A couple of weeks ago I attended my first legal clinician conference. This experience was sure to be memorable for a number of reasons. First, I was attending a conference with law professors from all over the country, just three years out of law school, with the name of one of the top law schools in the country – University of California, Berkeley – positioned prominently under my name. This had significance for me because the law school I was representing was the law school that my father’s sister, who I never had the opportunity to meet, attended. It was significant because I had applied to Berkeley for law school but was not admitted, though now I had been hired to train and supervise its students. So in some ways, it felt as if things had come full circle: I now had a professional connection to a school that I could not attend and to a woman whom I had never met, a connection solidified by a name badge that should have, in theory, at least, endowed me with sufficient protection to walk through the Sheraton Hotel and not arouse suspicion.
I mean, deep down, I knew that this bubble of supposed privilege would not and could not protect me, but at least that I was deserving of indulging in the fantasy, even if temporarily.
Still, I couldn’t have predicted just how this all would come crashing down, even if I was relatively certain that it would.
I knew that fancy credentials and name badges from prominent schools were no protection from implicit and explicit bias or from old fashioned racism. But I at least thought that the hotel would grant me the right to use the restroom without being questioned.
I was wrong.
My naïveté came crashing down with the forceful knock on the door of the bathroom stall I was using, and the voice of a man asking, “Are you a guest here?”
What followed was, when I tried to address what had happened with the hotel, a series of insufficient, insensitive, and inconsequential responses from the upper management structure of the hotel.
I found solidarity with the other attendees of color, who, despite being outraged, were also not particularly shocked by the events. This solidarity is on full display in the powerful letter we sent to the Marriot, owner of the Sheraton, posted below in its entirety:
May 17, 2017
By Registered and Electronic Mail
Arne M. Sorenson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Marriott International
10400 Fernwood Rd.
Bethesda, MD 20817
Edward A. Ryan
Executive Vice President and General Counsel Marriott International
10400 Fernwood Rd.
Bethesda, MD 20817
Dear Mr. Sorenson and Mr. Ryan:
We write as members of the Clinicians of Color Committee of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), Section on Clinical Legal Education, to raise to your attention an outrageous incident of racial discrimination that occurred at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel on May 7, 2017. This was the site of the annual AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education (“AALS Clinical Conference”), which brought over 600 hundred law professors and practitioners together from across the country, from May 6 to May 9, 2017. Unfortunately, this was also the site of a blatant instance of racial profiling, which was immediately brought to the attention of the hotel staff and management, and whose grossly inadequate response only compounded the problem.
At approximately 9:50 a.m. on Sunday, May 7th, a registered AALS Clinical Conference attendee, Brandon Greene, entered the men’s restroom on the Concourse Level of the Plaza building of the hotel. Mr. Greene is a staff attorney and Clinical Supervisor at the East Bay Community Law Center, the community-based teaching clinic of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Mr. Greene is also African-American. Soon after Mr. Greene entered a private stall, closing and locking the door behind him, a Sheraton employee knocked on his stall door. The employee, dressed in black pants and black shoes, asked, “Are you staying here?” Mr. Greene responded, “I am here for a conference. Is it standard policy and procedure to knock on bathroom doors and question if someone is a guest?” The employee replied, “Just checking, sir.” Mr. Greene then said, “This is weird and a serious violation of privacy.” The employee then said again, “Just checking, sir.” The employee was gone by the time Mr. Greene emerged from the bathroom.
Mr. Greene immediately reported what had occurred to a hotel staff member at the hotel reception desk. That employee told our colleague, “Sorry for the inconvenience,” and asked that he move to the side while that employee dealt with another guest. Once the employee finally addressed our colleague, the employee asked Mr. Greene if he drinks coffee and gave him a card for a free beverage from Peet’s Coffee. The employee then left and emerged with another employee.
Once Mr. Greene explained the issue to this employee, the employee told him that she was sorry for the inconvenience and that she would follow up with the head of security. Later that day, Mr. Greene, along with members from the AALS Clinical Conference Planning Committee, had a conversation with another hotel staff member. After Mr. Greene explained what had occurred, the staff member began to ask Mr. Greene questions that were both dismissive of his experience and that called into question whether it was actually an employee who accosted Mr. Greene in the restroom. Mr. Greene gave the staff member an approximate timeframe for the event and was then told that the security footage would be checked.
