Ronald Kaye Rawlings honorably ended a tour of the US Army as a Military Policeman and began his career as a Clayton Police Officer in North Carolina. After four and a half years as a Clayton Police Officer, he would pursue his life long dream as a North Carolina State Trooper after being turned down three times. For 26 years he worked with the Highway Patrol before he honorably retired with the rank of District First Sergeant and a Master's Degree in Administration.

 

A Black Cop in the South: In Spite of Everything
Click to order via Amazon

ISBN: 0972458662
Pub. Date: January 2007
Format: Paperback, 116pp
Publisher: PENDIUM

What People are Saying

Powerful: "The book carries a strong motivational message, as Ronald perseveres through all the roadblocks, stereotyping and negativity resulting from racism and a disadvantaged upbringing in a single parent home, finally reaching his goal to be a North Carolina State Trooper and surging to achieve the rank of District First Sergeant." 

Moving: "The author shares with us many inspiring and uplifting moments, as well as times of great pain and loss. In the end he clearly demonstrates the power of education in realizing our dreams, but observes that while education can serve as a roadmap, it does not trump racism in the south."

About the Book
A Black Cop in the South is a book written by Ronald Kaye Rawlings. It is about a fascinating true story involving a young black man who was raised in a large single parent, southern family home in North Carolina. Ronald Kaye Rawlings is the author and his dream as a young child was to be a North Carolina State Trooper. He was able to achieve that goal and even more, but the road was filled with pitfalls, disappointments, racism, and tragedy.

Ronald Kaye Rawlings recently retired December 2004 as a First Sergeant with the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Prior to his time on the Highway Patrol, Rawlings worked with the Clayton Police Department in North Carolina where he reached the rank of Patrol Sergeant. Prior to the time on the Police Department Rawlings was a Military Police Officer and an army athlete. Ronald was even a School Safety Officer as far back as the sixth grade. Rawlings dream as a child was not to be a doctor, lawyer or someone famous, but to he always wanted to be a State Trooper and nothing else. Rawlings was able to achieve his education as far as a Master’s Degree but he found out that even education does not diffuse racism in some people.

The journey was a long hard battle through racism in North Carolina as well as the Highway Patrol itself and the court system. Rawlings has written a book about the struggle and the racism he faced while accumulating 32 years in law enforcement in the rural south. Rawlings credits his desire to be a Police Officer ironically to a short bald headed white Police Chief living next door to him in the rural town of Princeton, North Carolina. The old chief allowed Rawlings to dream that it was possible for him to actually be a police officer at the young age of 13. Chief West would sit on his porch and talk to Rawlings for hours about police work and actually listened while Rawlings asked hundreds of questions. During that time there were no black police officers in Johnston County and Rawlings did not know of any in the surrounding counties or black Troopers. He only saw Chief West and Trooper Bracey, who drove his shiny black and silver Highway patrol car pass the school every day while Rawlings gazed at it in amazement. Chief West was so respected in the black community that he never had problems when he went to arrest someone on the other side of the tracks because he always knew how to talk to people. Chief West even allowed his daughter and grand kids to play with blacks in the neighborhood when every one else thought it was sac religious. Chief West and Rawlings became so close their relationship became a father and son type relationship and Rawlings would look forward to seeing how many stupid questions he could ask Chief West. The relationship ended abruptly when Chief West committed suicide. The suicide almost turned Rawlings world upside down, and He just could not understand how Chief West could leave his family and him, but that was just one of the crooks and turns Rawlings went through as he persevered in becoming A Black Cop in the South. The Book must be read in its entirety in order to enjoy and understand the journey.

The Book is published and can be pre-ordered at Pendium Publishing House ISBN # 9780972458665 and available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles, and 25,000 other book companies in mid January 07. Rawlings Web site is Http://www.msamsoft.com/clients/rawlings/

Rawlings is now a School Resource Officer for Eastern Wayne High School, in Goldsboro, N. C. He works for the Wayne County Sheriff Department and he enjoys mentoring young men and women. He admits that they all have better opportunities than he did but the mentoring process is not where it should be for young people

Related Links

Ronald Kaye Rawlings Official Web site

http://www.msamsoft.com/clients/rawlings/

 

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