City proclaims Dec. 26 as Alwin Holman Day in honor of ex-firefighter on 100th birthday

For decades of service to the city of San Diego and breaking a major color barrier, city leaders proclaimed Friday Alwin Benjamin Holman Day in honor of the ex-firefighter on his 100th birthday.

Holman was the first Black San Diego firefighter to serve in a station other than Fire Station 19 in the historically Black Southcrest neighborhood. As a rookie in November 1951, he was assigned to Fire Station 14 in North Park. Holman served with the SDFD for 32 years, ultimately becoming the city’s first Black Deputy fire chief.

“It never dawned on me that it was so much responsibility placed on my shoulders like that,” Holman told NBC 7. “Later on as I worked, I realized that if I did not succeed, what would happen to future firefighters if they were of African American descent? I tried to do the best I could,” Holman added.

Holman was born in Alton, Illinois, “where segregation sought to define opportunity, yet through the strength and wisdom of his mother, he was raised to rise above discrimination and live with dignity, confidence and purpose,” the city’s proclamation reads.

He joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 and was stationed in San Diego the next year, where he would call home for the next 80 years. Following World War II, Holman then joined the United States Postal Service before his career in the fire department.

“One day the chief pulled me aside and told me they wanted me to train at Station 14 on 32nd and Lincoln,” Holman told The San Diego Voice and Viewpoint last year. “The chief told me that I was going to be his Jackie Robinson of the Fire Department and that I would be one of the first Black Firemen to serve outside of Station 19.”

When he broke that color barrier by being sent to an all-white fire station, the city’s fire department soon saw more Black firefighters stationed outside of Southcrest. He retired in 1983.

“Since 1889, we’ve only had two African American females to work for our department long enough to retire,” said Captain Jason Shanley with San Diego Fire-Rescue. “That is something that we would like to address as a department, and I think some of addressing that is really just a part of what we do in recruitment,” Shanley added.

“Throughout his distinguished … career, Mr. Holman exemplified professionalism and integrity,” the proclamation read. “He served all people equally, without regarding race or background, and demonstrated through his actions that compassion, service, and courage transcend division.”

Holman was thanked for his service in person at a city council meeting last week.

“I loved the job so much,” he said at city hall.

“One of the things we don’t want to do is erase this part of history, we want this to remain something that we can look back on and be able to see where we came from, where we need to be,” Shanley said.