Later that evening, Mr. Greene received an email from the General Manager apologizing for the “unfortunate experience” but failing to address the harm caused by the incident. A copy of that email is attached. On Tuesday, May 9th, Mr. Greene met with the Director of Security to discuss this issue. The Director explained that the hotel has “issues with transients” and proceeded to ask Mr. Greene if he was “dressed down” when the incident occurred. Mr. Greene explained that he was in jeans, a button up shirt and a sports coat, that his hundreds of white counterpart conference participants were dressed similarly if not even more casually, that none of his colleagues were mistaken for being transients and that in any case that fact — Mr. Greene’s clothing — was irrelevant to the clear racial profiling that had occurred.
When Mr. Greene pressed the Director further about what, if any, of his behaviors might seem suspicious, the Director could not or would not answer Mr. Greene’s questions. These subsequent responses by hotel management were inadequate, failing to acknowledge that Mr. Greene’s status at the hotel should never have been in doubt and that the manner of the question — knocking on the stall while he was inside — is a gross invasion of privacy and a disrespectful means of questioning a guest.
As you are no doubt aware, Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 guarantees the “full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation . . . without discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.” 42 U.S.C. §2000a(a). Colorado law similarly prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of race. Colo. Rev. Stat. 24–34–601(1). The Sheraton is unquestionably a place of public accommodation under both federal and state law. 42 U.S.C. §2000a(b); Colo. Rev. Stat. 24–34–601(1).
The treatment of our colleague was degrading and humiliating for him personally and offensive to us collectively. These are the very indignities that federal and state public accommodations laws were intended to address. The lack of recognition by hotel staff and management as to the impact of this discriminatory behavior on a hotel guest of color is unjustifiable. That such mistreatment of a patron could happen at all, combined with the failure of the hotel staff and management to adequately acknowledge or ameliorate the situation, suggests inadequate training and sends the message that racial profiling is an accepted practice at Marriott International hotels.
In light of this instance of racial discrimination against our colleague and the hotel’s failure to meaningfully address it, we ask that Marriott International immediately take the following steps:
• Issue a written apology to Mr. Greene, specifically addressing what assumptions were made about him, the basis of those assumptions, and why the assumptions, the behavior of the employee, and the hotel’s responses to date were wrong or insufficient to address the harm.
• Issue an apology to all attendees of the AALS Clinical Conference.
• Commit to providing anti-bias training for all Marriott International employees, including training on unconscious bias, overt bias, and discrimination against all protected classes in public accommodations.
• Create a detailed, appropriate response plan for how to address these kinds of situations in the future.
• Commit to recording and tracking incidents of discrimination.
• Meet with members of our committee to discuss further appropriate action.
Our goal is to ensure that appropriate steps be taken to address the harm already done to Mr. Greene and that other patrons are not subjected to such discriminatory treatment at Marriott International properties in the future. In light of Marriott International’s stated commitment to diversity and inclusion as “fundamental to our core values and strategic business goals,” http://www.marriott.com/diversity/diversity-and-inclusion.mi, we trust that you will respond promptly and substantively to this letter.
You may reach us by contacting Professor Natalie M. Chin via email at natalie.chin@brooklaw.edu or by phone at 718–780–0659.
Sincerely,
Clinicians of Color Committee members
(Title/Institution listed for identification purposes only):
Muneer I. Ahmad, Clinical Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Natalie M. Chin, Assistant Professor of Clinical Law, Brooklyn Law School
Patience A. Crowder, Associate Professor of Law, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Brandon Greene, Attorney and Clinical Supervisor, East Bay Community Law Center, UC Berkeley School of Law
Robin Walker Sterling, Associate Professor, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Thelma L. Harmon, Associate Professor, Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Medha D. Makhlouf, Clinical Professor of Law, Penn State Dickinson Law School
Seema N. Patel, Clinical Director, East Bay Community Law Center, UC Berkeley School of Law
Dana Thompson, Clinical Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
Etienne Toussaint, Visiting Associate Professor of Clinical Law and Friedman Fellow, George Washington University Law School
Carol M. Suzuki, Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
Suzette M. Melendez, Director, Children’s Rights & Family Law Clinic, Syracuse University College of Law
Jeena Shah, Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Erika Wilson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
David Baluarte, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law
Mindy Phillips, Attorney and Clinical Supervisor, East Bay Community Law Center, UC Berkeley School of Law
