Pullen, Carl, 2006 November 30

Carl Pullen grew up in Bridgeport but moved to New Haven after graduating high school to work for the police department. He talks about his experiences as an African American police officer in the city during the Civil Rights movement. Pullen and other minority police officers faced discrimination in the police force. Pullen claims that the examinations for promotion were biased and that minority officers received the worst assignments in the roughest areas of the city, such as his assignment to Dixwell Avenue. In the 1970s, Pullen became involved with the Silver Shield organization, a society within the Police Department that became a force for civil rights and anti-discrimination. Pullen and several other officers filed and won a lawsuit that alleged discrimination. Afterwards, New Haven appointed its first African American Chief of Police and dismantled barriers to promotion for African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and women. Pullen also recounts his experiences with the May Day Strikes and the Black Panthers. After retiring, Pullen earned a Master's degree in History, worked for the Hamden School System, and then joined Yale University's security department. He briefly recounts his experiences at Yale and with students there.

Interviewer: Ma, Ying-Ying