retrieved 2022-01-19 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Negro Policewoman is Appointed in Louisville"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92989983/lexington-herald-leader/). *Lexington Herald-Leader*. 1922-03-23. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-19 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Mattingly, Carol; Allen, Ann Taylor; Luken, Alexandra A.; Dietz, Collen M. (2020). [*Louisville Women and the Suffrage Movement: 100 Years of the 19th Amendment*](https://www.cavehillcemetery.com/assets/pdfs/news/louisville%20women%20and%20the%20suffrage%20movement-%20100%20years%20of%20the%2019th%20amendment%20%281%29.pdf) (PDF). Louisville, Kentucky: Cave Hill Heritage Foundation. p. 23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Kentuckiana Deaths"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4372687/whedbee2/). *The Courier-Journal*. 1960-05-01. p. 75. Retrieved 2022-01-21 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Hasch, Brooke (February 20, 2021). ["From Kindergarten to Cop | The story behind Louisville's first Black female police officer"](https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-louisvilles-first-black-female-police-officer-moments-that-matter/417-000c6ce4-4a71-49bf-ab37-0ac055863fcf). *WHAS 11*. Retrieved 2022-01-19.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bertha Whedbee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Whedbee) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Whedbee?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.