Tulsa gala honors The Six, the city's first Black firefighters

Tulsa closed out Fire Prevention Week by honoring six men who broke the color line in its fire department seven decades ago. The first Black Wall Street Firefighters Ball paid tribute to Henry L. Collier, Milton T. Goodwin, Clifford Harn, Robert L. Shanks, Cleatus Q. Stephens and Merle Stripling, the department's first Black firefighters.

"The Six"

The men were hired in 1956 while Tulsa's fire stations were still segregated and they became known simply as The Six. They answered the same alarms as their white colleagues but were sent back to separate quarters. Family members say a fire truck was parked down the middle of the station to divide the two sides and the Black crew got one large room with lockers and a bathroom.

Cleatus Stephens once told his son he kept a gun under his bed at the station because he feared for his safety. His twin sons, Donald and Ronald Stephens, said they never saw him miss a day of work. "My dad and the firemen, those were my heroes," Donald Stephens said. "All six of those guys paved the way."

A legacy that kept going

Both twins joined the department in 1977 and together served the city for 31 years. The stations were integrated by then but they still met barriers. Ronald Stephens said he decided the only way to change the department was to stay in it. Three firefighters later told him they joined because of his father.

Retired Lt. Donald Stephens helped organize the Saturday night gala. He said the goal is to teach the community what the first Black firemen endured and which doors they opened. "We stand on the shoulders of everyone who came behind us," he said.

Scholarships for the next generation

The evening, which ran until about midnight, also screened a trailer for a film about the men called Fighting More Than a Fire. Proceeds support two scholarships through a partnership with the youth nonprofit A Pocket Full of Hope. One honors Stephens' granddaughter Eriyon Tecson, a young actress who was killed last December while trying to help a stranger. That award will go to a student pursuing the arts and drama.

"If one person can do a little, then it will be a collaborative effort," said Dr. Lester Shaw, the nonprofit's executive director. Stephens said nothing like the ball had been done before to honor the men and their legacy.