Flint Honors First Black Firefighter

Joseph Davis, Jr.Joseph Davis, Jr. was present at a ceremony renaming Flint Fire Station #1 in his honor, Saturday, July 30. Mr. Davis was the City of Flint’s first African-American firefighter.

Family, friends, and fellow firefighters gathered to celebrate Mr. Davis’ trailblazing contribution to the Flint community. The celebration took place at Fire Station #1 located on E. Fifth St., the longtime headquarters of the Flint Fire Department.

“Mr. Davis served as firefighter at a time when discrimination and prejudice were the norm in his workplace. Today, we can recognize it as hostile and abusive,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley said. “His perseverance helped to shift the culture of the fire department and allowed young people to see themselves as future heroes in their community. We are grateful for his dedication and sacrifice.”

Born July 9, 1933, Joseph Davis, Jr. served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1954. In 1961 he began his career with the City of Flint’s Fire Department. For 14 years, Mr. Davis was Flint’s only African-American firefighter. Despite facing discrimination and prejudice, he persevered and served the Flint community as a firefighter for 24 years. In November 1985, he retired from the Flint Fire Department as a provisional sergeant.

Flint Honors First Black Firefighter

Flint Honors First Black Firefighter

Recent Articles

Editorial Policy

This newspaper is the voice of our neighborhoods. We will share the views of our neighbors, groups and leaders for your evaluation and edification. We welcome articles from any community member. We also reserve the right to refuse articles. While we welcome your contributions, we ask that they be constructive. All articles should contribute positively to the welfare of our community and its residents. We will accept a thoughtful discussion of all related issues and reserve the right to reply to those that seem to reflect a misunderstanding of our views of Our Community. We look forward to hearing from you.

Submit an Article

You may also email your information to info@focov.org.

Got something going on? Let us know!

Thank you to our FOCOV Staff of Volunteers!