A White Department in a Multicolored City

The subject of racial disparities in the ranks of the New York City Fire Department is not something that is often discussed in public although its consequences are quite obvious.
In the aftermath of 9/11 – when the FDNY suffered its greatest number of casualties for a single day in the city’s history - it became clear that extraordinary steps were needed to replenish its ranks. The combination of loss of life, personal leave, and retirements created a significant manpower shortage. At the same time that the FDNY was faced with its greatest tragedy, a tremendous pool of potential firefighters existed among men in the black and Latino communities and women of all races.

Historic Exclusion

Historically, the exclusion of these groups from the ranks of the city’s “bravest” has been an embarrassment. And it has raised questions as to the willingness of the department’s leadership to take effective measures to discard procedures at the heart of racial disparities.
According to data from the city’s Equal Employment Practices Commission, as of December 2003, there were 10,918 male firefighters, of which 10,089 were white, 348 were black, and 481 Latino. There were just 32 women uniformed firefighters - nine black and two Latina. That’s about 7.6 percent black and Latino firefighters in a city that is nearly half people of color.

New York ranks behind several smaller cities in the racial composition of its firefighting force. Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Boston have all done a considerably better job increasing the number of black and Latino firefighters. Given the significant demographic changes that our city experienced in the latter part of the 20th century, the FDNY must take dramatic steps to remedy this injustice.

FDNY must remedy
this injustice

Instead, the department seems to be going backwards. A few weeks ago, Nicholas Scoppetta, the fire commissioner, told a City Council hearing that he would not reactivate a cadet program designed to increase the number of black and Latino firefighters. The program, begun in 1999 and discontinued in 2002, was credited with producing 45 nonwhite male and three female firefighters. Even after being asked if he would resume the program if it were allocated an extra $2.8 million, Scoppetta said it was unnecessary because of existing efforts. Yet the latest graduating firefighters class on June 8th contained just 11 black men and a lone woman.

In the last year, it has become painfully clear - based upon the findings of two significant studies we undertook - that large segments of New York City have been permanently separated from employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors.

The first report detailed the degree to which black men are out of the labor market; data revealed that upwards of 50 percent of black males were jobless in 2003 (PDF). Some of the jobless are veterans returning from active duty, yet unable to find work.

The report’s follow-up study details the manner in which black and Latino youth, ages 16 to 24, are neither in school nor in the labor market - totally “disconnected” and drifting. The sheer numbers of the displaced makes the current composition of the city’s firefighting force that much more untenable.

The common response when this issue is raised is to place the blame on the failure of black and Latino applicants to pass the firefighters’ examination. It’s an easy out and one that can no longer be tolerated. A focus solely on test scores to explain the disproportionately high number of white firefighters fails to account for differences in access to test preparation courses and mentor relationships with current personnel.

Legacy Hiring

But perhaps the most significant omission in assessing the FDNY’s racial composition is the lack of honesty in admitting the existence of an invisible quota system: “legacy” hiring of offspring that perpetuates white male dominance in the department.

Rather than just being resigned to this privilege of job inheritance among white firefighters, the leadership of the FDNY has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that opportunities to employment will not be denied, either explicitly or covertly, on the basis of race. It is a situation that has persisted far too long in the department.

Our study on “disconnected youth” calls for apprenticeship training. This policy is worth considering as one tool to increase the number of test readied and qualified black and Latino applicants. It’s time for the fire department to join the rest of us in 21st century New York.

From the New York Amsterdam News
June 16 - 22, 2005