Black Muslim firefighter was harassed for 12 years by co-workers for complaining about FDNY racism

[SummerMadness]

Black Muslim firefighter was harassed for 12 years by co-workers for complaining about FDNY racism

A black Muslim firefighter who endured racial taunts and pork hidden in his food by fellow smoke-eaters claims he was punished for speaking out about department racism — a problem still rampant in the FDNY, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court on Tuesday.

Navy veteran and firefighter Raheem Hassan faced about 12 years of harassment from his colleagues at Engine 309/Ladder 159 in Flatlands, he claims in court papers.

 

[-Luca]

I am so sorry to hear this, he looks like such a great guy! It is so sad that this is still going on, God please make it stop

 

[SummerMadness]

The fire department, is especially homogeneous in its makeup, which creates problems like this. Not only should the offending officers be fired, but the heads of these stations should be sacked and demoted. There also needs to be a concerted effort to change the diversity of the FDNY; at least one thing has changed, which was changing the firefighter test that had little to do with firefighting (the federal judge in that case said, the exam couldn't distinguish qualified/unqualified candidates, or even the difference between the quality of candidates).