Richmond Times-Dispatch
RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond hired the commonwealth’s first professional Black firefighters 75 years ago. On Tuesday’s anniversary, the community commemorated them.
“They studied the craft, they excelled at the craft and they shared the knowledge that they gained with anyone that was willing to accept it in the department,” said Richard Lewis a battalion chief of the Richmond Fire Department. “Even at that time, as time progressed, they weren’t allowed to be officers. They weren’t allowed in most spaces before 1963, but that didn’t stop them from serving.”…