By Edward Henderson | California Black Media
The legacy of Black firefighters in California is built on stories of bravery and perseverance in the face of social and legalized discrimination.
As Black History Month comes to a close, California Black Media (CBM) honors the courage and service of Black firefighters in the state who were pioneers and torchbearers for future generations.
Sam Haskins became California’s first documented Black firefighter in 1892. Born a slave in Virginia, he migrated to Los Angeles around 1880, seeking a better life for his family. Haskins worked as a “Call Fireman,” filling in for sick or injured firefighters. Well-liked throughout the city, Haskins tragically lost his life in an accident in route to a distress call.
To honor his service, Councilman James Ashman directed the Fire Commission to organize an engine company of all Black men. This paved the way for Lieutenant George W. Bright to become the first Black member of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) in 1897.
Arnett Hartsfield also played a key role in the history of Black firefighters in California. After serving in the army, he joined the LAFD in the 1940s while earning degrees from both USC and UCLA. Despite his qualifications, Hartsfield was denied promotions and forced to work in segregated firehouses. At the time, Black firefighters could only be promoted within the city’s two African American fire companies, with opportunities opening only when someone left a position.
To challenge these injustices, Hartsfield and 30 others formed the Stentorians, a fraternal organization for Black firefighters, to fight for desegregation. With the legal precedent set by Brown v. Board of Education, they successfully integrated the department. Hartsfield later retired to become an attorney and professor of Black Studies at Cal State Long Beach, also serving as historian for the African American Firefighter Museum, founded in 1997.
Retired Captain Brent Burton, a former Stentorian president, credits Hartsfield’s mentorship as instrumental in his decision to become a firefighter in the 1980s.
“I went down to his house, I’m 16, and he invites me in. He has a slide carousel going in his living room against the wall and he’s showing me all these old images of the Black firemen at the turn of the century, the early 20s and 30s. And I’m looking at this like, wow,” said Burton. “So, my mind was just totally open and that’s when I fell in love with the history. I hung out with Mr. Hartsfield for 32 years before he passed away.”
Burton’s passion for the service helped him ascend quickly to the rank of Captain within the LAFD by age 28. However, he still faced racial prejudice from White colleagues.
“As a probationary firefighter, you know, going places and these guys are straight out saying, ‘you know, my son can’t get on the job because we’re hiring all these minorities.’ And I said, he must be talking about me,” Burton remembered.
During his 10-year presidency of the Stentorians, Burton helped report and fight cases of discrimination within the department.
“I remember all the cases that we would help guys with. Letters we would write. Meetings with the fire chief. Bringing up racial incidents. And then, of course, the hiring,” he said. “There has always been problems hiring. It seems like our best people don’t get hired.”
Captain Robert Hawkins, the current Stentorian president with 22 years in the LAFD, has seen firsthand the discrimination Black firefighters still face.
“You hear things like low representation of Black firefighters, the racial treatment that they endured. Although it was horrific back then, we still have a lot of the systems involved that are meant to hold us back. A lot of the racial slurs that are being said in the fire service and low representation of Black firefighters,” Hawkins stated.
Despite the numerous accounts of racial discrimination within the LAFD, there have been two African American fire chiefs. Millage Peaks was appointed the first African American Fire Chief in 2009 and Brian Cummings followed Chief Peaks’ 2011. In 2011, Daryl Osby was appointed as the Fire Chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, marking the first time an African American held this position in the department’s history.
“I find it interesting that, in 1954, they used terms describing Black firefighters as having a retention problem, being unsafe for themselves and for the fire companies. And we hear those same things today when describing our new firefighters,” he continued.
Hawkins believes that understanding the rich history of Black firefighters who excelled and fought injustice will help current servicemen achieve equality. Despite ongoing challenges, he remains proud of his profession and hopeful for the future.
“I’ve tried to work, in my same community, to serve the people that look like me and don’t look like me, to make sure I could treat everybody as if they were millionaires despite their living circumstance. Whether they are homeless or living in a $10 million mansion. That’s the greatest joy I get. Especially when I can see a young person that looks like me, that looks at this profession and is inspired to do the same thing,” Hawkins said.
