THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506030386
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
A four-part series
PART ONE
OVERVIEW
SOURCE: By Margaret Edds
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
If jobs were handed out for growing up the tough way, Jeffery M. Everson might qualify.
When he was a teenager, his dad died. His mom went to work as an assembly worker in a car parts factory, stretching a meager salary to support two children.
Jeff finished high school, completed two years of community college, and worked hard to land his dream job -- as a firefighter in Atlantic Beach, N.C.
But when he moved to Great Bridge in 1993 to be near the family of his second wife, Everson says, his luck failed. He believes he was turned down for a job in the Suffolk Fire Department because of one thing he could do nothing about: the color of his skin.
Everson is white. In a discrimination complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year, he alleged that one of two individuals hired soon after he applied was a black male who scored lower in the selection process.
Everson was notified by the city that he scored in Tier 1, the highest of three performance categories. According to information he has gleaned from various sources, the black hiree initially ranked in Tier 2.
It is also his understanding, Everson said in an interview, that two individuals hired by the department the following February were also African Americans who initially scored in Tier 2.
City officials declined to comment on details of the case because it is pending before the EEOC. Personnel director Marie Dodson said no extra points are given to minorities or women, but that otherwise the fire chief ``does everything he can to make sure the department reflects the city.''
Currently, 24 of the city's 31 fire fighters are white males. Five are black males. There are two women, one white and one black. The city was 55 percent white and 45 percent black in the 1990 Census.
``If somebody was more qualified than me, they should have the job. But I don't feel like they should have the job because of the color of their skin,'' Everson said.
Meanwhile, he is supporting his wife and three children delivering flowers for about $11,000 a year. That is roughly half of what he could make as a firefighter.
``We're able to pay the bills, but we're not living like we'd like,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff
by CNB