From KSDK.com: “Slay Says More Needs To Be Done To Address Racial Divide“

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told Channel 5 reporter Cordell Whitlock yesterday that he thinks Firefighters Union Local 73, which is white-dominated, and F.I.R.E., the African-American firefighters organization, need to come together.

But as Slay was quick to publicly remind ex-fire chief Sherman George, the mayor’s office controls the fire department. He can, as he did with George, order both sides to the table.

Instead, he has clearly sided with Local 73.

To now say “something” needs to be done by “someone” “someday” is just skirting his responsibilities once again.

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Click here to watch KSDK’s softball interview with Slay.

This whole ugly mess with the stuffed monkey hanging in Firehouse 13 has brought to light a serious problem in how the Slay Administration is running both the St. Louis Fire Department and the City.

When the media learned about this incident from a mass email sent out by a member of F.I.R.E. (the organization representing black firefighters), Mayor Francis Slay and his public safety director Charles Bryson responded a few days later by forwarding the situation F.B.I. At no time did the mayor’s office or the public safety director meet with or even call leaders of the black firefighters organization to try to dampen the flames which such an incident could ignite.

The Slay Administration’s policy with regard to the fire department is to deal only with the firefighters union, Local 73, and not the black firefighters association. The new fire chief also operates under this policy.

It is interesting that the old chief, Sherman George, was instructed by the mayor’s office to meet monthly with both organizations. But now, as F.I.R.E. vice-chair Wayne Luster noted at yesterday’s press conference, the black firefighters are no longer involved in the direction of the department, even though their membership accounts for nearly 45% of the department.

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So what is the real effect of this policy? Well, when the head of the mostly-white Local 73 was asked about the hanging monkey incident, he downplayed it and suggested there was no need for an investigation.

“[The monkey] was put on the coat rack because it was wet and it was drying,” Chris Molitor told the Post-Dispatch. As for the rope, he said it “has been attached to that coat rack for several years.”

This calls for some clarification.

First, the black firefighters organization, F.I.R.E., while not a recognized bargaining entity with the City of St. Louis, is still nonetheless clear on their mission: representing the interests of black firefighters. And like any good union, recognized or not, they push hard for the advancement of their members.

Local 73 on the other hand has long rejected its characterization as the “white firefighters union.” Its leaders say their mission is to represent all firefighters, regardless of color. However, history has not shown that to be the case. And this incident indicates that the professional needs and desires of African-American firemen and women are still not being represented by Local 73.

While Molitor and the people he represents believe that a hanging monkey means little, his African-American co-workers and his bosses (at least publicly) think it deserves serious investigation.

The fire chief and the public safety director told the media Tuesday that the department was taking the situation “very seriously.” Though, again, neither have talked to the black firefighters’ organization about it.

If Jenkerson, Bryson and Molitor think the fire department can be its best without communicating with the black firefighters organization, they are wrong. But they are not alone. This “blackout” started at the top.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s office — specifically his chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, and his communications director, Ed Rhode — continue to ignore St. Louis’ African-American press. No responses to inquires (the St. Louis American has not received a response in over a month). No press releases or notices of press conferences.

How long will the Slay Administration continue this “blackout”? And how long with the white press sit without comment and watch the disrespect of its African-American colleagues?

As a citywide elected official from a majority-black city, Mayor Slay actually has more black constituents than white. But that’s not how his administration sees it.

A white elected official recently told me how Slay’s chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, once suggested to him that he was wasting his time by attending meetings in north St. Louis.

“They’ll never vote for you anyway,” Rainford told this official.

Is that how we’re going to operate in this city? Elected officials only recognizing the importance of half their constituents?

Where’s the outrage among more of our white citizens — our white journalists, our white firefighters, our white elected officials?

I can only hope it is because they sincerely don’t know what’s going on.

I’d hate to think that you are OK with our city being divided as it is today by the people in Room 200.

Leaders of the city’s black firefighters association said today that Mayor Francis Slay’s removal of Fire Chief Sherman George has created an “energized atmosphere of defiance and intolerance” among some white firefighters, and it is in that atmosphere that a toy monkey was left hanging from a makeshift noose at a northside fire house over the weekend.

The F.B.I. has been notified of this possible hate crime, but Abram Pruitt and Wayne Luster, co-chairs of F.I.R.E., said no one from the Mayor’s office nor Public Safety Director Charles Bryson had bothered contacting F.I.R.E. regarding this incident, despite the organization representing 98% of African-American members of the department.

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The following statement comes from F.I.R.E., the African-American firefighters association:

Almost 50 years ago Black firefighters for the City of St Louis were told by white firefighters that they could not attend the firefighters’ barbecue.

