Black History Month: A new face Chester residents will see in times of emergency.
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Highlighting Black voices in the Rock Hill region during Black History Month
This month, in honor of Black History Month, The Herald is highlighting voices in the region who you may not have heard. These are Black people who quietly have an impact in our communities.
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Editor’s note: This month, in honor of Black History Month, The Herald is highlighting voices in the region who you may not have heard. These are Black people who quietly have an impact in our communities. Today we start with Ka’Nya Givens.
Ka’Nya Givens, at 18 years old, is the first Black female firefighter to serve Chester County, SC.
She originally wanted to be a nurse, but realized that being a firefighter was another way to help people, she said. She hopes to be an inspiration to other girls. “If I give up, other little girls will give up,” she says.
Herald reporter Tobie Nell Perkins sat down with her to talk about Black History Month.
What is the significance of Black History Month to you?
Givens: It teaches me, teaches a lot of people, a lot of history that nobody knows. It’s very important, because stuff gets left out. When you look into history, you learn a lot of new stuff. If we didn’t have it, it wouldn’t get talked about as much.
Is there a particular incident that inspires you, when it comes to issues of race or politics?
Givens: Oh, definitely. The Rosa Parks story, on the bus. She put her foot down. She made her voice heard.
Is there a figure you admire? Would Rosa Parks be your answer?
Givens: Yeah, definitely. She inspired me as well as other Black girls, strong as she was.
What is the key race related issue that you see in your community?
Givens: I feel like it would just be discrimination. Because in the fire service, when (people) see the Black firefighters, they don’t look at us like the white firefighters. Because it’s a predominately white -- a white man’s job. So that’s probably the problem in my community. I feel like they don’t trust me as much as they would trust our white firefighters to save them or help them out in a situation.
How would you solve that problem?
Givens: If it wasn’t a pandemic, we’ve been saying we want to host a community get-together, show we’re all the same, and as strong as one another. We all have to lean on one another. We’re just as much capable of the job as the fellow white firefighters. We won’t let people down.
If you could give any message to your community, what would it be?
Givens: We should be together as one. We shouldn’t divide each other. We’re all Chester County. We should all be together as one, regardless of the racial, the female, male, we should all be one.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Black History Month: A new face Chester residents will see in times of emergency.."
