On sunday, august 2nd booktv is live with media benjamin cofounder of the Political Advocacy Group code pink on in depth, our live monthly callin show. Shes the author or editor of nine books including her most recent an investigation into the use of drones for military purposes, drone warfare. Other titles include the greening of the revolution which examines cubas use of organic agriculture and stop the next war now on how to create political change through activism. Her other books cover topics such as how to aid People Living this the third world profiles of Inspiring Women and further examinations of cuba. Media benjamin, live, sunday august 2nd on in depth. And you can participate by sending your questions or comments to facebook. Com booktv, on twitter booktv or call in. Ginger adams otis talks about the 100year struggle to integrate the new York City Fire department which continues today. The fdny has only 300 black firefighters out of a total of 11,000. During this event held at green light bookstore in brooklyn, new york ms. Be otis is joined by some of the firefighters profiled in her book. Good evening and welcome to green light bookstore. Yeah thats the right response. So were really excited to have this event tonight as we launch the book firefight. All cell phones or ipads whatever that makes noise silent or put it on vibrate. There are books for sale at the register, and buy them plentifully so we can continue to do free events like one. Therell be a short reading and a panelist discussion and then a signing to follow so that you can get your books signed. Tonights event is being filmed by cspan, as you may have noticed, for booktv, and were honored to have them with us, so please be aware you might be on film for this event. We will be passing a microphone around for the question and answer period, so if you have a question at the end just make sure before you start asking said question that you have a microphone in your hand. So thanks for working with us with that. Our featured author this evening is ginger adams otis, shes a journalist who has been writing about new york city local politics and the fdny for more than a decade. Shes a staff writer at the Ny Daily News and has written for the New York Post wnyc, the ap, bbc, National Public radio and the village voice. Her new book, firefight the centurylong battle to integrate new yorks bravest, is based on nearly ten years of reporting and interviews with firefighters. It traces the history of race in the new york Fire Department from the first black firefighter in 1919 to the massive discrimination lawsuit finally settled in 2014. At the center of this book are stories of courage about firefighters risking their lives in the line of duty but also risking their livelihood by battling an unjust system. Otis shares the stage this evening with these firefighters all members of the Vulcan Society, an organization started in the 1940s to combat segregation and racism in the fdny which was instrumental in the struggle described in the book. The members here are all currently active firefighters who also appear in the book are Paul Washington you can clap for that. [applause] whos former president of the Vulcan Society and Michael Marshall clap for that [applause] yes. Former Vulcan Society president and fdny diversity advocate. The discussion will be moderated by tom robbins clap, yes very good. [applause] who teaches at the cueny graduate school of journalism. He is a former housing organizer and a Magazine Editor and has been a staff writer at the voice, the daily news and the observer and has written many highlyacclaimed stories on political corruption. Otis will read from the book followed by a discussion from the panelists and well have time for questions as i said, so please join me in welcoming all these lovely people to the stage. [applause] so good evening, everyone, thank you very much for coming. Thank you to green light bookstore for hosting us and for cspan for coming to cover this. In case you dont know whos who, thats tom robbins thats captain washington and that is Michael Marshall. So im going to do a quick reading for you tonight, and im going to punning up about pick up about partway through the book, and the book segways through two parts of the vulcans history and it weaves in the story of the founder of the association, wesley williams, who was the first in manhattan, and how he kind of found his way into the Fire Department, and then it also segways, it kind of weaves back and forth between his story and the modern day vulcans and the civil rights lawsuit that they brought starting around 2005 is when the department of justice really got involved. So were picking up in one of the chapters that deals with the history of paul and michael. And this was when they used to go out in the 90s, and they would do with other vulcans, of course, they would do recruitment in the streets of brooklyn. And theyd go out on the weekends with a little folding table, and theyd set it up in the corner with wobbly chairs and index cards, and if they saw a young person that looked particularly fit, they would try to get them to take one of the Fire Department tests. And a lot of the times the guys, the applicants they were approaching would want to know whats it like in the firehouse because, you know, i like the benefits, at that time 50,000 a year, sounds pretty good. The pension sounds pretty good, but whats going to happen to me when i get inside . And so were going to start with a story of captain washington and what he would tell some of the guys who would ask him that question on the street corner. And he would tell them stories about his days in engine seven. And there was one particular incident where he was getting hazed, as all the probies do. And there was a guy who a group of them turned a water hose on him and another firefighter a probie, while they were shooting hoops in their copious down time basically, waiting for a fire to come in. And paul didnt really like that. He knew he was getting hazed, but he thought one of the guys running the hose was a little too enthusiastic in