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'''John Cheatham''' (1855{{En dash}}1918) was an American [[firefighter]] in |
'''John Cheatham''' (1855{{En dash}}1918) was an American [[firefighter]] in [[Minneapolis]] during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Born under slavery in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], Cheatham was freed at the age of eight by the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], and then moved to Minneapolis, [[Minnesota]], with his family shortly thereafter. Cheatham was one of the first [[Black-American|Black]] firefighters in Minneapolis, holding several leadership positions during his tenure. In 2021, the city announced the designation of a street as '''Cheatham Avenue''' in the [[Longfellow, Minneapolis|Longfellow community]] to honor his legacy of racial integration within the city’s fire department. |
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== Early life == |
== Early life == |
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Revision as of 04:50, 2 January 2022
John Cheatham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1855 |
| Died | 1918 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Occupation | Firefighter |
| Known for | Cheatham Avenue |
John Cheatham (1855–1918) was an American firefighter in Minneapolis during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Born under slavery in St. Louis, Missouri, Cheatham was freed at the age of eight by the Emancipation Proclamation, and then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his family shortly thereafter. Cheatham was one of the first Black firefighters in Minneapolis, holding several leadership positions during his tenure. In 2021, the city announced the designation of a street as Cheatham Avenue in the Longfellow community to honor his legacy of racial integration within the city’s fire department.
Early life
John W. Cheatham[1] was born in 1855 to an enslaved family in the U.S. state of Missouri. His family was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1962. Shortly thereafter, at the age of eight, his family moved from St. Louis, Missouri, to Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2]
Career
Cheatham worked as a laborer. He joined the Minneapolis Fire Department at the age of 33 in 1888 as a pipeman.[3] He was either the first, or one of the first, Black firefighters in the city.[2] He was promoted to a driver after three years with the department,[4] and after about five years he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.[3] He then obtained the rank of captain in 1899, but was demoted back to pipeman a year later for refusing to comply with an order from a White firefighter who held the same rank as him.[5]
Cheatham worked at several fire stations in Minneapolis.[5] In 1907, Cheatham and two other Black firefighters were assigned to Fire Station 24 at Hiawatha Avenue and 45th Street, a racially segregated facility that officials were transitioning to an all-Black firehouse.[2] The station was in middle of a redlined neighborhood that was predominantly White, but it was also adjacent to a railroad yard where many Black labors worked and had the houses on nearby streets where they lived. White firefighters at Fire Station 24, and some nearby residents, initially objected to black fire fighters being assigned to the station.[6][2]
Cheatham and the other Black firefighters resisted being replaced by White firefighters at the station. Cheatham said about the incident that he was "drawing the color line and drawing it stiff”.[4] After debate by Minneapolis city councilors and support via a petition from White women who lived in the area, the fire station continued with the assignment of Black firefighters.[6][2] Cheatham worked at the station until his retirement in 1918.[7][8]
Cheatham's firefighting received praise in the Minneapolis Journal newspaper during his tenure.[9]
Personal life
Cheatham was married to Susie Cheatham. They had four children, Ethel, Bertha, Gilbert, and Wesley. Susie Cheatham died in 1906 from typhoid at the age of 46. John Cheatham died on August 15, 1918, at the age of 63, from chronic endocarditis. Cheathum was buried at the Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery in Minneapolis alongside other family members.[9]
Legacy
Racial integration
Cheatham and several other Blacks assigned to Fire Station 24 were the first to racially integrate the Minneapolis Fire Department.[2] However, the number of Blacks in the fire department decreased in the decades after Cheatham's retirement until there were no Blacks in the ranks by the 1940s. The city's fire department was not racially integrated again until 1972 after being ordered to do so by federal judge Earl Larson.[10]
Cheatham Avenue
In the aftermath of protests following George Floyd's murder in 2020, honoring Cheatham's legacy was part of a wave of statute removals and official re-designations.[2] In 2021, a petition drive led by disability activist Noah McCourt requested that the City of Minneapolis rename Dight Avenue, a street in the Longfellow community that had been named decades earlier for the controversial Charles Fremont Dight.[11] After consulting with residents on Dight Avenue and offering several options,[12] city officials decided to honor Cheatham's legacy by renaming Dight Avenue after him, with the change taking place in 2022. Cheatham Avenue is one of a few named streets in Minneapolis where most streets are numbered.[2] The street runs for 10 blocks in the city's southside, running parallel to Hiawatha Avenue.[3]
See also
- 2020–2021 Minneapolis–Saint Paul racial unrest
- Firefighting in the United States
- History of Minneapolis
- List of name changes due to the George Floyd protests
References
- ^ "Historic Preservation: Fire Station No. 24, Potential Landmark". City of Minneapolis. 2021-02-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Brooks, Jennifer (2021-12-25). "Minneapolis will change infamous street name to honor trailblazing firefighter". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
- ^ a b c Croman, John (2021-12-28). "Minneapolis street renamed for city's first Black firefighter". KARE-TV. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ a b "John Cheatham: One of Minneapolis' First African-American Firefighters". Black Then. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
- ^ a b Furst, Randy (2020-12-07). "Former Hennepin County judge pushes for historic designation for fire station that opened with an all-Black fire crew in 1907". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
- ^ a b "History Preservation: All Black Fire Station". International Leadership Institute. 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Minneapolis Fire Station #24". Adventures in Cardboard. 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Roper, Eric (2020-06-23). "Once far from the city, an old cemetery on busy Lake Street hosts some famous Minnesotans". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
- ^ a b "John Cheatham". Friends of the Cemetery. 2005-05-23. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Furst, Randy (2021-03-20). "50 Years of Integration: Federal Judge Earl Larson issued a decision 50 years ago this month that desegregated the Minneapolis Fire Department". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ^ "Petition asks to rename Minneapolis street named after eugenicist who praised Hitler". Bring Me The News. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
- ^ "Dight Ave Renaming". Longfellow Business Association. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Further reading
- "Snelling Avenue, Minneapolis: Research on the History of the African American Community." Hennepin County Community Works (2009). Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- "Gallery: The Minneapolis Fire Department's path to racial integration" (2021-03-25). Star Tribune. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
