They Call Me Trusty: A Black Firefighter’s Fight for Social Justice

They Call Me Trusty: A Black Firefighter’s Fight for Social Justice is the compelling memoir of Dudley ＂Trusty＂ Bynoe, a San Jose firefighter who dedicated his career to challenging the institutional racism entrenched in the fire service. Faced with systemic barriers, Trusty took unorthodox actions to force fire chiefs to confront inequities--for Black firefighters, other firefighters of color, and women who served the city and the diverse communities that relied on them. In his own voice, Trusty shares the importance of strategy: having a plan, reading opponents, understanding their weaknesses, and fearlessly attacking injustice from multiple angles. He mastered the rules and laws, using them as weapons in the fight for equity. Though some saw him as an ＂angry Black man,＂ he was, in truth, a relentless advocate for fairness. This memoir chronicles Trusty’s victories and sacrifices and reveals his deep disappointments, particularly the lack of generational reciprocity from Black firefighters who benefited from his work. His story is one of resilience, defiance, and an unyielding commitment to justice, offering an unfiltered look at the cost of change and the legacy of a man who refused to back down.

Dudley C. Bynoe, also known as Trusty, was born in the Bronx, New York, to a Barbados family. He served as a firefighter in San Jose for twenty-five years and played a pivotal role as a founding member and leader of the Santa Clara County Black Firefighters Association.



Linda Turner Bynoe is a professor emeritá California State University, Monterey Bay. She coauthored Dynamic Linking: A Curriculum Design Model for Student Engagement. Together, she and Dudley Bynoe shared a fifty-seven-year marriage marked by a remarkable partnership of diverse talents.