"Lafayette-AlonzoTillman" (March 15,1858-1914)

Little is known about Lagayette's early life he graduated high school and

managed to attend Oberlin College of Ohio and embarked on on a singing career as a bass.He supplemented his singing by working as a barber and restaurant owner.By 1889,Lafayette had moved to Kansas City,Missouri,where he opened a new barber shop and became a leader in the African American community.He also studied law at the Kansas City School of Law but never completed a formal degree.

After the onset of the Spanish-America war nine years later,he enlisted in the U.S.Army,earned the rank of first lieutenant,and joined the  black forty-ninth Infantry Regiment in its battle against Phillippine insurgents between 1899 & 1902.Soon after he returned to Kansas City,its white residents,recognized his patriotic service and skills by hiring as the second African American policeman in the city's history.

The opportunity for African Americans like Layfayette to be hired into public service in Kansas City was quite unusual in its day.African American even had authority to arrest white law-breakers,which would have been seen as radical in many communities.Furthermore,most private businesses and residential neighborhoods accepted African American customers on a non-segregated basis until more formalized segregation gained a footing by the 1920s.

Seemingly progressive in race relations,Kansas City was still a harsh environment for virtually all African Americans who did not have the extraordinary luck,resources and determination of  Lafayette Tillman.By 1920 the city had only 11 police officers,one detective,and one fireman who were African American.

Considering more than 10,000 African Americans resided in the city,these numbers were quite small indeed.By many estimates from the era,three-quarters of Kansas City's African American earned less money than was required for a minimal lifestyle,and few were hired for anything but the most menial jobs.Most lived in the substandard neighborhoods that had been abandoned by whites and had few opportunities for education and careers.Despite these grim odds,some African Americans citizens like Lafayette occasionally managed to garner the respect and admiration of the white community.

He served as a Kansas City police officer until his death from an intestinal disease.He was survived by a son and two daughters who also took up successful careers.His son,L.M.Tillman,went on to serve as a medical doctor at Wheatley-Provident-Hospital,which was the first hospital in Kansas City to cater specifically to African American patients.His daughters became school teachers in Kansas City and in Tipton,Missouri.