A federal judge has ruled the city intentionally discriminated against black and Hispanic candidates for the fire department.
In a ruling issued Wednesday, the judge said the FDNY’s written exam was part of a pattern of discrimination.
The same judge ruled in July that written exams themselves were discriminatory.
The suit is part of a series of litigation brought by advocacy groups for minority firefighters.
Meanwhile, the city has long disputed any claims of discrimination, saying the tests are fair and that the department has taken many steps in recent years to diversify ranks.
In a statement released Wednesday, city law officials said, “It is the City’s view that there is simply no evidence that the City ever intended to discriminate against black applicants.”
(Source: NY1)
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4 Responses
What a crock of ….! The Vulcan Society also said the test was discrimatory. What an insult to their own members who had the brains to pass the test and an insult to those men of color who gave their lives on 9/11. Either you are smart enough to be an FDNY member or you are not. Firefighting requires great physical strength but it also requires being able to pass the written exams…to change those exams and lower the bar is an insult to the entire FDNY.
This is such PC nonsense – it makes me so mad! So we need to dumb-down the tests because these minorities are too dumb? Let them work harder, they have access to the same information, studay hard and you will succeed.
A classic example of reverse discrimination.
Dear Think Straight
I understand your ire but it is not that simple. It is not just that “these minorities are too dumb.” Some of the tests have been shown to have questions that have cultural biases in them that favor white males over other groups. It is not a simply matter of studying the materials: if you don’t live or work in a community of white males, you have a significantly greater chance of not understanding the question. The irony is that if those “dumb minorities” had answered the question correctly, they would have moved up the social ladder and increased their chances of getting questions like that correct in the first place.
Now, I am not a “bleeding heart liberal” and am not a fan of the FDNY’s hiring practices or history. I’m just pointing out that as important as it is to think straight, it is also important to understand the various arguments. In this case, it is not simply a matter of “dumb(ing)-down” the test.
#3 Shlomo2
Tell me what could these tests ask that are culturaly unfair? Are they not using Ebonics and or getto slang? If what you are saying is true then how did the people of color who have passed the tests and are on the job do it? I have an active involvement with FDNY and don’t buy into the fact that the tests are unfair. I say again.. that to lower the bar is an insult to the fine people of color on the job and to the memory of those people of color who have died on the job. I agree with poster #2.