|
|
Article: Black firefighters battling more than blazes
- Article from:
- The Crisis
- Article date:
- September 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Crisis Publishing Company, Incorporated Sep/Oct 2002. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Before hijackers commandeered jumbo jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City last year, fire department Capt. Paul Washington felt the issues he had been fighting for, particularly Black recruitment, were, as far as the city was concerned, on the back burner.
The terrorist attacks were roundly called a watershed event, and the mantra from world leaders, including President Bush, was that "everything's changed" since Sept. 11.
Now, a year after the attacks claimed the lives of 343 New York firefighters - 12 of them Black - and the nation bestowed new-found respect on the job he loves, Washington, a 14-year veteran, says it's business as usual for Black ...