First Black Men To Become Paramedics Honored in New Book

There is still so much history about the achievements of Black people that many of us never learned in school.

The story of the African American men who became the first U.S. paramedics are a part of a long history of firsts by Blacks. Twenty-four young Black men living in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in the 1960s and 1970s became paramedics during the Civil Rights Movement. A book telling their story received a Christopher Award this year, according to Mercer University’s The Den.

The book, American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics was one of 12 works honored by the 74th Annual Christopher Awards in March.

The author of the book, a nursing student at Mercer University, Kevin Hazzard, said, “These young men were plucked from a neighborhood that the rest of Pittsburgh and America thought very little of and stepped up at a time of great need.”

“It’s the birth of paramedics, and yet nobody knows where it came from. The people, the story and the setting were all incredibly exciting. Having been a paramedic myself, I found it remarkable that most people who work in the field hadn’t even heard the story, and it just felt like it’s a story that needed to be told,” Hazzard added.

Black author and former television producer for Good Morning America, Michelle D. Hord, also received an award for her memoir, The Other Side of Yet: Finding Light in the Midst of Darkness.

Insider reported the memoir details Hord’s journey to healing after her ex-husband, Axel Johnson, killed her seven-year-old daughter, Gabrielle. Hord spoke to E! News that same year about the murder of her daughter, “I’m not going to let it win. And so a bit of that angry, defensive Black mama in me I think also helped guide me and give me strength.”

“The stories we’re honoring acknowledge that the struggles we endure in life coexist with beauty and hope when we work together, despite our differences, to add love and healing to our world,” said Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications.