Bay Area

Black Firefighters’ Long Struggle for Equality in Oakland

Published

4 years ago

November 7, 2019

They were young, brazen heroes who faced danger and death during their tenure as Oakland’s first Black firefighters. Nearly a century ago on January 1, 1920, the first Black firefighter joined the city’s Fire Department, with two others to follow a short time later.

“These three men worked in the same firehouse on Eighth and Alice streets as their white counterparts, but on separate shifts,” said Marco Frazier, library assistant and blogger at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland. “It wasn’t until 1925 that the first all-Black firehouse Engine #22 opened in West Oakland at 3230 Magnolia St.”

“After the hiring opened up, 25 other Blacks were brought in, which resulted in the need for additional firehouses to handle the overload. Two other firehouses, Engines #33 and #28 were later opened in the Oakland hills,” added Frazier.

Frazier further noted that “the working conditions for Black firefighters were not comparable with those of their white counterparts. Firefighters, along with the NAACP, challenged the status quo of the Oakland Fire Department (OFD) and sought changes in the working conditions. They began to fight back against racial, discriminatory and segregation practices.”

After the NAACP became involved, the OFD “integrated” on June 1, 1952. However, Samuel Golden, a Black firefighter termed this move as “token integration.” Mainly because in integrated firehouses, Black firefighters were not allowed to use the refrigerator, so their mates had to bring them meals while on shift. Additionally, the Black firefighters had to bring their own bedding because white firefighters would not let them use theirs.

According to Frazier, because the Black firefighters needed further support to confront discriminatory practices, Oakland labor leaders C.L. Dellums and Tarea Hall Pittman became instrumental in getting Oakland fire and police departments to integrate. Golden, insisting on more action, pressured the city manager for a change to eliminate discrimination practices. The city manager capitulated and had the department hire light-skinned firefighters to integrate an all-white station.

However, this form of integration still didn’t settle well with Dellums and the NAACP, who, in 1955, approached the Oakland city manager to voice their concerns. As a result, official integration took place on Aug. 5, 1955. After integration, whites and

Blacks worked fires as a team, but the attitudes of the white firefighters remained the same. These attitudes remained until younger, white firefighters replaced older retiring firefighters.

“Moving up the ranks was tough,” said Frazier. “The first Black firefighter promoted in the OFD was Royce Troyce. He was promoted to engineer in the early ’30s at Engine No.22. Pat Taylor was promoted to become the first Black lieutenant at the OFD and became captain in 1949, the highest ranking black in the OFD until 1973 when Sam Golden made battalion chief.

Previously, Golden had been promoted to the rank of engineer in 1958, lieutenant in 1961, captain in 1964 and battalion chief in 1973. In 1981, he became the first Black fire chief in Oakland.

For more information on early Black firefighters in the Oakland Fire Department, please review the archival interviews of Samuel Golden and Lamont Ewell at the AAMLO or visit the oaklandlibrary.org.

Clifford L. Williams

Posts by Clifford L. Williams

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”