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u/SirFicklespend

r/Dreadlocks r/finchfashion r/Minority_Strength r/finchie r/finch
▲ 47 r/finchfashion

Roll call...........

What's your favorite plushie?

Mine are the ones in the bear costumes... And Sassafras was one of my very first plushies!

u/SirFicklespend — 7 days ago
▲ 23 r/finchie+1 crossposts

It's a new Finchie week!

What's on your agenda for this week?

Whatever your plans, please remember to take some me time, even if it's only a few moments.
**And don't forget to pray. 🌳♥**️

u/SirFicklespend — 9 days ago
▲ 8 r/Minority_Strength

What are YOU willing to do to be free?

Did you know?

Henry "Box" Brown wanted his freedom so bad he risked suffocating in a box as he mailed himself to freedom.

In March 1849, after losing his wife and children to slave traders, Henry Brown arranged to be sealed inside a small wooden shipping crate measuring just 3 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2.5 feet deep.

The Journey: He traveled 27 hours by wagon, railroad, steamboat, and ferry from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Peril: The box was handled roughly at times and even placed upside down during part of the transit, leaving him nearly suffocated and with severely burned hands from acid he used earlier.

Henry "Box" Brown intentionally burned his own hand with sulfuric acid as a calculated strategy to escape work on the day of his departure.
Because he was enslaved and worked under strict oversight at a tobacco factory in Richmond, Virginia, he could not simply take a day off.
To ensure his absence wouldn't immediately trigger a search or raise suspicion, he deliberately poured sulfuric acid (historically referred to as oil of vitriol) onto his hand, burning the flesh down to the bone.

The severe injury shocked his overseer, who promptly dismissed Brown to go home and seek medical attention.
This gave Brown the crucial window of time he needed to meet his co-conspirators, climb into the wooden crate, and be nailed inside without his absence being questioned until the box was already en route to Philadelphia.

He then had to endure the grueling 27-hour journey in a cramped position, dealing with the intense pain of a chemical burn without any first aid.

When abolitionists with the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee opened the crate, Brown stepped out and immediately sang a psalm of thanksgiving before fainting from the ordeal.

u/SirFicklespend — 25 days ago
▲ 1 r/Minority_Strength

Did you know about the Vulcan Society?

The Vulcan Society is a fraternal organization of Black firefighters in the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), founded in 1940 by Battalion Chief Wesley Williams.

Chief Wesley Williams established the group in 1940 to fight racial discrimination, offer mutual support, and build a community for Black firefighters within a segregated department.

In 1966, former Vulcan Society president Robert O. Lowery was appointed as NYC's first Black Fire Commissioner.

In 2002, the organization filed a landmark discrimination lawsuit against the city regarding biased hiring exams, leading to a $98 million settlement and major recruitment reforms.

federal judge ruled that New York City used New York Firefighter Bias Case entrance exams in 1999 and 2002 that illegally discriminated against Black and Hispanic job applicants.

The Problem With the Exams

Too much reading: The tests focused heavily on hard reading and book skills instead of actual firefighting skills.

No job connection: A judge found that the questions had little to do with what a firefighter does every day.

Lower pass rates: White applicants passed the tests at much higher rates than Black and Hispanic applicants.

Details on the test: You can read more about how the questions were set up in The Fire Dept. Tests That Were Found to Discriminate from the New York Times.

The Court Decision and Penalties

Intentional bias: U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled that the city knew the tests were unfair and used them anyway.

Big payout: The court ordered New York City to pay nearly $128 million in back pay and damages to affected workers.

New hiring rules: The city had to hire hundreds of minority applicants who were unfairly rejected and create a new, fair entrance exam.
-------------
9/11 Legacy

Twelve Black firefighters from the Vulcan Society lost their lives during rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001

Gerard Baptiste. 🌹

Vernon Cherry. 🌹

Tarel Coleman. 🌹

Andre Fletcher. 🌹

Keith Glascoe. 🌹

Ronnie Henderson🌹

William Henry. 🌹

Karl Joseph. 🌹

Keithroy Maynard 🌹

Vernon Richard. 🌹

Shawn Powell. 🌹

Leon Smith Jr. 🌹

reddit.com
u/SirFicklespend — 1 month ago