Pioneer Black Fire Fighter Says City Cannot Be Impatient Under ‘Racial Insults’

Boyton Beach, Fla. – As the first black woman to serve as deputy fire chief in the city in the history of Boynton Beach, Latosha Clemens will not be afraid to continue to demand change in her community.

Clemens said after meeting with reporters on Friday that he was having trouble sleeping because city employees who harmed him earlier this year were not responsible.

“You have to get to the bottom of your departments, what goes on under your leadership,” Clemons said, adding that he has served the city for more than 20 years, “for example, with integrity.”

Clemons claims he was aware of the situation in the public records depicting the city manager, Lori L. V. Warrier, fire station mural, Clemons and other black leading firefighters.

The mural was intended to show black children and adolescents in the community that they too would one day join the fire department when city employees changed black faces to white.

Clemens was next to his West Palm Beach attorney, Nicole Hunt Jackson, who said the move by city officials to “whitewash” the mural was a “racial insult.”

Hunt Jackson and Clemens both said he “can’t be impatient under the pillow.”

Laverier distanced himself from the fire station mural scandal, saying he was unaware of what was going on. She reinstated Mural, and removed Matthew Patty as fire chief and Debbie Coles-Dobe as public arts manager.

Hunt Jackson said the changes to the mural took place the day before Laverier’s unveiling and she knew what was going on. Laverier made several statements revealing that he was not.

“Through emails from April to June, there was talk of changing the mural,” Hunt told Jackson. “Emails speak for themselves … and even if she doesn’t read the emails, she should be aware.” ”

Laverier has not yet responded to Friday’s allegations. Clemens, the only black female firefighter on Boynton Beach, said new evidence shows that what has been done is not enough to prevent something like this from happening again.

“My dad went there the next day, and he said, ‘Tosh, I went there and I saw that mural.’ He says, ‘He looks like me on that mural.’ And that kind of melted my heart, because not only that, after all, it affects my heart, “Clemens said.” It affected my family and community. “

Watch the news conference

(Raw video)

The report was contributed by local 10 news reporter Saira Anwar.