ALAMEDA CO. NAACP BULLETIN

July 1952


NAACP Hits Oakland Fire Department Segregation Policy

Blast Oakland Fire Dept. Over Segregation Policy

OAKLAND, Aug. 11öOfficers and leaders of the Alameda County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People reported today on their attempts to get administrative correction of what they term "a gross injustice, a shameful and unlawful practice of racial segregation in the Oakland Fire Department."

Mrs. Tarea Hall Pittman, Northern California Field Secretary, said that the City of Oakland has had Negroes serving as firemen for thirty years. "As more colored passed the civil service examinations," she said, "they were all assigned to the same fire house, Engine Company No. 22, and eventually Negro officers were appointed." She went on to state that as Negroes came into the Department in greater numbers than could be assigned to one company, they were assigned on a completely segregated basis to two other small houses in the Oakland hills. "Many of these men have been bitterly opposed to such segregation," Mrs. Pittman said. "Finally the Labor and Industry Committee of the Alameda County NAACP, under the co-chairmanship of Mr. Earl Swisher and Mr. C.L. Dellums, took the matter under advisement and pledged an all out fight to eliminate the practice," she concluded.

Rev. Edward Stovall, President of the Alameda NAACP, has referred the matter as well to Attorney Clinton White, Chairman of the local NAACP Legal Redress Committee for a possible law suit against the city should all administrative efforts fail. Attorney White stated today that his committee was studying the Oakland City Charter and the other aspects of the matter, as well as the California laws as they relate to racial segregation by a city of Public employees.

Rev. Stovall announced that conferences had already been held with Oakland City Fire Chief James H. Burke and City Manager John Hassler. Chief Burke is reported to have told the committee that he would not change the racially segregated pattern of his department. Mrs. Tarea Pittman, the NAACP Field Secretary in this area, described Chief Burke's attitude as being "intolerant, biased and completely devoid of any understanding of the basic social issues involved in racial segregation."

At a subsequent conference with City Manager John Hassler, the NAACP Committee were requested to allow the City Manager time to "study" the situation. The President of the Alameda NAACP made the following statement: "The Alameda County NAACP is anxious to push forward this fight for a democratically run fire department in the City of Oakland. We are requesting another conference with City Manager Hassler. If positive action is not taken by the city authorities following that conference, we shall go directly to the City Council and if we get no redress there we shall call upon our attorneys to sue."