[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 10 (Friday, January 25, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E64]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BALTIMORE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 25, 2013

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, 45 years ago, history was made in the City 
of Baltimore. On January 23, 1968, Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro III--my 
brother--watched over the swearing-in of his appointee, Reverend Marion 
Bascom Jr., as the Baltimore City Fire Department's first African-
American Commissioner.
  Alongside his colleague and partner in the cause of equality, 
Konstantine Prevas, Commissioner Bascom took the oath of office. In a 
single act, he changed the face of the city's public servants and 
heroes--becoming, in his words, ``the first black man to wear a white 
hat in the Baltimore City Fire Department.'' In a single moment, he 
altered the course of local history. In the years to come, he and his 
fellow members of the Board of Fire Commissioners would do more than 
become a model of racial harmony; they would advance the 
professionalism and effectiveness of Baltimore's firefighters.
  Though progress was slow at times--though a history of segregation 
and bigotry and racism still weighed heavily on the shoulders of 
Commissioners Bascom and Prevas and others--these leaders fought, step-
by-step, to ensure that Baltimore's force of firefighters would 
exemplify our highest ideals of equality and our highest degree of 
excellence.
  Under the leadership of Commissioners Bascom and Prevas, the 
Baltimore City Fire Department gave African-American members of its 
ranks a fair hearing--listening and responding to their concerns about 
living and working conditions, and unfair treatment in areas of 
discipline, assignments, training, and promotions. It formally 
recognized the Vulcan Blazers, Baltimore's chapter of the International 
Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters.
  To enhance its service to the city, the department expanded community 
outreach efforts and helped create a new unit in the City Hospital to 
deal strictly and exclusively with fire victims and their injuries--and 
today, City Hospital still stands as the first and only burn center in 
the state of Maryland.
  The Board of Commissioners oversaw the land acquisition, zoning, 
historic preservation, and construction of what's now called Steadman 
Station--located in the heart of downtown Baltimore and once considered 
the busiest station in the nation.
  Today, the Baltimore City Fire Department is defined by the legacy of 
Commissioner Bascom: by fairness, equal rights, professional action, 
and a wholehearted devotion to public safety. No longer beset by racist 
policies; no longer held back by the scourge of segregation; no longer 
deterred by a past of Jim Crow--all because a mayor had the vision to 
appoint commissioners based on their merits, not simply their race, and 
all because his appointees had the courage to promote a future of 
progress.
  Our family takes pride in its association with this extraordinary era 
of history for the people of Baltimore. My father, Mayor Thomas 
D'Alesandro Jr., oversaw the desegregation of the fire department. My 
brother appointed its first African-American Commissioner. Together, 
they created a department that reflected the diversity and character of 
the community it served and protected.
  Today, 45 years after Commissioner Bascom took his oath, we can all 
be proud of this legacy. We can take inspiration from the acts of our 
predecessors. We can pledge to advance our heritage of opportunity, our 
commitment to fairness and justice, and our promise of equality for 
all.

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