NAACP again marching around Erie City Hall

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a group of black clergy plan to march around Erie City Hall for the third week in a row.

The NAACP and the African American Concerned Clergy of Greater Erie say this afternoon’ march is scheduled because they continue to be dismayed by the lack of minorities in the city’s police and fire departments and in other public jobs.

In 2007, just two of 181 candidates who took a civil service test for firefighters jobs were black. The city has tried to recruit more blacks and last month 15 of 336 applicants for the test were black. Seventeen others were women and 17 others listed “Hispanic” or “other” as their race.

The city currently has no minorities and three women among its 134 firefighters.