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Boynton Beach city officials are meeting this week to review a lawsuit filed by the city's first Black female firefighter after her image was whitewashed in a public mural.
Latosha Clemons, who worked for the city for 26 years is suing for $100,000 in damages according to the lawsuit filed in April.
Clemons first reacted to the mural after it was unveiled in June 2020.
Clemons became the first Black deputy fire chief. She approved the original image to be used in 2019.
However, sometime between Clemons approval and when the mural was finished in 2020, the image was adjusted. Instead of her image, the face was adjusted to reflect Clemons as a White firefighter.
The change to the mural was unbelievable.
https://twitter.com/Complex/status/1447589054875201542\u00a0\u2026— John Hookfin III (@John Hookfin III) 1633980046
Literal whitewashing— Crayola Smile (@Crayola Smile) 1634081440
LaTosha Clemons should add a zero to that $100,000 she's seeking in damages. Maybe two zeros.https://twitter.com/TheRoot/status/1447600917629452289\u00a0\u2026— Ric Caric (@Ric Caric) 1633971038
After the unveiling of the mural, the city's public art manager and fire chief were removed from their positions.
Matthew Petty, the former fire chief, was removed from his position and later resigned. Debby Coles-Dobay, the former public arts manager says she was pressured by Petty and his staff to change Clemons' image.
Clemons is suing the city for defamation, libel and negligence.
The complaint says:
"Being depicted as White was not only a false presentation of Clemons, it was also a depiction which completely disrespected all that the first female Black firefighter for the city had accomplished."
"By allowing the mural to depict Clemons as someone of a completely different race, White, a race the city presumably felt better fit the image it was looking to project."
It's Floriduh, what else is new?— nmoyenda (@nmoyenda) 1634063771
This speaks volumes in the good ol' USA, where citizens believe they are "free"— Rabbitfish63 (@Rabbitfish63) 1634009387
What. The. F**k.\n\n@cityofboynton is getting off cheap. If I were this fire fighter, I would sue for enough money to 1) never work again and 2) Bankrupt this nasty #racist town.https://twitter.com/hjtherealj/status/1447035128371367938\u00a0\u2026— ColoradoIndependent (@ColoradoIndependent) 1634005065
Latosha is a very popular name in the white community— Guvment Cheez (@Guvment Cheez) 1634081432
Mayor Steven B. Grant said the city commission will gather this week at a closed-door meeting to discuss the lawsuit. The city's official position is a denial of the allegations, claiming the employees who are responsible changed the approved design without public leaders' consent.
Grant told The Washington Post:
"We don't understand why this happened."
Commenters online knew exactly why this happened.
And folks have the audacity to say racism is of the past....What A Lie....what happened to those letters these government agencies and businesses wrote last year on Anti-Racism? It is the continued EGREGIOUS BEHAVIOR that lets us know folks are disingenuoushttps://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1447987688150376450\u00a0\u2026— Adjoa J, MBA, Public Health Leader & Realtor (@Adjoa J, MBA, Public Health Leader & Realtor) 1634095026
It's more than whitewashing, they basically disappeared her face altogether, it's a "ghost image" at best.— DeathRocksFromSpace (@DeathRocksFromSpace) 1633978185
Or that no one would complain publicly or demand correction.— GESSopines (@GESSopines) 1633996214
An updated version of the mural with a proper representation of Clemons image was unveiled several months after the original, but it did little to quell the damage.
Attorneys for Clemons and the city are expected to meet for a mediation next month according to court documents.
Where this case goes from there remains to be seen.