Lynnise Pantin, Clinical Associate Professor, Boston College Law School
Ramzi Kassem, Professor of Law, City University of New York School of Law
Tarek Ismail, Senior Staff Attorney, CLEAR project, City University of New York School of Law
Naz Ahmad, Staff Attorney, CLEAR project, City University of New York School of Law
Vinuta Naik, Attorney and Clinical Supervisor, East Bay Community Law Center; UC Berkeley School of Law
Helen Kang, Director, Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, Golden Gate University School of Law
Charles I. Auffant, Clinical Professor of Law, Rutgers University School of Law
Randolph N. Stone, Clinical Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Jayesh Rathod, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law
Claire Raj, Assistant Professor of Law, University of South Carolina School of Law
Anita Sinha, Assistant Professor of Law, American University, Washington College of Law
Tirien Steinbach, Executive Director, East Bay Community Law Center, UC Berkeley School of Law
Derrick Howard, Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, Valparaiso University Law School
Donna H. Lee, Professor & Interim Associate Dean of Clinical Programs, CUNY School of Law
Vida B. Johnson, Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
Meghan Gordon, Attorney and Clinical Supervisor, East Bay Community Law Center; UC Berkeley School of Law
Eduardo R.C. Capulong, Professor of Law, University of Montana
Ragini Shah, Clinical Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School
Caryn R. Mitchell-Munevar, Clinical Professor, New England Law|Boston
Carwina Weng, Clinical Professor of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Priya Baskaran, Associate Professor, West Virginia University College of Law
Jyoti Nanda, Binder Clinical Teaching Fellow, UCLA School of Law
Gemma Solimene, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
Eumi K. Lee, Clinical Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of the Law
Janet Thompson Jackson, Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law
Renée McDonald Hutchins, Co-Director of the Clinical Law Program, Jacob A. France Professor of Public Interest Law, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Llezlie Green Coleman, Associate Professor of Law American University Washington College of Law
Ayesha Bell Hardaway, Assistant Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Daniel Faessler, Attorney and Clinical Supervisor, East Bay Community Law Center, UC Berkeley School of Law
Karla McKanders, Associate Professor of Law, University of Tennessee, College of Law
Jaime Alison Lee, Associate Professor, University of Baltimore School of Law
Alexis Karteron, Assistant Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Fanna Gamal, Attorney and Clinical Supervisor; East Bay Community Law Center UC Berkeley School of Law
Theresa Zhen, Attorney and Clinical Supervisor; East Bay Community Law Center; UC Berkeley School of Law
Linda Tam, Director, Immigration Clinic East Bay Community Law Center; UC Berkeley School of Law
Michael Pinard, Professor of Law University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Deborah N. Archer, Professor of Law, New York Law School
Carl Warren, Visiting Professor, University of St. Thomas, School of Law
Tracey McCants Lewis, Assistant Professor, Duquesne School of Law
Bryan Adamson, Associate Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law
Tiffany Sizemore-Thompson, Assistant Clinical Professor, Duquesne School of Law
Rosa Bay, Managing Director and Clinical Supervisor; East Bay Community Law
Center; UC Berkeley School of Law
Komal Vaidya, Clinical Teaching Fellow, University of Baltimore School
Jon C. Dubin, Professor of Law, Alfred C. Clapp Public Service Scholar, and Associate Dean of Clinical Education, Rutgers Law School
Sunita Patel, Practitioner in Residence, American University, Washington College of Law
Marisol Orihuela, Visiting Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Wilbert H. Watts, Jr., Co-Director, Veteran Legal Services Program, UCLA School of Law
Encl.
Cc: By Registered and Electronic Mail
Paul Marcus, President, AALS
Judith Areen, Executive Director & CEO, AALS
[Email referenced in letter is below]
Incident Sunday May 7, 2017
Mr. Brandon Greene
University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Dear Mr. Greene,
I want to issue my sincerest apologies for your unfortunate experience at Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel on Sunday, May 7. At Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, we pride ourselves on our customer service, and creating positive experiences for each and every guest who walks through the doors of our hotel. We are very sorry that your experience was not met with the level of service we demand for our guests.
At Sheraton we are committed to going above and beyond to ensure you have the best stay possible. Our associates are dedicated to delivering the highest standards of service.
Please know we are currently investigating the situation, and will use the outcome as a coaching opportunity for our associates.
We are honored that The Association of American Law School chose The Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel for the 2017 Clinical Conference, and we will do everything in our power to ensure the remainder of the conference meets your expectations, as well as our own.
If there is anything additional I can do for you during the remainder of your conference , please feel free to call me directly at 303–626–2550. I hope you will consider being our guest in the future.
Sincerely, Tony Dunn
General Manager
Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel