 Boston suffered from the imposition of a state tax law derived from ‘Proposition 2½’ which caused the elimination of some 200 black firefighters until the layoffs were reversed by funds directly acquired by the city to re-hire them.NYC used the 1975 fiscal crisis to not proceed with court-ordered hiring of black firefighters as a result of a ruling in a 1973 lawsuit filed by the Vulcan Society.Around the country various ploys to prevent blacks from being hired as firefighters were disguised as fiscal austerity to provide cover for politicians who had no allegiance to nor fear of voter backlash from the minority communities which disproportionately suffered from firehouse closings.