Isaiah McKinnon, Ph.D., is busier in his retirement than he ever imagined he would be. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. At age 81, he has no plans to slow down; he loves city of Detroit too much not to give back to it.
McKinnon sits on the Board of Trustees for Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Among other commitments, he serves as a board member for the Rosa Parks Foundation and the Ceciliaville recreation center. He spent time on the board of Catholic Charities USA and continues to work with the organization.
“I’ll never fully retire,” Dr. McKinnon said. “Part of my life is helping or assisting as many people as possible. I figure this is my time to do whatever I can.”
Being on the board for Sacred Heart is an honor for Dr. McKinnon. As a boy, he never dreamed he would be helping to shape a seminary as a trustee, or even that he’d be Catholic. He converted to the faith as an adult, guided by his wife, Patrice, his sons, and his friend, Msgr. Patrick Halfpenny.
After being beaten by a police officer at age 14, Dr. McKinnon made the decision to be a police officer to do his part to effect change. He served with the United States Air Force, spending a year in Vietnam. In 1965, he became one of the first Black officers in the Detroit Police Department, eventually being appointed Chief of Police.
Dr. McKinnon promoted “community policing” in the city during his five years as chief. The directive sent police officers into neighborhoods to get to know the people living there, instead of interacting with them only when trouble arose. The approach helped officers develop relationships and trust with residents.
Raised in Alabama until age nine, Dr. McKinnon cited an early memory of a priest of a local Catholic church walking through his neighborhood, talking to people and shaking hands.
“I thought it was great. I remember thinking, ‘Here’s this white man walking around and talking to the Black kids,’” Dr. McKinnon said. “There's no question that having that background influenced the way I ran the (police) department.”
Dr. McKinnon retired from the Detroit Police Department in 1998. He then accepted a position as a tenured professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he had served as an adjunct professor previously. From 2014 to 2016, he served as deputy mayor of Detroit.
As a trustee for Sacred Heart, Dr. McKinnon is pleased to know that seminarians spend time in the community as part of their formation, whether ministering at nursing homes or encountering others in the community with St. Paul Street Evangelization.
“There’s nothing more important than getting to know people,” Dr. McKinnon said.
In 2018, McKinnon was asked to speak to seminarians at Sacred Heart, sharing his experiences and reflections from his childhood and from his time as a Detroit police officer. He told the men about the time he was part of the security detail for Nelson Mandela’s visit to Detroit in 1990. After a brief conversation in which Mandela asked Dr. McKinnon his reason for becoming a police officer, Mandela observed, “You think with your head as well as your heart. That’s what you did, and that’s what I did. This is what you’re doing to make a difference here.”
Dr. McKinnon relayed that message to the seminarians in hopes that they will “think with their heads as well as their hearts” as they live their life of ministry. He also hopes they will inspire people in their parishes to do the same.
“I think the biggest challenge for priests is getting the people in the parishes to see that they can make a difference, to help them see what they can do, and to see that we are all brothers and sisters,” Dr. McKinnon said.
Dr. McKinnon enjoys visiting Sacred Heart and talking with faculty and seminarians. Since he is still afforded the privilege of using the mayor’s suite at Tiger Stadium, he sometimes invites seminarians to join him for a game.
While Dr. McKinnon is in his second term on the board of the seminary, he hopes he can make a difference at Sacred Heart, just as he encourages others to do.