Retired Sgt. Robert Grier, One of the 'Original 8' Who Integrated the Winston-Salem Fire Department, Dies at 104

Retired Sgt. Robert Grier, one of the eight Black firefighters who entered the Winston-Salem Fire Department on March 1, 1951, to break its color barrier, has died at 104. His death leaves the city with fewer firsthand witnesses to what it took to integrate one of its core public institutions under Jim Crow.

Born in 1922, Grier's 104 years spanned nearly the entire arc of the modern civil rights movement in Winston-Salem, from segregation through integration to the present day.

The Winston-Salem Fire Department announced Grier's death and extended heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. The department said Grier's "courage, dedication, and commitment to serving others helped shape our department and paved the way for generations of firefighters who followed," and that "his legacy is woven into the history of #WSFire and will never be forgotten."

The Original 8 who integrated the Winston-Salem Fire Department were Raphael O'Hara Black, Willie James Carter, Lester Edward Ervin Jr., John Henry Ford, Robert Lindsay Grier, John Franklin Meredith Jr., George Waddell Penn and John Roy Thomas. Their hiring made Winston-Salem the first city in North Carolina and the second south of the Mason-Dixon Line to integrate its fire department during the Jim Crow era.

Fire Chief Brown opposed integration, pressured white firefighters to sign a petition stating they did not want to work with Black men and claimed no white firefighters were willing to train the Black recruits. The eight Black firefighters were required to complete a six-week training program.

The Original 8 were assigned to Engine Company 4 on Dunleith Avenue, which became North Carolina's first integrated fire station. City laws in 1951 required separate sleeping quarters and kitchens for Black and white firefighters, and the city spent $10,000 to renovate the Dunleith Avenue station to create these separate facilities. Despite those mandates, the Black and white firefighters at Engine Company 4 chose to ignore the regulations and sleep, eat and work together as a team.

The Original 8 were initially restricted to responding only to fires in Black neighborhoods. The first time Engine Company 4 was called to assist outside the Black community was on June 2, 1951, at the Wood Finishing Products Company plant, breaking the color barrier for responding to fires in all neighborhoods.

Robert Grier said the Original 8 "knew if we had failed – just like Jackie Robinson or anybody else who could've failed – that would've been all of it, so we had to be an example."

Grier rose to the rank of sergeant during his career with the Winston-Salem Fire Department, though available records conflict on the length of his service. The department was fully integrated by 1967.

Lester Edward Ervin Jr., one of the Original 8, later became North Carolina's first Black career fire chief when he was appointed to lead the Winston-Salem Fire Department in 1980, serving 38 years total. Fire Station 4 on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was renamed the Lester E. Ervin Fire Station on May 19, 1997, to honor him.

Grier celebrated his 104th birthday in March 2026 with a surprise fire truck parade outside his home organized by the Winston-Salem Fire Department.

Willie Carter, one of the Original 8, died on October 28, 2021, at age 97. Ervin is also deceased. Neither the city nor the fire department has indicated whether it conducted oral histories or systematically preserved the Original 8's firsthand testimony while they were still living.

Five Black firefighters filed a $20 million federal lawsuit in February 2021 against the City of Winston-Salem and Fire Chief Trey Mayo, alleging systemic race discrimination, harassment and retaliation within the department. The plaintiffs — Thomas Penn Jr., Delbert Hairston Jr., Gerrod Hardy, Ricky Brown and Eddie Forest, all members of the African-American firefighter organization Omnibus — allege that white firefighters used the N-word, tied and displayed nooses including during a ropes-and-knots training class, wore gorilla masks and made offensive social media posts without discipline. The lawsuit also claims Black firefighters are discouraged from applying, subjected to more rigorous testing in Rookie School, denied promotional opportunities and ostracized or transferred if they complain.

The suit was filed 70 years after the Original 8 integrated the department, raising the question of whether the institution has fulfilled the promise of the integration they made possible.