By Manuel Ortiz Escámez
One characteristic of the San Francisco Peninsula is its enormous ethnic diversity. Here, social groups from multiple nations coexist, and each group makes a very valuable contribution to the cultural and economic enrichment of this area; however, this diversity is not always reflected in the traditional media, much less by those in power.
For example, Redwood City has a Latino population in excess of 39 %, while the Asian population exceeds 11 %. However, these populations, and others such as people of African descent, are completely invisible in the following photographs, which correspond to the city's eight Fire Department chiefs.
Inevitably, looking at these photographs raises the following questions, which we should all be asking ourselves, including City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz, Mayor Diane Howard, Vice Mayor Shelly Masur, Council members, and even the nine candidates for Redwood City Council Districts 1, 3, 4 and 7.
Why do we not see women, Latinos, Asians, people of African descent and other ethnicities in the Redwood City Fire Department's command photographs?
Make no mistake. This question is not intended as an attack on the people who, in recent days, have risked their lives to control the relentless fires in Northern California; which, by the way, severely affected the air quality on the Peninsula. No. To these people all our gratitude.
Should we be concerned about the lack of diversity? When responding to an emergency call, are chiefs aware of cultural and language barriers that could hinder service? Are neighborhoods treated differently depending on their ethnicity? Are there institutional and ideological barriers to hiring and promotion of Fire Department personnel?
These are just some of the questions that come to mind when I look at these pictures and hear the stories of neighborhoods that don't regularly show up at Council meetings at City Hall.
The questions are directed at the Fire Department brass who, as far as we can tell, and as Peninsula 360 Press has been able to ascertain from several first-hand accounts we've had access to, are a guild of white men who fail to understand one of the Peninsula's and Redwood City's greatest values: diversity.
Manuel Ortiz Escámez is a sociologist and journalist. He lives in Redwood City.
In case you are interested in learning more about the fire department:
https://www.redwoodcity.org/departments/fire-department/about-the-department/fire-stations
