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Eric Adams provided two sessions of oral history interviews addressing the same subjects: his career in the New York police Department, the history of the Guardians Association, and the founding of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. He also goes into some detail about his personal background, including memories about police community relationships in Queens, where he grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, and his efforts to speak out against racism in the police department.

Reuben Bankhead speaks primarily of the NYPD Guardians Association, and its importance to aiding the careers of black police officers during his time with the New York City Police Department. He shares how influential the advice of more experienced police was when he was starting out, as well their advocacy and support for black officers to take promotion exams. He comments on the affect of the lawsuits brought by the Guardians Association, aiding later generations of police officers. He also touches on how policing has changed from the 1960s and 1970s into the 2000s, and the importance of residency requirements to community policing.

This is a group oral history interview with Reuben C. Bankhead, Charles C. Coleman, Lester H. Grissom, Leroy Hendricks, and Robert Nero. They share stories from their time in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. They were all members of the NYPD Guardians Association, and speak about how the organization influenced their careers. The conversation spans racial equality issues in NYPD, including promotion exams, and instances of retaliation for speaking out against prejudice. They describe the conflict between the NYPD Guardians Association and the NYPD Patrolmen's Benevolent Association over the attempted establishment of a Civilian Complaint Review Board in 1966. They also remember several lawsuits reversing discriminatory hiring and promotional practices.

Charles Coleman talks about his experiences working for New York City Police Department from the 1960s to the 1980s. He describes working undercover in the late 1960s during the Columbia University Protests of 1968, his experiences in Harlem as a member of the NYPD Narcotics Division, and his time with the NYPD Guardians Association. He speaks about the importance of having minorities in high-ranking positions within the department and the continuing efforts for equality within the NYPD. He was also on the Civilian Review Board, and comments on some of its structural changes over time.

Caudieu Cook remembers his long career as a police officer in New York City as well as New York State, and as an active member of the Guardians Association. He discusses his experiences of protests in the 1960s for the end of de facto segregation in the public schools, for more minority teachers to be hired, and against the Viet Nam war. He also talks about having seen Martin Luther King Jr. speak, when he was a child, and the impact on his community after the assassinations of King and Malcolm X. Other core subjects include his education, and his work as an officer to speak out again injustice, violence, and racism.

Deatra Fuller discusses her time as a Police Administrative Aide for the New York City Housing Authority Police and for the New York City Police Department in the 1980s and 1990s. Her perspective on the internal operations of a few different Housing Police Service Areas, and New York City Police Precincts, led her to be very distrusting of police, and the New York City Police Department especially. She shares stories of police misconduct, sexism and social pressures in the work place, and the wrongful arrest of her son. Her friendships with members of her union, AFSCME DC37, and with members of the Guardians Association, were positive sources of support. However, after ten years as a Police Administrative Aide she stopped working for police and never went back. Also described in this interview, is her life in Harlem during the 1960s, and her views on current tensions between police and communities of color, as of 2016.

Edgar Jones speaks about his time in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) from the 1950s through the 1980s. The year he started his career, 1949, was the same year the NYPD Guardians Association became officially recognized by the NYPD. He describes what it was like being a member of the Guardians Association in their early days. He describes the challenges to grow the membership and how some of the lawsuits the Guardians brought against the NYPD affected his career. He also details the day to day of working in the NYPD during the three decades he was active time. Some historical events he recalls include his the 1960 New York Mid-Air Collision, USS Constellation Fire of 1960, the shooting of detective William Capers, and John F. Kennedy's visits to New York City.

Patricia Martin describes her time in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. As an African American woman she overcame prejudice to rise through the ranks and gain promotions, and explains some key ways that she was helped by the NYPD Guardians Association along the way. She specifically cites legal actions taken against the NYPD in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Additionally she discusses her childhood in Brooklyn, NY, during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as her experience of the many political awakenings of the 1960s and 1970s. She closes with he views on how the NYPD Guardians Association has evolved over the years and what its role in the future may become.

Gary Miller discusses his time as a police officer during the 1980s and early 1990s. Working as an undercover officer, in the Narcotics Division of the NYPD, he remembers how police politics and racism affected the opportunities afforded to black and Latino officers. He also discusses experiences during his youth in Brooklyn and analyzes racism in America at the time of the interview.

Robert Nero focuses on his work with the Housing Guardians Association, and later the NYPD Guardians Association as an active member and then a retired trustee. He also talks about his views on community policing from his perspective as a Housing Police officer in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, and the importance of building those strong relationships if the NYPD is going to improve in the future. He discusses the impact of racism on officers' careers, from gaining employment and promotions, to harassment and officer safety. While great strides were made during his time on the force, he also expresses how much is left to be done. Other topics include his perspective on community perceptions of police violence, life growing up in Queens, his time in the military during the Cuban Missile crisis.