Those African American firefighters were given $5.00 by the white firefighters and instructed to go have their own function—-because of the color of their skin they were not welcome at any firefighters’ event in the City of St Louis. It was out of that incident that F.I.R.E. was founded.

African American firefighters understood then that the racism that infected the fire department could not be cured from the inside out.

Unfortunately little has changed with regard to acts of hate directed at black firefighters.

A few days ago a stuffed monkey was hung by a noose in a northside firehouse. This act of hate comes shortly after the first African American fire chief was forced out and replaced with a lesser qualified white firefighter.

F.I.R.E. (Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality) is demanding that the City of St Louis respond to this act of hate properly and F.I.R.E. is also requesting a Federal Investigation.

F.I.R.E. is holding a press conference today at 5:00 PM at their headquarters, 1020 North Taylor Ave.

Burning Crosses, Hanging Monkies. No, not quite the title of a new Wire Fu movie starring Chow Yung Fat. Just the latest chapter in St. Louis’ never-ending story of racists behaving badly.

On the same day that a special House committee heard testimony on why the State of Missouri should finally apologize for years of recognizing Africans as the legal property of others, two reports highlight the struggle for racial harmony that still exists today.

The FBI was notified this week of a cross-burning in the nearby town of Belleville, IL.

From the Post-Dispatch:

Police here are investigating a burning cross that was found Saturday in a black man’s yard on the 3600 block of Sheridan.

Police said a neighbor had seen the 5 foot cross about 11 a.m. Saturday. The resident had not seen a cross when he got home at 1 a.m. the night before. The bottom of the cross burned, and racial slurs were written on it with a black permanent marker.

And in the recently beleaguered St. Louis fire department, where tensions have been high for weeks following Mayor Francis Slay’s removal of the city’s first black fire chief, a stuffed toy monkey was found hanging in an engine house.

Chris Molitor, head of the predominantly-white firefighters union, Local 73, played down the incident, telling the Post that the stuffed animal was found at a fire several weeks ago by firefighters at the station.

“It was put on the coat rack because it was wet and it was drying,” Molitor said. As for the rope, he said, it “has been attached to that coat rack for several years.”

Despite Molitor’s explanation, the black firefighters union and the new fire chief, Dennis Jenkerson, are said to be taking the incident “very seriously.”

The coalition seeking to remove Mayor Francis Slay from office appears to have won a battle in a much larger war. The group’s threat to protest a public fundraiser for Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has forced the campaign to find someone other than Slay to introduce Clinton at the high-profile event.

The Post-Dispatch reports that former Congressman Dick Gephardt will now be introducing Clinton at her event at The Pageant on Sunday. And Traci Blunt, a Clinton staffer in charge of African-American media, tells PubDef.net that African-American clergyman B.T. Rice will join an otherwise color-free host party.

Today the recall coalition held a press conference outside The Pageant to warn that if Slay makes a surprise appearance at the rally, they’ll be ready.

“We have purchased a block of tickets [to the Clinton event],” said spokesman Eric Vickers. And if the mayor should appear on Sunday, “those people that we will have on the inside will protest the fact that this mayor has discriminated, divided this city, and disrespected this community.”

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AUDIO: Here’s a report on the situation from KMOX.

PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE

Hillary Clinton might have picked up more than she bargained for when she accepted the support of beleaguered mayor Francis Slay. A coalition seeking to remove him from office is moving forward with plans to protest Clinton’s St. Louis appearance this weekend because he is scheduled to introduce her.

Yesterday, Sean Thompson, with the Clinton campaign, told State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, who is active with the recall effort, that there was no need for the protest because Slay was no longer going to introduce Clinton because of a “scheduling conflict.”

“Upon hearing that news and confirming it myself with his office,” said Thompson on a voicemail message, “I called Mr. [Eric] Vickers and talked to him and told him that the mayor would not be in attendance at the Pageant.”

“It is my sincere hope that it changes the dynamic of the demonstration that you all had planned,” said Thompson.

But when the Clinton campaign was unwilling to confirm in writing that Slay would not be introducing the presidential candidate, organizers moved on with their plans.

Tomorrow the Citizens to Recall Francis G. Slay, the Citizens to Support Fire Chief George, and other organizations and community leaders will hold a press conference to announce their protest plans.

“Mayor Slay, Senator Clinton’s top supporter in the City, is scheduled to give the opening remarks at the Clinton Rally. Because of this, Senator Clinton is being placed on notice that protest demonstrations will take place at the rally — both inside and outside the Pageant,” said the group in a press release today.

