MILWAUKEE — An organization created for Black firefighters has grown over the years.
The Milwaukee Brotherhood of Firefighters began back in 1979. Over the years, the organization has left an impact on Black firefighters in Milwaukee.
Jeffrey Quezaire walked into the Milwaukee Fire training academy to begin his career as a firefighter 48 years ago. He was just coming out of high school and preparing to find his path in life.
“Being a young man at that time, only a couple of years out of high school, it was a terrifying first day,” Quezaire, who's now a retired Milwaukee firefighter, said.
Quezaire started this new chapter in his life; that first day became monumental for him. When he started his training in the early 1970s, he said he and many other Black firefighters faced discrimination, particularly during hiring.
It was an ongoing issue.
“At that time there was 900 uniformed personnel and only a half a dozen African Americans. So I never saw anyone who looked like me,” Quezaire said.
This issue of discrimination is what sparked the start of the Milwaukee Brotherhood of Firefighters. Quezaire was a part of the original group designed to address issues concerning the African American community of firefighters.
“I am so proud of the fact that what we started haas carried on after all those years and I thank the young men and women who followed behind me. I think that we left them a successful platform and I am so proud that they have continued to run with it,” Quezaire said.
Tony Jones Jr. is a part of the next generation keeping the brotherhood alive. He’s been a firefighter with Milwaukee for the past 26 years and is now the president of the Milwaukee Brotherhood of Firefighters.
He is also the North Central Regional Director of the International Association of Black Firefighters.
“We’re here. We’re here for everyone and just to make sure they have the opportunity to become a firefighter or the opportunity to become whatever you want to do,” Jones, who is also a Milwaukee firefighter, said.
Both Jones and Quezaire have been able to watch the evolution of the fire service over their careers. More recently, they have been able to watch their fellow members climb the ranks.
“When I came on there was very few in administration that looked like me. So, to see it right now is a beautiful thing. There are three assistant chiefs who look like me and have come from our organization,” Jones said.
They have been able to watch this organization grow and help collectively bring their community together and make them stronger as a unit.
“The thing I’m most proud of is that everyone who has followed behind us after being declared by our chief at that time in 1975 as unqualified is that we have held every rank in this department,” Quezaire said.