The Quest for Diversity in the San Francisco Fire Department
Channel: Northern District Historical Society
Date: 2019-12-09

A program presented by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Historical Society on May 1, 2019.

The San Francisco Fire Department hired no black firefighters before 1955, allowed no women to apply before 1976, and hired no women firefighters until late 1987. Today, the uniformed force includes approximately fifty percent minorities and fifteen percent women — and is led by a female Chief. What is the story behind this dramatic shift in the number of women and minorities in the SFFD?

The Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel (Ret.) moderates this discussion with the lawyers and firefighters who helped forge the pathway to diversity.