Nat Glover
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Nathaniel Glover Jr. (born March 29, 1943), is an American former
college administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some t ...
and former
police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
and
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
. Glover is considered a pioneer in leadership in Jacksonville, Florida. He was the first
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
elected sheriff in Florida since the end of the
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
. He was a mayoral candidate and served as the President of Edward Waters College, Florida's first institution established for the education of African-Americans. He served as President of
Edward Waters College Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) as a school to educate freedmen and their children. I ...
in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
from 2010 to 2018. Previously he was the Sheriff of Jacksonville from 1995 to 2003, after serving in the
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) is a joint city-county law enforcement agency, which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, Uni ...
since 1966. He was succeeded by John Rutherford.


Life and education

Glover was born and attended public schools in Jacksonville. As a young man he experienced the racism of the early 1960s when he was walking home after his shift at a local restaurant and inadvertently became involved in
Ax Handle Saturday Ax Handle Saturday, also known as the Jacksonville riot of 1960, was a racially motivated attack that took place in Hemming Park (now known as James Weldon Johnson Park or JWJ Park) in Jacksonville, Florida, on August 27, 1960. A group of white ...
.Pemberton, John (February 22, 1998)
"Focus on: Nat Glover"
''
The Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when th ...
''. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
On that day, a group of 200 middle-aged and elderly white men, including some members of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
, gathered in
Hemming Park James Weldon Johnson Park is a public park in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Originally a village green, it was the first and is the oldest park in the city. History Beginnings The area was established as a public square in 1857 by Isaiah H ...
, armed with axe handles and baseball bats, and attacked
Civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
protesters. Glover said he ran to the police, expecting them to protect him, but was told to leave town or risk being killed. A group of black youth who were called the "Boomerangs" attempted to protect the demonstrators. Police, who had not intervened when the protesters were attacked, now became involved, arresting members of the Boomerangs and other black residents who had attempted to stop the beatings. Glover graduated from
Edward Waters College Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) as a school to educate freedmen and their children. I ...
in 1966 and received a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
from the
University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sch ...
; he also graduated from the 130th Session of the
FBI National Academy The FBI National Academy is a program of the FBI Academy for active U.S. law enforcement personnel and also for international law enforcement personnel who seek to enhance their credentials in their field and to raise law enforcement standards, kno ...
. Glover was a starting linebacker and team captain for the Edward Waters College football team, where he was a teammate of Jim "Cannonball" Butler.


Law enforcement career

Glover joined the
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) is a joint city-county law enforcement agency, which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, Uni ...
(JSO) in 1966, becoming an investigator in the Detective Division in 1969 and was promoted to Sergeant in 1974. In 1991, he was named Director of Police Services, one of the JSO's top positions. A political
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
and a long-time police officer, Glover was elected Sheriff of Jacksonville in 1995, and was re-elected in 1999. Glover was serving at the time of the
Brenton Butler case The Brenton Butler case (officially ''State of Florida v. Brenton Leonard Butler'') was a murder case in Jacksonville, Florida. During the investigation of a shooting death outside a motel in 2000, police arrested 15-year-old Brenton Butler and c ...
in 2000, in which the 15-year-old Butler was falsely accused of murder.Pinkham, Paul (February 23, 2001)
"Butler case spotlights interrogations"
''
The Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when th ...
''. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
Butler confessed to the crime, but later testified that two JSO detectives, including Nat Glover's son Michael Glover, had physically attacked and coerced him into confessing. Butler was acquitted and the JSO and State Attorney's Office took the unusual step of apologizing to him. Michael Glover, who denied the allegation, retired from the Sheriff's Office to become a private investigator.Schoettler, Jim (February 18, 2004)
"Teen's book details ordeal of his arrest"
. ''
The Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when th ...
''. Retrieved July 7, 2009.


Mayoral candidate and later life

In 2003, Nat Glover ran for
Mayor of Jacksonville The Mayor of Jacksonville is the chief executive for the city of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Jacksonville currently utilizes the strong mayor form of government, in which the mayor has significant powers compared to the Jacksonville C ...
but was defeated by
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate John Peyton, in the most expensive mayoral race in Jacksonville's history. An African-American had never served as mayor in Jacksonville, until
Alvin Brown Alvin Brown is an American politician from Florida who served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, from 2011 to 2015. He was the first African American to be elected to that position. Brown succeeded John Peyton as mayor after winning the 2011 ma ...
's election on May 19, 2011. Glover's campaign focused on education, economic development, and managing the city's growth. "Jacksonville is poised for greatness. I want to be the mayor that allows us to show the state how great we are," Nat Glover said. The campaign was briefly marred by racism; after Matt Carlucci, a white Republican candidate, endorsed Glover after being defeated in the open primary, his business was vandalized with racial slurs against Glover. Vandals also spray-painted racist graffiti on Glover's headquarters. After retiring from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Glover served on several boards, and was hired as a special adviser by
University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sch ...
President John Delaney, the former Mayor of Jacksonville. Glover and his wife Doris J. Bailey have two children, two grandsons and a granddaughter. He says that the people he most admires are
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
and the Wright brothers. Nat Glover once stated "I always felt like if I could make the children and the senior citizens safe, everyone in between would be OK."


Edward Waters College

During his career, Glover maintained a relationship with his ''alma mater,'' where he is a member of
Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...
fraternity. In 2005, he served on Edward Waters College's presidential search committee, which was formed after a plagiarism scandal led to accreditation problems and the resignation of President Jenkins. That committee took two years to select Claudette Williams in 2007. Glover joined EWC's board of trustees in 2008, and when Williams resigned effective May 15, 2010, Glover was quickly approved as interim president. In February 2011, the position was made permanent. In the summer of 2014, Glover was a finalist for the HBCU Digest male president of the year. I
a story in the Daily Record
Glover recounted his journey to become president of his alma mater. In September 2017, Glover announced that he will be retiring in May 2018.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glover, Nat 1943 births African-American police officers American police officers African-American people in Florida politics African-American sheriffs Florida sheriffs Living people Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida University of North Florida alumni Edward Waters College faculty 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people