A Matter of National Security

By Joseph B. Muhammad

The International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABPFF) has monitored discrimination in hiring, job assignments, and promotions since our inception in 1970. Although this is not all encompassing of our core values, we have an extensive history of data indicating these components of conflict. Our findings to this dilemma also lead to consequent lawsuits, thus too often producing a behavior of bigotry, racial slurs, harassment, and demeaning treatment in the firehouse.

Disparity in fire personnel or disparity in community fire protection cannot be tolerated. This is the reason the IABPFF supported the City of New Haven regarding the Frank Ricci, et al., v. John DeStefano, et al. case presented before the Supreme Court. That is the reason we contend, whether it is EMS or DHS, diversity is a sign of strength for our country and is a matter of all our security. As shown through the experience of safety force departments throughout the country and the military, diverse organizations make better decisions, in no small part because they have the benefit of many different viewpoints at decision-making levels. They are also more cohesive and respond better to the needs of the communities they serve, being better able to effectively communicate with the diverse neighborhoods in which they operate.

The fire service’s relationship of trust with its communities is the critical element of fulfilling its mission and operating successfully. This necessitates that fire services reflect the image of the communities they serve. Since our fire service personnel are the nation’s first responders, encompassed within the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it is an integral part of our national security and ability to respond to all forms of emergencies.

We released this statement after the Supreme Court decision:

  This decision by the Supreme Court affected the ability of New Haven to voluntarily comply with Title VII. We are surprised that the Court changed the rules in the middle of the game for any municipality seeking to voluntarily comply with Title VII.

  However, the decision does not affect the right and ability of any minority firefighter to challenge any promotional examination that unlawfully discriminates, including—and especially—those in New Haven. Their rights remain completely undisturbed by this decision.

  In fact, we believe this decision reinforces the ability of minorities to challenge questionable and discriminatory promotional examinations.

  It only affects the city of New Haven by defining and heightening the standard by which a city must adhere in order to voluntarily comply with Title VII in the face of exams that appear to have discriminatory impact.

  It must also be borne in mind that the disparate impact standard should apply equally to all members of every race, gender, or national origin.

  Our attorneys are reviewing this decision. The evidence is very clear that the New Haven examinations were not validated, nor did the Supreme Court find them to be valid. It is also clear that they appear to have a discriminatory impact on the minority firefighters in New Haven. Our path has been made clearer by this decision, and we will proceed accordingly.

Since the publication of our release, we have studied many scholars and subject matter experts. We agree with Lani Guinier and Susan Sturm’s “Trial by Firefighters” (Op-Ed, New York Times, July 10, 2009):

  Exams like the one the New Haven firefighters took are neither designed nor administered to identify the employees most qualified for promotion … what we need most: a clear-eyed reassessment of our blind faith in entrenched testing regimes.

  New Haven used a multiple-choice test to measure its firefighters’ retention of information from national firefighting textbooks and study guides. Civil service tests like these do not identify people who are best suited for leadership positions. The most important skills of any fire department lieutenant or captain are steady command presence, sound judgment and the ability to make life-or-death decisions under pressure. In a city that is nearly 60 percent black and Latino, the ability to promote cross-racial harmony under stress is also crucial.

  These skills are not well measured by tests that reward memorization and ask irrelevant questions like whether it is best to approach a particular emergency from uptown or downtown even when the city isn’t oriented that way. The Civil Service Board in New Haven declined to certify the test not only because of concerns about [the] difference in scores between the black and white firefighters but also because it failed to assess qualities essential for firefighting.

  As Justice Ruth Ginsburg noted in her dissent, tests drawn from national textbooks often do not match a city’s local firefighting needs. Most American fire departments have abandoned such tests or limited the multiple-choice format to 30 percent or less of an applicant’s score. In New Haven, the test still accounted for 60 percent of the score. Compounding the problem, insignificant numerical score differences were used to rank the firefighting candidates.

  What should a city do when its promotion test puts a majority of its population at a disadvantage and is also unlikely to predict essential job performance? People who excel on such a test may expect to be promoted. But testing should not be about allocating prizes to winners. No one has a proprietary right to a particular job, even if that person worked hard preparing for a test.

  When a city replaces a bad test, as New Haven wanted to do, the employees who did well on it do not lose their right to compete for promotions; they merely need to compete according to procedures that actually identify people who advance the mission of saving lives and property—and enhance the department’s reputation in the community for treating all citizens with respect.

As a result of the civil rights movement, the IABPFF was originally established as an advocacy organization. It has always known that the “tradition” of the fire service and its testing scores has produced disproportionate numbers regarding blacks and others. Although some people may believe the tests were fair and others may believe the results of the tests led to the conclusion that blacks and Latinos lack the ability or initiative, nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone with knowledge of the history cannot deny that too many fire departments, with the support of their local unions, have had a history of discrimination in our profession. The U.S. Department of Labor statistics and lawsuits across the country, both past and present, document this unfortunate fact. The International Association of Fire Fighters is now partnering with the International Association of Fire Chiefs to improve diversity. The same is occurring with the National Fire Academy: Chief Kelvin Cochran has been nominated as director of the U.S. Fire Administration.

All of these efforts appear to be moving toward a common interdependency and a higher level of humanity, and we look forward to being at the decision-making table to improve this condition. However at the same time, in addition to New Haven, fires of another kind are burning in cities like Houston, Jacksonville, St. Louis, and New York, just to name a few. We know this discussion is a process, and while some will see this as a potential gain for others and others will assert their political interests no matter the outcome, we are all facing the possibility of a society in dire need of our service.

Some people fear change is contagious, like an epidemic with no known cure. They are also afraid of catching it. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation brings everyone together annually as a result of line-of-duty deaths. Why? Because fire, disaster, and death are nondiscriminatory. The U.S. Supreme Court decision has given us the opportunity to illuminate the disparity that exists and to monitor who is willing to be just as nondiscriminatory as fire, disaster, and death. This is a reminder that the IABPFF is still committed to “Keeping the Fire Burning for Justice” and to insist diversity is a matter of our national security.

Author’s note: This article is meant to encourage constructive conversation and reflective thought. It is to identify correlated issues that affect the success of the fire service and promote the idea of shared responsibility.

JOSEPH B. MUHAMMAD is the president of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABPFF). He is a 22-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the White Plains (NY) Fire Department.