Published by
NJ.com
NJ.com
David Lee Bolden didn’t beat around the bush when asked why he wanted to become a Newark firefighter 65 years ago. “I needed the job,” said Bolden, 92, matter-of-factly. “And also, to help the city.” He kept it modest. But on Friday, Bolden and two others were recognized by city officials as trailblazers for their work as the first three paid Black firefighters in Newark. “I know there were times when you were a firefighter, they wouldn’t even let African American firefighters actually go fight fires,” Mayor Ras Baraka told Bolden before shaking his hand. “You had to actually just salvage or c…