Black firefighters and the FDNY : the struggle for jobs, justice, and equity in New York City / David Goldberg.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The early origins of ethnic insularity and racial exclusion in the New York City Fire Department -- The bravest of the brave : New York's first generation of black firefighters, 1898-1934 -- Fighting a good fight : the formation of the Vulcan Society, 1932-1945 -- Postwar civic and civil rights unionism : the Vulcan Society's golden age, 1946-1963 -- A black face in a high place, fire commissioner Robert O. Lowery : reform, retrenchment, and the limitations of racial liberalism -- From black power to class action : the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters and the rise of fire department discrimination litigation -- The last bastion of white male privilege : race, gender, and the FDNY, 1977-1999 -- Free at last? Black firefighters and the FDNY in the twenty-first century.