Black Women in History
Meet OKC’s second-ever black woman firefighter
“I get to fight fire. I get to help people of my community. I get to go to schools and inform them of fire safety,” said Cpl. Evelyn Taylor.
Cpl. Taylor is the only black woman currently working as an Oklahoma City firefighter. She’s also the second-ever black woman to work for the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
“I get to inspire little girls who didn’t know women could be firefighters, too,” she said.
She says, if she could tell little girls anything, it would be that anything is possible.
“We’re not little beings, and we can do anything that we put our minds to,” said Cpl. Taylor, who has been with the Oklahoma City Fire Department for a little more than 4 years.
Cpl. Taylor says her dream wouldn’t be possible without those who came before her.
“They paved the way making a career as a firefighter possible for women, minorities, people of different backgrounds, who are able to bring valuable perspective and knowledge to our department and our community,” she said. “I am thankful for the first African American woman firefighter for Oklahoma City Fire Department, Toni Thompson, who gave me support and encouragement during my journey.”
Watch Cpl. Taylor’s full video below from the Oklahoma City Fire Department:
The last days of #BlackHistoryMonth are a good time to remember there are people making history right now. One of today's history-makers in #OKC is Cpl. Evelyn Taylor. Cpl. Taylor is the only black woman currently working as an OKC firefighter, and is only the second ever. "I get to inspire little girls who didn't know women could be firefighters too," she says. Cpl. Taylor shared her story with us for Black History Month.
Posted by Oklahoma City Fire Department on Tuesday, February 27, 2018
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