spraying him down so he decided he was going to get revenge even though the probie is supposed to take whats dished out and not complain. So when the firefighter he didnt like was at a table reading a newspaper he got a bucket of really cold water, and he snuck up behind him, and he flipped the bucket over the guys head. And the guy, you know, shouts, and the other firefighters come running, and everybody thinks its hysterical, and the guys really angry and he sits there and pretends hes not bothered, and hes flipping through his wet newspaper. So paul is very belizeed with himself pleased with himself as young people often get when they think theyve outsmart their elders. This is kind of a story hes telling other people but were telling it in realtime. If hed been wiser in the ways of the firehouse hed have known that some form of retribution was coming. The senior firefighters couldnt let an upstart turn the tables on one of their own, no matter how funny the results, and a comeuppance was due. One night washington ran upstairs of the peaceful firehouse to go to sleep around two a. M. The night owl usually kept late hours. He left the lights off as he entered the pitch black bunk room so as not to wake the rest of the sleeping crew. He lay on his bed and closed his eyes but seconds later a strange plopping sensation feathered over his face and chest. Something was falling on him. He jumped up and ran to the bathroom, stopping dead when he caught his reflection in the mirror. He was covered in fluffy white dust. It coated his hair. Someone had rigged a bag of flour over his bunk to spill on him when he laid down, he realized. Enragered, he stormed into the next room where he knew the older firefighter hed dunked with water [inaudible] the late night flour shower. So washington connected the man kicked the mans bed to wake him up. You think youve got some kind of problem with me, then why dont you get up and well deal with it, he shouted. Get up, ill kick your ass, washington said. He cursed and called him names. The rest of the house was silent as washington raged. He went down to the kitchen and scrawl ised the message on a blackboard. After leaving it where everyone would see anytime the morning washington returned to the bunk room and showered off. It was only later he learned that the man had had nothing to do with the prank. [laughter] but everyone else in the firehouse had chortled under their blankets as washington, white flour spattered across all six feet of him, stomped through the place. When his sense of humor recovered, washington laughed about it too. What he didnt say to the young kids he was recruiting was sometimes the silly childish pranks firefighters loved to play on each other could take on a sharper more offensive edge. He didnt tell them some particularly cruel houses would appoint a goat. Life was hell for whoever the firefighters decided they didnt like, and the goal was to make the goat transfer out at the earliest opportunity. Sometimes the firefighters who would run into danger to save a black family without a moments hesitation would later make derogatory comments about the inner city communities they served while black firefighters, if there were any around, pretended not to hear. Washington could have told his potential recruits about the time he was detailed to a firehouse not far from his department. He was the lone black man at a table of 11 whites. He listened to the popular jocular lieutenant in charge a man everybody liked entertain the crew with a tale about his collegeage daughter and the time she came home for the weekend with a new set of friends, including a young black male. His fumbling attempts over the weekend to figure out the true state of their relationship. I aint got nothing against black people, but i certainly dont want my daughter to marry one, the lieutenant laughed as he delivered his punchline. The table roared except for washington. His mind flashed to the hundreds of black People Living and working right outside the firehouse doors. Nearly a dozen white firefighters were eating with him, and none of them heard anything wrong in what the officer just said. What specifically is it you wouldnt like he asked when the chuckles died down. Is it that youd have to sit down with inlaws that were black . What exactly is the problem . The room was silent for a second, and then the table erupted as the men jumped in to defend the officer. Washington gladly took them all on. It wasnt until 1992 that washington got settled in engine 234 in Crown Heights. By a lucky stroke of fate washingtons cousin gary was also assigned there. Not only were there many more fires, adding to the excitement and connection shared by the firefighters, there were four other blacks in the house too. There were none of the knockdown, dragout verbal fights that had erupted in his past firehouses in part because there were more blacks present and fewer of the white Fire Fighters had an ap appetite for that discussion. And beyond that, lieutenant bobby boldy didnt tolerate that type of infighting. And boldy who only stood about 58 but was built like a powerhouse, washington discovered a rare type of empathy. It wasnt a characteristic hed found among many of his other white colleagues. The stocky, upbeat lieutenant who always had a smile and greeted everyone with respectful courtesy almost never lost his temper, but when he did, the target of his ire was reduced to a quaking mess. Washington never witnessed boldy exploding, but hed heard tales from others. Boldy didnt gloss over the challenges black firefighters faced, and the unlikely pair sometimes met up to chat in boldys office talking frankly about Race Relations in the city, the obstacle for blacks to get on the job the many ways in which they could feel isolated and alone even in the midst of colleagues. There were one or two firefighters that washington general winly liked in 234, but he didnt open up about race with anybody but boldy who was one of the few who seemed to get that people could be more than their circumstances. In their quiet moments together, the two men reached an