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Virtual Adult Lecture: American Sirens

The Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics

Author, Kevin Hazzard will highlight the extraordinary story of a group of Black men in Pittsburgh who became the first paramedics in America.

In 1968, if you had a medical emergency anywhere in the US your call for help would likely summon two undertakers in a hearse. But all that changed when a young woman fresh out of medical school and twenty-four Black men from Pittsburgh joined forces to create the world’s first paramedics. Their efforts kicked off a revolution in emergency medicine and forever changed the way lives are saved around the world. 

Kevin Hazzard is a journalist, TV writer, and former paramedic. His first book, A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back, was published in 2016. He now writes for film and TV, with work produced by Hulu, CBS, ABC, and Universal. His journalism has been published at 99% Invisible, the Atavist, Men’s Journal, Washington Post, Atlanta Magazine, and elsewhere. He serves on the Governing Board of Global Response Medicine and is a sought-after voice on emergency medicine. He lives in Atlanta.

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