Tomorrow’s press conference is scheduled for 10:00 AM in front of The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd.

UPDATE: According to the Post-Dispatch, Clinton’s Sunday event at The Pageant has been moved back an hour, to 6:00 PM.

Earlier Story:

Did Hillary Dump Francis?

When presidential candidate Hillary Clinton comes to St. Louis on Sunday she was scheduled to be introduced by one of her best known supporters, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. But a threat to picket the event by the coalition seeking the mayor’s removal from office may have put an end to that.

It was former U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neal who was best known for saying “All politics is local.” Well, the prospect of stepping into a big steaming pile of Slay’s local political woes seems to have forced the Clinton campaign to distance themselves from the beleaguered mayor.

State Representative Jamilah Nasheed and others supporting the recall effort contacted the Clinton campaign this week to inform them that they planned to picket Clinton’s event at the Pageant theater if Slay would be introducing the New York senator.

According to Nasheed, a representative from the campaign notified her Wednesday evening that Slay suddenly had a “scheduling conflict” which will prevent him from introducing Senator Clinton.

In the past, Clinton has offered praise for Slay.

“Francis Slay is one of a new breed of mayors who are revitalizing their cities and setting an example for the rest of the country,” Clinton said back in April. “I’m honored to have his support.”

Still concerned by Slay’s role in the Clinton campaign, the recallers have not yet decided whether to call off their protest entirely.

Clinton will be speaking at the Pageant, 6161 Delmar, this Sunday at 5:00 PM. This is Clinton’s last trip here before the important Iowa primaries.

The group representing African-Americans in the St. Louis Fire Department today called on Mayor Francis Slay to address the issues of their members — which account for 44% of the department — and no longer deal exclusively with the so-called “white firefighters union,” Local 73.

Addington Stewart, the chairman of the Firefighters Institute on Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.), also said that only this week was he informed by St. Louis police that they were about to begin an investigation into allegations of cheating by white firefighters on the 2004 promotions exam — three years after the alleged cheating occurred and after promotions have been made off a possibly tainted list.

Stewart said F.I.R.E. wants to see an independent investigation performed by a federal agency, not local police.

The association of black city firefighters is holding a press conference today to once again demand Mayor Francis Slay address the group’s concerns.

The Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.), which almost all of the city’s African-American fire fighters belong to — representing 44% of the fire department — is upset with Slay for removing Fire Chief Sherman George from his position and for dealing exclusively with the so-called white firefighters union, Local 73.

UPDATE: The group is also calling on a return the 50/50 hiring (one white for every black) policy which the fire department operated under for many years under a federal consent decree.

From F.I.R.E.:

Members of F.I.R.E. will uphold our oath to the citizens of the city of St. Louis to protect property and save lives. We will fight fires aggressively; respond to emergency medical and special calls with integrity and professionalism. Yet we will not stand for our issues to be ignored by the mayor; members of F.I.R.E. is comprised of 98% of the Black firefighters in the department and represent 44% of the members in the St. Louis Fire Department. Our issues with testing are still pending in the federal court of appeals. Racial tensions are present in firehouses and must be addressed.

We have witnessed the mayor addressing all of the issues (transfers, civil service hearings, non-establishment of an Advanced Life Support Pumper Program, etc.) of local 73 during Chief George’s tenure. He has affirmed actions for the local in reference to promotions and the demotion of Fire Chief George. His most recent affirmed action was to promote Battalion Chief Dennis Jenkerson to Fire chief over the most qualified officer in the department Deputy Chief Charles Coyle. Yet he has not addressed our chief complaint cheating during the 2004 exam administered by EBJacobs. To add insult to injury they want to create a position and give it to a Black officer to appease Black firefighters we reject that offer. REINSTATE THE FIRE CHIEF SHERMAN GEORGE!

The Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.) will not be able to move forward if our issues are not addressed.

• Conduct an INDEPENDENT investigation into the allegations of cheating on the 2004 test.
• No testing processes should be administered until an agreement on what the system should be and how it should be administered.
• An affirmed action in the form of an executive order from the mayor to institute a 50/50 hiring and promotions diversity plan.
• F.I.R.E. is against the creation of an Assistant Chief’s position.
• Expedite the Civil Service Hearing of Fire Chief Sherman George.
• Fire Chief Sherman George earned his pension as fire chief because of his demotion to deputy chief they deliberately cost him 10’s of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits. Reinstate Sherman George back to Fire Chief.

Today’s press conference is at 3:30 PM at F.I.R.E.’s headquarters, 1020N. Taylor Ave.