Black Firefighter Sues Newton Over Racist Comments

NEWTON, MA — A Black Newton firefighter filed a lawsuit this week against the city for creating a hostile work environment.

In a lawsuit filed in Middlesex Superior Court, 17-year veteran firefighter Lee Gilliam said a superior called him a "monkey" degraded him and his fellow firefighters made demeaning comments about Black people and criticized him when he complained.

Newton Director of Human Resources Michelle Pizzi O’Brien said in a statement that the city had been investigating Gilliam's concerns.

"The investigation of the allegations made by Mr. Gilliam is being conducted by an external investigator who began the investigation weeks ago," Pizzi O'Brien said in the statement. "The investigator is in the process of gathering all of the relevant facts, so the City does not know yet when the investigation will be complete, but we are moving forward with a sense of urgency regarding this matter."

The lawsuit comes on the heels of an April decision by the state's highest court that found Brookline was wrong to fire a firefighter saying he was unfit for duty several years after he reported racial harassment and retaliation.

The Supreme Judicial Court said Brookline was responsible for Gerald Alston's "unfitness" for duty, because of the way the town handled the racist incident.

Gilliam, a Newton resident began working for the city fire department in 2014. He's one of about 10 Black firefighters in the entire city. He argued in the lawsuit, that that imbalance has fostered a hostile work environment. It's an environment, the complaint reads, where white firefighters are left free to make insensitive and degrading comments toward people of color without consequence - from using degrading language to describe Black people to promoting a firefighter with a tattoo of the Betsy Ross Flag, which has been used by white supremacists.

In 2008, Gilliam reported that a higher ranking white firefighter "used the 'N-word' with the intent of degrading Gilliam." He said when he went to the lieutenant to express his concern, the firefighter brushed it aside, saying it was a common word, citing its use in rap music. After the city investigated and found the lieutenant had used a racial slur, Gilliam was transferred. Then, in 2013, Gilliam was transferred from his preferred firehouse because that lieutenant was being assigned there.

"In other words, the Department uprooted Gilliam to place [the officer who] admittedly used the 'N-word' in the past in his preferred position," according to the lawsuit. In 2017, despite assurances from supervisors that he would not have to work with that lieutenant, he was assigned duties where he frequently came in contact with him.

Gilliam's lawsuit said he was overlooked the following year when he applied for a promotion, and the position was given to a white man with much less experience than him. Afterward, Gilliam discovered that the lieutenant who had used the N-word was assigned to be in charge of that group and had made the final recommendation.

When Gilliam asked the lieutenant about the decision privately, that man responded in front of the "entire firehouse" saying Gilliam "lacked intelligence." Gilliam's lawsuit accuses him of calling him a "monkey" under his breath, in front of other supervisors.

In 2012, the city dismissed a Black firefighter for calling Gilliam a "House 'N-word' and "cornbread." But, he said, the city did not take any steps to change the culture of insensitive comments at the firehouse.

Gilliam said he listened to firefighters defend the Confederate flag and insist the "situation for Blacks had progressed enough since slavery." When Gilliam complained to the chief, he said he was told it was best he transfer to another firehouse. It was the third time he was transferred.

According to a 2014 lawsuit, at least one other Newton firefighter has been fired by the city for making racially derogatory comments. The firefighter referred to an Asian police officer as "googly gook eyes."

Pizzi O'Brien said in a statement that the city wanted employees to feel heard.

"The City of Newton values our employees. We are committed to providing a workplace environment where all our employees feel welcome, included and heard," she said. "The City is committed to continuing a full investigation of these concerns and ensuring a safe and positive work environment."

To read the full complaint:

Read this, too: Brookline To Settle Racism Lawsuit With Firefighter