View source for Jack Broomfield

{{Short description|American community leader}}
'''Jack Broomfield''' (1865–1927) was a business leader and noted criminal in [[Omaha, Nebraska]] in the late 19th and early 20th century. He was an acknowledged political, social and economic leader in [[African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska|the city's African-American community]].

== Career ==
Jack Broomfield began his working life as a [[Pullman porter]], until he lost a leg in a train accident. Moving to Omaha from [[Red Oak, Iowa]] in the mid-1880s, he was reputed to be an aspiring criminal boss in the city's Black community. Currying favor with [[Tom Dennison (political boss)|Tom Dennison]], Omaha's political boss, Broomfield raised in the ranks. When the city's previous African American criminal boss [[Vic Walker]] who ran it got on Dennison's bad side around 1890, Dennison gave Broomfield and his partner Billy Crutchfield control of a saloon called the Midway. Along with its bar, the business had a dance floor, gambling hall, opium den and brothel.<ref>Fletcher Sasse, A. (2025) A Biography of Jack Broomfield, NorthOmahaHistory.com. Retrieved Jan 12, 2025 from https://northomahahistory.com/2025/01/10/a-biography-of-jack-broomfield/.</ref> The hangout for men was at 1124 Capitol Avenue near the seedy [[Sporting District (Omaha, Nebraska)|Sporting District]].<ref>Landmarks, Inc. (2007) Retrieved 10/06/07.</ref> [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]] called the Midway the "most notorious dive in Omaha".<ref>Stanton, E. C., Anthony, S. B. and Gage, M.J. (1922), ''History of Woman Suffrage'', p. 382.</ref>

In his new role, Broomfield became a low-scale business leader in Omaha. Accumulating wealth and power, Broomfield became more controlling both within the city's African American community and beyond. After Dr. [[Matthew Ricketts]] left Omaha in 1903, Jack Broomfield stepped into the position of the political leader of Omaha's African-American community.<ref>Larsen, L. H., Cottrell, B. J. and Dalstrom, H.A. (1776), ''Upstream Metropolis: An Urban Biography of Obama and Council Bluffs.'' University of Nebraska Press. p. 217.</ref> 

Critics complained that Broomfield was more interested in promoting his illicit interests with the political boss [[Tom Dennison (political boss)|Tom Dennison]] than promoting the interests of his race. Broomfield had allowed blacks to lose political influence throughout the city, and particularly fell through on keeping the community safe.<ref>Larsen, L.H., Cottrell, B.J. and Dalstrom, H.A. (2007), p. 218.</ref> It was under his leadership that the [[Omaha Race Riot of 1919|lynching of Will Brown]] occurred, but it is difficult to say whether any African-American leader could have prevented such a mob outbreak. He was unable to prevent subsequent [[redlining]] of the [[Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)|Near North Side]] and other forms of segregation throughout the city.

However, his role within the African American community of Omaha positioned Broomfield as a philanthropist and economic magnate. As a private funder of Black-owned businesses, he supported several families becoming successful. He owned several enterprises, including a real estate company that was invested in dozens of properties around the city and beyond.<ref>Fletcher Sasse, A. (2025) A Biography of Jack Broomfield, NorthOmahaHistory.com. Retrieved Jan 12, 2025 from https://northomahahistory.com/2025/01/10/a-biography-of-jack-broomfield/.</ref> He also contracted local African-American architect [[Clarence W. Wigington]] to build the [[Broomfield Rowhouse]] in 1913. Giving money to Black charities, Broomfield was repeatedly noted for supporting the segregated senior retirement facility for Black people in [[North Omaha]], as well as the community-oriented activities of Rev. John Albert Williams of St. Phillip Episcopal Church, the editor of [[Omaha Monitor|The Monitor]] newspaper.

== Family ==
From 1882 to 1908, Broomfield was married. Around 1900, he adopted a son with his wife. Continuing to raise the child after he was divorced, his son [[Leroy Broomfield]] (1902–1971) became an aspiring businessman in North Omaha, operating a dance hall owned by his father and starting a real estate company that eventually merged with his father's business. 

The younger Broomfield was a dancer, and when his father died in 1927 Leroy inherited a small fortune. He went to Los Angeles to become a dancer, eventually appearing on stage and in films across the United States and elsewhere. Later in his career, he became a producer, choreographer, and dance teacher.<ref>Fletcher Sasse, A. (2025) A Biography of Jack Broomfield, NorthOmahaHistory.com. Retrieved Jan 12, 2025 from https://northomahahistory.com/2025/01/10/a-biography-of-jack-broomfield/.</ref>

When Jack died, his funeral was facilitated by Rev. Williams and held at St. Phillip. He was buried in the [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Omaha)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in Omaha.

==See also==
* [[Harry Buford House|Harry Buford]]
* [[List of people from North Omaha, Nebraska]]
* [[Crime in Omaha]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://northomahahistory.com/2025/01/10/a-biography-of-jack-broomfield/ "A Biography of Jack Broomfield"] by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com

{{North Omaha}}

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[[Category:Activists from Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:1865 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:Crime in Omaha, Nebraska]]


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