Valerie (left) and Celeste “Bernie” Flournoy are the daughters of Payton Flournoy Sr., a Palmyra High sports legend and trailblazer who became the first African American police chief in the U.S. and the first in the borough. They spoke at a Black History Month event on Feb. 5.
The Sacred Heart School gymnasium was packed as cheerleaders revved up the crowd for a game against rival Riverton Elementary School in 1970.
Leading the way for Sacred Heart under the boards were Payton “Chipper” Flournoy Jr. and Timothy Flournoy, with players like Michael DeVece, Tim Richman and Michael Grace rounding out one of the best teams in the Burlington County Catholic League.
Big and strong for their ages, the Flournoy brothers were trailblazers as the only African American students in the eighth- and seventh-grade classes. On the court, they were treated as equals and recognized for their play by classmates.
They had big shoes to fill: Their father, Payton Flournoy Sr., was a trailblazer all his life who became the first African American police chief in their hometown of Palmyra – and in the U.S.
“He was always there if I needed to talk to him,” said Timothy Flournoy while listening to a presentation by his sisters during a Black History event on Feb. 5 at the borough community center. “He was always open to what I said, and taught me right from wrong.
“He was the first African American police chief in the whole nation.”
“When Dad was in uniform, he was all business,” his oldest daughter, Celeste “Bernie” Flournoy, told the more than 70 people at the event, which was sponsored by Riverfront Seniors and the borough. “At home, he was different. He was fun and he liked having people over.”
As a young man, “he was very athletic. He played football and ran track,” recalled Valerie Flournoy, another daughter and an award-winning children’s book author.
Born in 1923, Chief Flournoy graduated from Palmyra High in 1942, where he was the captain of the football team and a track star. The two sisters showed slides of him jumping over a hurdle at a meet and running through defenders on the football field.
As World War II raged in Europe and the Pacific, he went to North Carolina as a member of the first African American unit to be integrated into the service.
“He was one of the 20,000 Black men who broke the color barrier in the United States Marine Corps,” Bernie noted. “They were considered heroes.”
“If he was alive when (Barack) Obama was president, he would have received the Congressional Medal of Honor,” observed Valerie, pointing out that her father served his country from 1943 to the year after the war ended, in 1946. “Dad never ever mentioned about his life in the Marines at all.”
Upon his return to Palmyra, Flournoy met Ivy Mae Buchanan. They fell in love and were soon married. They raised five children in their Palmyra home: Bernie, Valerie, the late Vanessa, Chipper and Timothy. Meanwhile, his trailblazing journey continued.
“He was the first African American to attend the New Jersey State Police Academy,” Bernie said.
Flournoy joined the Palmyra police department in 1950, and became chief in 1959, the first African American in the nation to take on the role.
“He liked his job and he loved his men,” remembered Valerie, adding that the officers would come knocking at the door if there was a problem. “Our home became known as the West Palmyra police station. He always kept the police radio on, and if something happened, he was off and running.”
With great pride, the sisters showed slides of articles about their father in Jet magazine that celebrated his many accomplishments, including being the first Black indidividual to serve as president of the Burlington County Chiefs Association.
Flournoy retired in 1975. When he passed away in 1991 at the age of 68, all of the officers he served with paid their respects, Valerie recounted.
Palmyra honored him by renaming the land at the intersection of Cinnaminson Avenue and Broad Street as the Chief Payton Flournoy Memorial Park. The historical marker states: “Chief Flournoy continues to be an example to us all and a reminder to follow your dreams and treat everyone with respect. He was proud of his hometown and Palmyra is proud to honor him.”
The marker also has Flournoy’s picture and one of his quotes: “I’ve had some backing from some beautiful people I’ll always remember.”
To the youngsters attending the Riverton vs. Sacred Heart basketball team in 1970, Flournoy’s stature as a big, strong police officer policeman was a little intimidating when he came to watch Timothy and Chipper play. They have come to learn he was a trailblazing man with a big heart who loved his family, his hometown and his fellow police officers.
They also learned he helped to integrate the U.S. Military and the State Police Academy, and served as the Palmyra police chief with respect, dignity and integrity for 16 years. His family is currently getting some of Flournoy’s mementos together to send to the Smithsonian Museum for an exhibit on their father’s trailblazing journey.
