ATLANTA — The Hawks on Friday unveiled a new mural at Atlanta Fire Rescue Station 16, where 16 Black firefighters first integrated the city's department in 1963.
Several of those history-making firefighters were on hand for the occasion, as was Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins and current players John Collins and Skylar Mays.
The station, on Joseph E. Boone Blvd. in the Washington Park neighborhood, also will feature a new basketball hoop that the Hawks installed. Part of the effort, the team said, was to encourage neighborhood youths to stay active and feel connected to their community through the fire station.
"It's meaningful to connect the youth to the fire department because it's more than just a station, it really is a hub of a community," Hawks Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility Andrea Carter said. "They provide mentoring services here, they have a cadet program they do, an annual holiday party - so just like the Atlanta Hawks are a community asset, so is the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department."
According to the team, the mural includes 16 black stars to represent the first Black firefighters at the station, as well as seven stars for the first Black women firefighters in the city.
The team said it would also participate in several youth initiatives with Atlanta Fire Rescue over the coming months, including its Community Mentorship Program, AFRD Cadet Program and the Delayed Entry Program.
“Atlanta Fire Rescue is honored to embark upon this historic partnership with the Atlanta Hawks,” Atlanta Fire Rescue Chief Roderick M. Smith said in a statement. "The implementation of the basketball hoop and mural paying tribute to the legacy of AFRD's first African-American Firefighters reaffirms their values of community and togetherness.”