The first Black woman to ever be a firefighter in a city in Florida is suing her hometown after it depicted her as a white woman in a mural.
Back in April, Latosha Clemons, Boynton Beach, Florida’s first Black female firefighter, filed a lawsuit against the city after a mural that was drawn to honor her and her peers “reflected her as a white member of the city fire department.” Now, the Boynton Beach City Commission is expected to meet this week to discuss the legal matter and the issue itself.
“The City Commission will meet in a closed-door session to discuss the litigation. It is not a public meeting,” City Manager Lori LaVerriere told CNN in an email on Sunday.
Another lawsuit regarding the inaccurate depiction was filed back on September 2, and it stated that the case is being brought up “to redress the defamatory statement [the City of Boynton Beach] made regarding her race and/or its negligence in failing to properly oversee an approved use of the likeness of Clemons.”
Clemons, who became the city’s first Black female firefighter in 1996, served the city for 26 years. The complaint claims Clemons initially approved the mural, which at the time showed her as Black. However, the lawsuit claims the mural was changed afterward.
“Come June 3, 2020, when the mural was unveiled, it did not reflect Clemons as the Black member of the city fire department. Instead, it was altered and reflected her as a white member of the city Fire Department,” the complaint said.
“Being depicted as white was not only a false presentation of Clemons, it was also a depiction which completely disrespected all that [she] the first female Black firefighter for the city had accomplished,” the complaint continued.
The complaint goes on to say that “the actions of the city were done intentionally and knowingly to defame and injure Clemons,” CNN reports.
