U.S. v. City & County of San Francisco:
The Quest for Diversity in the San Francisco Fire Department
Presented on May 1, 2019
at the Phillip Burton Federal Building & United States Courthouse
San Francisco, California
The San Francisco Fire Department hired no black firefighters before 1955, allowed no women to apply before 1976, and hired no women firefighters until late 1987. Today, the uniformed force includes approximately fifty percent minorities and fifteen percent women — and is led by a female Chief. What is the story behind this dramatic shift in the number of women and minorities in the SFFD?
This discussion of the landmark litigation, and the consent decree that followed, featured The Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel in conversation with the lawyers and firefighters who helped forge the pathway to diversity.
Moderator
- Hon. Marilyn Hall Patel (Ret.)
Chief Judge Emerita, Northern District of California
Panelists
- Robert L. Demmons
Chief, San Francisco Fire Department, 1996-2000 - Joanne M. Hayes-White
Chief, San Francisco Fire Department, 2004-present - Shauna I. Marshall
Honorable Raymond L. Sullivan Professor of Law, UC Hastings - William McNeill, III
Former Managing Attorney, Legal Aid Society of San Francisco – Employment Law Center - Tamar Pachter
Supervising Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General - Eva Jefferson Paterson
President and Co-Founder, Equal Justice Society - Louise Renne
Founding Partner, Renne Public Law Group