affinity that created a firehouse bond washington didnt have and never expected with other white firefighters. Once when washington was detailed for a day to a nearby firehouse, he got into a brutal fight with a firefighter who had a reputation as a troublemaker. Washington had always found avoiding him the easiest way to deal with him. After a few hours on the temporary detail when there was a break between runs, washington went upstairs and stretched out in a bunk. He wasnt aware of how much time had passed when suddenly the door flew open and the firefighter stood there screaming his name. Where the fuck have you been . Theres a phone call for you, and youre up here taking a fucking nap the firefighter yelled. Washington leaped up from the bed. You think youre a bad man . Go ahead and do it, he sneered. That was all he got out before the hulking firefighter lunged forward. He with regard his hands around washingtons neck, trying to choke the man. Washington twisted and shoved the firefighter backward on the bed. When he fell, washington pounced. But even sitting on the firefighters chest, it had every ounce of strength he had. They grappled without saying a word breathing heavily as washington struggled to hit him hard in the face. The firefighter beneath him blocked his punches with his beefy forearms. When the firefighter succeeded in pushing washington from his chest, they jumped from the bed, and they were exhausted, trembling from the intensity of the fight. When the fire alarm went off excuse me, when the fire alarm went off signaling a run, they stood glaring gulping for air. A few seconds later washington was on the back of his truck zooming away to respond to a fire. The other man, instead of going on the call, was relieved from his shift and went home. By the time washington got back to his own firehouse word had already arrived. Gossip inside the fdny ran faster than most flames creating the oftenrepeated groups telegraph telephone, tell a firefighter. Washington waved away the eager chatter, and the guy wasnt worth the hassle. A few weeks later washington learned the troublemaker had been transferred out of the house. It should have fallen to the officers to mete out that punishment, but none of them bothered with any disciplinary action. The transfer request had come from lieutenant boldy who quietly made some phone calls and put a firm word in a few ears. He never brought it up to washington and it wasnt something they had to discuss. Once during one of their wandering chats boldy in his blunt way summed up the basic reality of washingtons everyday firehouse life. Paul these guys aint ever gonna like you, youre just too proud of being black the lieutenant said, and washington had laughed recognizing his mothers attitude and the truth of boldys word. Around 1995 boldy was promoted to captain. Not long afterwards, he was diagnosed with cancer. As washington learned it didnt diminish his spirit. Boldy surprised washington with a gift. Here i want you to have these boldy said, stretching occupant his hand. The young firefighter saw two slim pieces of sliver lying in bolditems palm boldys palm. The inheritance was an old Fire Department tradition, one set of bars handed down from an officer to another as a special token. Washington was touched and proud that boldy wanted to share it with him. When he made lieu tempt boldcrushs bars were the ones pinned to his collar. His former boss lived long enough to see it. In washingtons experience, there were very few white men like boldy in the Fire Department or elsewhere, but he never had a problem promising black recruits if they took the job, theyd never regret it. The vulcans would be there to help them find a way out. You wont ever a have to worry about going through this stuff alone, washington would tell the young recruit, and it was 100 the truth. Their organization had been forged out of the vir you leapt racism of the jim crow era when the few blacks who were brave enough to try out for the job endured terrible treatment. Wesley wilkins founded the vulcans with the hopes that no other black person would feel as vulnerable as he did in his first days. [applause] [inaudible] okay. So we have been joined by Regina Wilson whos going to join us in a minute, shes the current president of the Vulcan Society and the first woman to hold that office, which is a lovely thing. And im sure she was busy working, because firefighters work all the time. [applause] and ill just turn it over to you, tom. Okay. Stay right there. Ill stay here, you can have your [inaudible] good evening. So, you know, this is a really good night to have this discussion, you know . Any night would be a good night to have this discussion, because this is something that just doesnt get talked about very much in new york, so its a good time period. But i didnt realize when ginger asked me to do this was that today is medal day right . So for years i covered city hall and city politics, and you see a lot of nonsense that goes on around town. But one of the really wonderful things that happens every year is it the first wednesday of june, is that when they do it . They empty out the entire plaza in front of city hall, flags, buntings, bag pipers and everybody shows up in their dress uniforms, you know, the chiefs in their big white hats and their white gloves, and all the families show up. Its a really marvelous wonderful occasion. They gather together to honor all of the acts of true bravery by firefighters and Emergency Service responders. And they go through them one by one. I didnt i wasnt there this year, but i looked at the picturings. And, you know, it struck me again as it had the first time i saw it that this is sort of like the model of what, for a proud civic occasion that a city would have, you know . Lets honor the people who risk their lives to go into burning buildings to try to help us when something happens. And i i i looked at the pictures a little bit different hi this time, because i was thinking about this event and i thought about how even though it is this wonderful occasion, the crowd there doesnt look like most of new