The theme for this week's Manic Monday meme is 'fire'. I thought it would be a good idea to honor Black firefighters since it is Black History Month.I met Cortez Trotter, the first Black fire chief of Chicago, at a banquet a few years ago. We take it for granted that African Americans can serve anywhere in our society now that we'r
e in the Obama era. However, it wasn't so long ago that firehouses were extremely segregated. The story was pertinent enough to become a movie. Do any of you remember Richard Roundtree in 1973 movie, 'Firehouse'?Cortez was the first Black fire chief in Chicago. Other cities that hired their first Black fire chief in recent years include:
- Akron - Charles Gladman (1997)
- Chattanooga - Wendell Rowe (2005)
- Charleston - Leonard Judge (2005)
- Chicago - Cortez Trotter (2004)
- Cincinnati - Robert Wright (2006)
- Decatur, GA - Toni Dixon (2009)
- Denver - Rod Juniel (2001)
- Fort Worth - Charles Gaines (2002)
- Framingham, MA - Ollie Gadson (2005)
- Indianapolis - Joe Kimbrew (1987)
- Jackson, MS - Joseph Graham (1996)
- Los Angeles - Douglas Barry (2006)
- McKeesport, PA - Frederick Bray (1994)
- Milwaukee - Douglas Holton (2007)
- Mineapolis - Alex Jackson(2008)
- Newport News - L.L. Orie (1968)
- New York City - Robert Lowery (1965)
- Oakland - Samuel Golden (1981)
- Pasadena, CA - James Shern (1972)
- Pittsburgh - Darryl Jones (2007)
- Red Bank, NJ - Noel Blackwood (2008)
- Shreveport - Kevin Cochran (1999)
- St. Louis - Sherman George (1999)
- St. Paul - Douglas Holton (2003)
- Warren, MI - Wilburt McAdams (2008)
- Washington DC - Burton Johnson (1973)
