''The onus is on the NYFD [New York City Fire Department] to correct this wrong,'' said firefighter Abdul Lanaird Granger, who found a noose draped across his boots in his Brooklyn firehouse.
''I was a man before I got into this job, and I’ll be a man when I leave.'' These fighting words came from the New York City fireman who wants the Fire Department to investigate the incident and bring the culprit to justice.
Yesterday, the Black firefighters’ fraternal group, the Vulcan Society, announced the filing of a complaint with the Equal Employment Office of the NYFD.
On Jan.19, 2005, Granger was about to go on a run with his squad when he found a full size noose placed anonymously next to his fire gear, presumably by another firefighter.
Grabbing the black rope noose in-hand, sounding strong, resilient and undaunted, Granger addressed a full-court press yesterday at the offices of the Center for Constitutional Rights in Manhattan.
He said that when he noticed the noose, he picked it up and placed it in a more conspicuous and prominent position on the front of the truck, ''so the guys could see it,'' and they went on two runs. Yet, nobody acknowledged the rope. ''Nobody claimed it; nobody [said] anything about it.''
When he mentioned it to a chief, Granger said he was blown off. ''This is 2005, but, this is reminiscent of when lynching was rampant and legal,'' he said.
''The Vulcan Society wants New Yorkers to see this noose, and to know of the racism that exists within the NYFD,'' said Society President Captain Paul Washington.
A cadre of Black firefighters stood with Granger at the press conference.
''Is this 2005 or 1905?'' asked Washington. ''How many Black men, women and children were put in a noose over the years?
''This was a despicable act. We want justice done in this case. This problem begins from the top, with the mayor and the fire commissioner. They don’t want to bring Blacks on the job. If their attitude was different, then the rank and file would be different.
''We want an investigation to be done under the public eye, to watch the NYFD, so that they can’t say they did an investigation, but couldn’t find who did it. Personally, I would want to see the individual fired. While I wouldn’t say that the noose incident represents a prevailing attitude in the fire department, it just shows what kind of things can happen if there is not more racial balance in the department. We don’t have any faith, however, that the NYFD will do anything.''
In a statement sent to the Daily Challenge, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scopetta said, ''The Department is taking these allegations very seriously and has immediately begun an investigation into these claims. We condemn this type of outrageous behavior and anyone engaging in such behavior will be dealt with severely.''
The mayor’s press office did not return a Daily Challenge phone call by press time.
Granger noted that when cops and firefighters in Broad Channel mocked the depraved Texas death-by-dragging of James Byrd [the Texas hate crime, when the black man’s throat was slashed and his body dragged until it fell apart, on June 7, 1998], they fought and won to get back pay and demanded to be reinstated into the department.
Moved from a Bedford-Stuyvesant firehouse to Greenpoint, Granger told the Daily Challenge yesterday that he had asked to be moved out of the division months ago, because of a problem with a firefighter who made a racist comment about slavery.
Yet, his request was refused, and he has remained in the same area, and hence has faced this January incident.
''When you come to the job and you are the only Black among 11 or 12 guys, then things like this are going to happen,'' said Washington. ''Things this dramatic would not occur if there was diversity in the firehouse. But things will not change if Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scopetta continue to only pay lip service to increasing diversity. But, when a fire truck rolls by and people don’t see a Black face on it, it makes the job of recruiting harder.''
The Vulcan Society represents the 310 Black firefighters in New York City. Two years ago, the Vulcan Society filed a lawsuit charging the Fire Department with discriminating against African Americans in their hiring and promotion practices. They filed the complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), in August 2002. Washington told the paper that out of 11,000-11,500-members in the fire department, there are just over 300 Black firefighters, and just over 300 Latino firefighters.
Jeffrey Fogel, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), said that the ''outrageous'' incident is a direct result of the city’s reluctance to increase the paltry 2.9 percent of African American firefighters in the NYFD, to a number much more reflective of Black numbers in this city.
The Vulcan lawyers said that the ''The EEOC is now attempting to lead conciliation discussions between the Vulcans and the city. If these negotiations are not successful at immediately getting the NYFD to adopt proper non-discriminatory recruitment and selection policies, CCR plans to file a complaint in federal court, alleging violations of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and of U.S.C.-1981 and 1983, as well as the New York State Constitution and Human Rights Law.''
As for repercussions in the wake of this noose revelation, Washington said that it is possible that any white firefighter may complain that the issue should have been handled ''in-house,'' and out of the harsh media spotlight. But that, he said, is why these issues never get resolved.
''But, we should stand up like men, and say this is how we feel about it,'' said Washington.
Granger ''may be ostracized. They may say: ‘Are you with them – meaning the Vulcans, or with us – meaning the fire department. That’s a lot of pressure. We know controversy. We don’t shrink from it,'' said Vulcan member Kevin Mathis outside the Center for Constitutional Rights yesterday morning. A group of Black firefighters planned to swing by Granger’s firehouse that night to make sure that he was doing okay.
He, most definitely, is not the one for racist intimidation, said Granger. ''My people swung from ropes like this,'' he said, holding the rope on high. ''They don’t know who they picked on when they singled me out with this. I don’t have any inhibitions. The onus is on them to correct this wrong. I was a man before I got into this job, and I’ll be a man when I leave. I expect someone to come to me and begin to apologize.''
