Harvey H. Alston Sr., a Columbus policeman and council member, was part of Great Migration

When Harvey H. Alston, his parents and his four siblings moved from North Carolina to Columbus in 1913, his family was one of many Black families who moved from the South to Ohio during the First Great Migration.

The 1910 Census estimated that 12,739 Black citizens lived in Columbus, and by 1913, the year the Alston family moved to the city, approximately 21,500 Black residents lived here.

Most of the new families settled in a burgeoning neighborhood that would later be named Bronzeville or King-Lincoln. The Alston family bought a home at 515 N. Ohio Ave. in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood, not far from the Norfolk & Western railyard on Mt. Vernon Avenue where Harvey D. Alston worked for decades as a stationary fireman.

The first son of Harvey D. and Mary Alston, Harvey H. Alston was born in 1906 in Graham, North Carolina. When he arrived in Columbus with his family he was just 6 years old. He attended Champion Elementary School and Mt. Vernon Ave. Junior High, graduating from East High School in 1925.

Harvey H. Alston joined the Ohio National Guard in 1930, eventually earning the rank of captain before retiring from the Guard in 1949. Alston joined the Columbus police in 1937, becoming just the city's 12th Black police officer.

Alston moved quickly through the ranks, becoming the second Black police sergeant. He was named police inspector (deputy chief) in 1954, the first Black police officer to earn such a high rank within the department.

During his time as a leader with the then-Columbus Police Department, Alston led the training and service bureau, investigated complaints against personnel and filed charges when warranted. From 1950-1954 he commanded the Juvenile Bureau and was recognized as an authority on juvenile rehabilitation programs.

Among his affiliations were the Boy Scouts, the Masonic Blue Lodge, the Ohio Elks and Sertoma, the latter being a community-oriented organization whose name is a derivative of its mission, "Service To Mankind."

Alston retired from the police department in February 1963. He spent his retirement years serving the community, including as a member of Columbus City Council. He served on council from December 1963 to February 1965, resigning before his term expired to allow the appointment of Charles Petree to his council seat.

Beginning in 1972, he served for a time as workhouse superintendent. A year before his death in 1985, the Columbus Police Precinct 6 substation was named in his honor.

Aaron O’Donovan is Special Collections Manager for the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Harvey H. Alston Sr., a Columbus policeman and council member, was part of Great Migration