Is There Ethnic Diversity Among The Firemen Of Kern County? - By N.L. Belardes

Downtown Firemen Mural On Fox Theatre

Of course there's ethnic diversity among the firemen of Kern County. But does the giant mural of firemen in downtown Bakersfield represent such multiculturalism?

Pride, safety, heroes. That's what I first thought and that's what I still think when I see the giant mural across from Bakersfield's downtown fire station on 21st and F streets. I've passed by the mural countless times and peered up at a photo collage designed to spark pride in the community's 130-year history of firemen.

But then I was in a discussion with someone at Bakotopia.com about a concern with the mural. It wasn't a concern about firemen themselves. We all know they're heroes. They save lives. I'm sure they take a lot of heat. Pun not intended.

What was brought to my attention was the lack of ethnic diversity in the photo.

I suddenly realized that being dual ethnic myself that I was blinded by the grandeur and pride instilled in the mural. It's not a bad piece of artwork.

But we're talking about a giant billboard that our community views everyday.

For some reason I instantly thought of Tony's Pizza on California Avenue. Now, Tony's Pizza is a shrine to local firemen. Walk into the restaurant and you get a sense that firemen in Kern County are a multicultural, diverse society of people. You'll see actual firemen inside the restaurant chowing down on pizza. You'll see photos, paintings, and you'll feel a sense of pride. You won't feel brown, black or white. You'll just feel cozy and no longer hungry after a great meal.

But what are we cozy with outside of our comfortable ethnic-owned restaurants, homes, churches, etc.?

What is the city of Bakersfield trying to communicate with this giant image of firemen? Is this just some humongous typo of artistic-ethnic proportions?

Now when I pass by the mural my feelings have changed a little. Not toward firemen, but toward the city. I feel like our culture here in Bakersfield is not always moving forward in the name of ethnic diversity.

Are you even aware of the statistics of how many people are ethnic minorities in Bakersfield? We're like fall leaves: a wide range of beautiful colors all making up a community rooted in the same earth.

Now I'm not going to get caught up in city versus county here. I mean, maybe there are more minority firemen in Kern County's rural cities. But I'm just talking about firemen and diversity.

Personally I think the city and county have to be careful when showing off promotional imagery of firemen that suggest a connection to a greater community at large. I know a black kid who just graduated from high school who wants to be a fireman. Is he to think that in 130 years there have been no black firemen in Bakersfield? I have no idea his opinion of the billboard. And I have no opinion of Mr. Martinez' of Tony's Pizza's opinion of the mural. Heck, maybe there needs to be another mural representing ethnic diversity among city and county firemen.

What I do know, is that that as a community, the city's promotional engine needs to represent the diversity of the community it reflects.