David James Floyd, the first president of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, designed the IABPFF Logo. The following is his explanation of the design.
COLORS · Red, black and green were the colors used by Marcus Garvey’s black pride or African movement of the 1930’s. The “Red” is for our blood, the “Black” is for the race, and the “Green” is for hope.
HAND · The hand was selected because of the number five (5). The five fingers represent the five founding organizations of the International, which were Vulcan Society, Inc, New York, NY; Phoenix Society Inc., Hartford, Connecticut; Vulcan Pioneers of New Jersey Inc., Newark, NJ; Vulcan Pioneers of Hudson County Inc., Jersey City, NJ; and Valiants Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
CLENCHED FIST · Symbolized strength and power when the fingers (organizations) came together.
OUTLINE OF FINGERS · It was strongly felt by the designer that the Almighty had a guiding hand in bringing black fire fighters together from across the nation. The outline of the fingers was shaped to form the Arabic word “Allah” which means “GOD”.
FLAME · Represents the heat that is necessary to take something old (five groups), and forge them into something new (the International).
Our logo is trademarked and any use requires written permission from the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters.