William Henderson Foote was a deputy collector with the U.S. Treasury in Mississippi in 1883. A forerunner of today's ATF special agents, Foote enforced liquor laws and arrested moonshiners who were more inclined to kill his kind, so-called 'revenuers,' than be taken into custody.
It was an already harsh job made nearly impossible because of who Foote was," said Todd Jones, acting ATF director.
"Being the deputy collector to collect taxes in Yazoo City, Miss. was a tough gig," said Jones during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. May 14. "But being African-American in post-Reconstruction south who has a gun and a badge with federal arrest authority? An incredible story of courage."
