Boston Society of Vulcans facts for kids

The Boston Society of Vulcans of Massachusetts is a non-profit group started in 1969. It's made up of Black and Latino firefighters in Boston. Their main goal is to encourage young people in Boston to think about careers in public safety, like becoming firefighters. They also teach people about fire safety and how to prevent fires through different programs.

The Boston Society of Vulcans is part of a bigger group called the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters. This national group also started in 1969. It was formed to fight against unfair treatment that African-American firefighters faced across the country. The Boston Society of Vulcans was inspired by the Vulcan Society of the FDNY (New York City Fire Department). That group was formed in 1940 to help more minority people join the fire department.

Fighting for Fair Hiring

In 1970, a lawsuit was filed against the state of Massachusetts. It said that cities were not hiring Black and Latino people fairly for fire department jobs. In 1970, only 0.9 percent of firefighters in Boston were Black or Latino. But about 16 percent of Boston's population was made up of minorities. This showed a big difference.

This lawsuit led to a special court order called a "consent decree." This order changed how cities hired firefighters. It became a guiding rule for hiring firefighters in Massachusetts for many years.

How Hiring Changed

The consent decree made several important changes:

• Recruitment: The fire department had to actively look for minority candidates. They shared information about the entrance exam through media, schools, and community groups. This helped more diverse people apply.
• Exams: The entrance exams had to be changed. They became "pass/fail" tests. This meant that as long as you passed, you were considered qualified. Before, the tests focused too much on school skills that weren't really needed for the job.
• Hiring Ratios: The court order said that for every three non-minority candidates hired, one minority candidate should be hired in Boston and Springfield. This helped increase the number of Black and Latino firefighters.
• Fair Appointments: The rules made sure that people were hired based on their qualifications, not their race. It stopped the fire department from only hiring non-minority candidates without a good reason.
• Equal Numbers: The consent decree aimed for the percentage of Black and Latino fire officers to be similar to their percentage in the community. This goal was about 26 percent. By 1981, the number of minority firefighters in Boston reached 160, which was about 14.7 percent of the total.

Budget Cuts and Layoffs

Later, a state law called "Proposition 2 1/2" was passed. This law cut taxes, which meant cities had less money. This led to many layoffs, including in the fire department. Usually, layoffs happen based on seniority, meaning the newest hires are let go first.

Minority firefighters argued that this system would cause many of them to lose their jobs. They had been hired more recently because of the consent decree. A court order in 1981 tried to keep the percentage of minority firefighters at 14.7 percent. This meant some white firefighters with many years of experience lost their jobs, while some minority firefighters with less experience kept theirs.

Because of the budget cuts, some fire companies were split up, and some fire stations closed. Many firefighters were laid off. In 1982, a new law called the Tregor Bill gave Boston money to rehire firefighters who had been laid off.

Challenges to Fairness

In 2003, the special hiring ratio rules were stopped. Some people felt that enough progress had been made and that the goal of equal numbers had been reached. This was partly because of a lawsuit filed by white men who said they were unfairly passed over for jobs, even with higher test scores. They called this "reverse discrimination."

However, groups like the NAACP and the Vulcans disagreed. They argued that the numbers weren't fully accurate. They pointed out that some minority groups, like female firefighters, still faced unfair treatment.

How the Vulcans Recruit

The Boston Society of Vulcans worked hard to recruit Black youth into the fire service. They believed that a job as a firefighter offered good financial stability. This stability could lead to more opportunities for the Black community.

The Vulcans saw recruitment as a full process. It included finding people, training them, helping them prepare for tests, and guiding them until they became employees. They worked with many community groups, like churches, the Urban League, and local colleges.

They also used creative ways to reach young people:

• They made and put up posters.
• They worked with local clubs and Black media.
• They visited schools.
• They got support from Black teachers and other professionals.
• They set up tables in the streets to talk about the benefits of being a firefighter.
• They used young recruiters to talk to people their own age.
• They even targeted Black college students who had dropped out, showing them how they could get a degree while earning a good salary and having a pension.

The Vulcans also offered year-round training courses to help people prepare for the civil service exam.

Helping the Community

The Vulcans are very involved in their community. They have many programs that support their mission:

• Smoke Detector Program: They taught people how important smoke detectors are and how to install them.
• Fire Safety Education: Firefighters from the Vulcans visited local schools to talk about fire safety.
• Fundraising: They held events like galas and award banquets to raise money for their programs. They also had fundraising dances.
• Community Awareness: They set up booths at events like the Annual Boston Kite Festival to tell people about their organization.
• Family Events: They hosted an annual Family Day Picnic to bring firefighters and their families together.
• Scholarship Fund: In 1988, they created the Lloyd Phillips Scholarship Fund. This scholarship helps kids from disadvantaged communities go to college. It's named after firefighters Lloyd Phillips, Raymond Moss, and Robert Powell, and it still helps students today.

The Fight for Equality Continues

Even today, the Boston Fire Department still faces challenges with diversity. The mix of firefighters in a firehouse often depends on the neighborhood. For example, in some wealthier areas, most firefighters might be white. In other areas, like Hyde Park, most firefighters might be minorities.

As of 2010, about one-third of Boston firefighters were minorities. However, white firefighters were often placed in the busiest fire units more often than minority firefighters. Also, white firefighters hired after 2003 were more likely to get promoted than minority firefighters. This shows that the work for full equality is still ongoing.