Connecticut Firefighters Case Heads to the Theater in Yale Rep’s 'Good Faith'

  • Source: Connecticut Magazine
  • Published: 01/28/2019 12:00 AM

Can a landmark Supreme Court case rooted in New Haven translate into compelling theater? Audiences will be the ultimate judges when Good Faith: Four Chats about Race and the New Haven Fire Department has its world premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven running Feb. 1-23. Yale Rep commissioned playwright Karen Hartman (The Book of Joseph) to develop a theater piece centering on a controversial labor law court case that began in New Haven in 2004 and went to the Supreme Court in 2009 in Ricci v. DeStefano. In a 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that the city violated the civil rights of a group of 20 firefighters — 19 white and one Hispanic — who were passed over for promotion in 2003. The case was initially brought after the city declined to promote the 20 firefighters after they had passed a test for promotions to management positions. City officials claimed that because none of the African-American firefighters who took the test scored high enough to be considered for the positions, going ahead with the promotions would put the city in danger of being sued by minority firefighters.



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