jon on Nostr: “Williams’s career as a firefighter began on January 10, 1919. His credentials ...
“Williams’s career as a firefighter began on January 10, 1919. His credentials and connections did little to shield him from the onslaught of hate and discrimination he faced upon joining the department. Williams was assigned to Engine 55 on Broome Street, the Italian section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. On Williams’s first day, the captain of the firehouse retired at roll call, and every fireman in the house, refusing “to work with a nigger,” requested transfers. Recognizing that no one would work with Williams if FDNY brass caved to these demands, the FDNY’s fire chief and fire commissioner (the two highest positions in the department) froze all transfers for one year so they could maintain full manpower at Engine 55 as well as any other company that Williams or another African American might be appointed or transferred to in the future.”
— Black Firefighters and the FDNY: The Struggle for Jobs, Justice, and Equity in New York City (Justice, Power, and Politics) by David Goldberg
https://a.co/hC84mLnPublished at
2025-02-08 20:12:18Event JSON
{
"id": "205d890464ae6caa1ebea65ca007ac9614e9c2e1f12def4b887ba2d9a851aa8e",
"pubkey": "72d33fdd9766caffa20823758e1d4b945955149e05b9ca5603708c1ca421c284",
"created_at": 1739045538,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"r",
"https://a.co/hC84mLn"
]
],
"content": "“Williams’s career as a firefighter began on January 10, 1919. His credentials and connections did little to shield him from the onslaught of hate and discrimination he faced upon joining the department. Williams was assigned to Engine 55 on Broome Street, the Italian section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. On Williams’s first day, the captain of the firehouse retired at roll call, and every fireman in the house, refusing “to work with a nigger,” requested transfers. Recognizing that no one would work with Williams if FDNY brass caved to these demands, the FDNY’s fire chief and fire commissioner (the two highest positions in the department) froze all transfers for one year so they could maintain full manpower at Engine 55 as well as any other company that Williams or another African American might be appointed or transferred to in the future.”\n\n— Black Firefighters and the FDNY: The Struggle for Jobs, Justice, and Equity in New York City (Justice, Power, and Politics) by David Goldberg\nhttps://a.co/hC84mLn",
"sig": "e2be0da3127d44164525ecd106f1eb10c9db12438ff8c1e715e210f2f071be7e264f9b3564d0212cd4094368415ce27ecad6a0334498e67fd18eec12c3adc9e4"
}
