Brenda Berkman (born 1951) is a pioneering female firefighter. She was the sole named class plaintiff in the federal sex discrimination lawsuit that opened the
Fire Department of the City of New York
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
(FDNY) to women firefighters. After she won the lawsuit in 1982, she and 40 other women became FDNY firefighters.
Early childhood
Berkman grew up in Minneapolis, where as a child she became acutely aware of gender preference in favor of boys. Her application to
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationndwas designed more to keep women out than to accurately assess job-related skills.”
After Berkman's requests for a fairer test were ignored, she filed an ultimately successful class-action lawsuit: ''Brenda Berkman, et al. v. The City of New York'' (1982). A new test was created in which standards were changed so the test was job-related and Brenda with 40 other women passed to enter the fire academy in 1982. (''See Brenda Berkman, et al. v. The City of New York'', CV-79-1813, 536
F. Supp.
The ''Federal Supplement'' ( is a case law reporter published by West Publishing in the United States that includes select opinions of the United States district courts since 1932, and is part of the National Reporter System. Although the ''Fed ...
177 ( E.D.N.Y. 1982), ''aff’d'' Berkman v. City of New York, 705 F.2d 584 (2d Cir. 1983.))
Berkman was the founder of the United Women Firefighters in 1982, an organization for women in the FDNY. She was its first president and then elected president again multiple times until 1996.
Less than a year after joining the fire department Berkman was fired for alleged lack of physical ability, while her performance was consistently in the top tier of every task the fire department had given women. When she had returned to her firehouse on the Lower East Side to collect her belongings, the male firefighters wouldn't speak to her. As she exited in silence, they began clapping.
In 1983 Brenda Berkman and Zaida Gonzalez successfully sued to be reinstated. Judge Sifton's 56-page ruling was highly critical of the Fire Department, which the judge said had ''failed lamentably to prepare its officers and members for the extraordinary task of integrating women into its previously all-male ranks.'' While serving as firefighters, the two women were subjected to ''extensive'' sexual harassment, the judge said.
Lieutenant Berkman was off duty when the first plane hit the
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
on
September 11
Events Pre-1600
* 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
. She ran to the nearest firehouse and arrived at the site just as the North Tower collapsed. Berkman spent the rest of 9/11 and many weeks following looking for survivors and remains. Most 9/11 accounts reinforced the notion of heroes as men, often referring to firefighters as “firemen’ instead of the gender-neutral term and paid little attention to female workers at the scene. Her push to have women recognized for their contributions eventually led to the production of a video titled “The Women at Ground Zero.” Her experience was also featured in the book ''Women at Ground Zero: stories of courage and compassion''.
She retired in 2006 at the rank of captain.
The struggle of women to join the FDNY, and Berkman's part in it, was featured in a 2006
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
documentary called ''Taking The Heat.''
Berkman has remained an outspoken advocate for gender equality.
Awards
*
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...
Award from the
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
(1984)
* Revson Fellowship on the Future of the City of New York, from Columbia University (1987-1988)
* New York Women's Foundation Celebrating Women Honoree (2000)
* Distinguished Alumni Award from St. Olaf College (1996)
* Women of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women (2002).
* She was also the first firefighter to be a
White House Fellow
The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corp ...
.
Artwork
Berkman responded to the World Trade Center attacks and in 2011 decided for the first time, to deal with her 9/11 experience in her art. She drew and created the stone lithograph print “2001”, a self-portrait depicting a bent over figure, covering her head and moving away as if under attack from above. In 2012 a self-portrait she created was exhibited at the 9/11 Decade Exhibit at the Westbeth Sculpture Gallery Annex. The series of stone lithograph images she drew and printed over three years (2015-2017) is titled “Thirty-Six Views of One World Trade Center." “Thirty-six Views” documents both the rebuilding and the memories of the World Trade Center site. The entire series was acquired by the
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bomb ...
permanent collection, St. Olaf College (MN) and a private collector. The 36th print, the only one with color, depicts the two blue lights beamed from Ground Zero annually on 9/11.