In response to white Chicagoans mocking the first Black fire crew in 1872, they wanted to prove themselves as good, if not better
CHICAGO -- The year after the Great Chicago Fire, city officials kept their fingers crossed and hired six Black firefighters. The Tribune reported on Dec. 6, 1872, that a Black fire company would be stationed on the foot of May Street, and cautioned those who might decide to protest: “Any infringement on the rights of the members by the people residing in the vicinity will be punished by the ...
CHICAGO -- The year after the Great Chicago Fire, city officials kept their fingers crossed and hired six Black firefighters.
The Tribune reported on Dec. 6, 1872, that a Black fire company would be stationed on the foot of May Street, and cautioned those who might decide to protest: “Any infringement on the rights of the members by the people residing in the vicinity will be punished by the removal of the engine.”
That was a credible threat in a city where 300 had been killed and 100,000 made homeless by the enormous fire of 1871, for which the city’s Fire Department was woefully unprepared. New pumpers were acquired, including one to be staffed by the city’s first Black firemen.
Even if
