The Greater Baltimore Urban League is celebrating 100 years of impacting and empowering African Americans, both socially and economically.
In the lead-up to the Nov. 9 gala, 11 News highlights the League’s century-long influence, particularly on the Baltimore City Fire Department. An exhibit at the Peale Community Museum in downtown Baltimore showcases its history, which is personal to George Collins.
“The fact that all of us, post-Civil Rights, we owe that to the individuals who paved the way,” said Collins, the president and co-founder of the African American Firefighters Historical Society. “The fact that when the first firefighters came in, there was a Black bed, there was a Black toilet, there was a Black wash bowl, and when I came in, they said, ‘What bed do you want?'”
Collins, a retired firefighter with 23 years of service, benefited from the first 10 Black firefighters who integrated the Baltimore City Fire Department in 1953, followed by 31 more. This milestone was partly driven by the Greater Baltimore Urban League.
If you’d like to read more on this article from the “WBAL TV” click the link below.
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/greater-baltimore-urban-league-celebrates-100-years-gala/62737036
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