By Calvin Palmer
A racially offensive message was broadcast early this morning on a radio frequency used by firefighters in Houston, according to the president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association.
The broadcast comes 24 hours after racist and sexist graffiti was discovered in the women’s quarters at Fire Station 54 in a secured area at the Intercontinental Airport.
Houston Fire Department spokeswoman Alicia White said the radio message was heard by firefighters on the department’s Trac 2. It has been referred to the city’s office of the inspector general for investigation.
She did not provide details of contents of the message.
Fire Capt Otis Jordan, president of the black firefighter’s group said the broadcast contained a vulgar message directed to African-Americans. An offensive term for blacks was used, he said.
These two incidents have occurred just weeks after Houston City Council authorized sensitivity training to restore harmony after the discovery of a noose-like knot in the locker of Fire Capt Keith Smith.
Smith told city officials the rope was in reality a fisherman’s knot, which he had kept in honor of the firefighter who taught him to tie it.
Mayor Bill White said the city will not tolerate any form of racial or gender discrimination.
“Before we judge and generalize, we need to get the facts,” he added. “We will get to the bottom of it.”
[Based on a report by the Houston Chronicle.]
