Commemoration in NYC

Watching in horror as Birmingham’s firemen turned high pressure hoses on children in 1963, the New York City Fire Officers Association issued a resolution declaring, “This shameful and deplorable conduct by the City of Birmingham . . . has brought discredit to the honorable status of professional firefighters.” In May 2014, US Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Association, and the First Lady of New York City worked through Kids in Birmingham 1963 to invite Janice Wesley Kelsey and Gwendolyn Gamble to travel from Birmingham to New York to take part in an event commemorating FDNY’s historic stand.