Offended black firefighters aim to leave union Election of man who wore blackface is an insult, activists say

African-American firefighter activists announced Saturday thatthey will seek to break away from the city's white-majorityfirefighters union, outraged by the election of a white unionpresident who once appeared in blackface to protest an affirmativeaction measure.

"We are preparing ourselves to get out of the union," said Capt.Ezra McCann, who is African-American.

McCann and other black firefighters met with the Rev. JesseJackson on Saturday to plan a response to the election this month ofJames E. McNally as president of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2.The group will launch a letter-writing campaign, McCann said, aimedat "changing the law that tied us into this …