Black Voicesblack lives matterMichiganDNA

White Cop Who Finds He Has African Ancestry Sues City, Chief Over Racism

The officer claims his colleagues began to make derogatory comments and jokes after he told them of his DNA results.
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

Michigan police officer Cleon Brown is suing his chief and the city after a chain of events that began when he took a genetic test through Ancestry.com in December and was surprised to learn he could trace 18 percent of his DNA to regions in Africa.

Brown was also surprised by how his fellow officers in the Hastings Police Department reacted to the news.

He said the police chief called him “Kunte,” after the character in Alex Haley’s novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” while other officers whispered “Black lives matter” when they walked past, according to MLive.com.

Even the mayor, who has since retired, made cracks, according to Brown’s attorney, Karie Boylan, who has filed a lawsuit on Brown’s behalf.

“There was an instance where my client was talking to the mayor, and the mayor ― upon learning that my client was 18 percent African-American ― proceeded to tell him a racist joke” using a racial slur, she told CBS Detroit.

Brown said the Christmas tree in the police department lobby was decorated with Santa figurines named after each officer on the force. Brown’s Santa was black with “18 percent” written on the beard, according to WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

Brown has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Hastings, the town’s police chief, its deputy chief, a sergeant and the city manager.

“These are law enforcement officers,” Boylan told the station. “These are people who are supposed to understand cultural sensitivities.” 

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Hastings police Sgt. Cleon Brown says he began to face racist comments and jokes after he told fellow officers about his Ancestry.com results.
WOOD-TV

Boylan said Brown has been ostracized and subjected to a hostile working environment. He is suing for $500,000.

“I don’t see that any officer that has been retaliating against him is going to come to Cleon’s aid,” she told WOOD-TV.

She also wants Hastings to provide better racial sensitivity training for officers.

The City of Hastings said Brown is the one who kept bringing up his ancestry and made inappropriate jokes about it, according to WOOD-TV.

The city acknowledged the “Black Santa” incident in a statement but said that the officer responsible apologized to Brown.

The statement said Brown told Hastings Police Chief Jeff Pratt that he “was not upset and that he was proud of his African heritage.” The city also claimed the chief told the other officers that no other jokes about Brown’s heritage would be tolerated. 

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Before You Go

Fighting Racism And Discrimination Everyday
Bullying(01 of12)
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Even kids who share the same identity -- be it racial or gender -- can be guilty of bullying and discrimination against each other. Ontario's Ministry of Education defines bullying as "a form of repeated, persistent, and aggressive behaviour directed at an individual or individuals that is intended to cause (or should be known to cause) fear and distress and/or harm to another person's body, feelings, self-esteem, or reputation." (credit:Alamy)
Cyberbullying (02 of12)
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Social media can be a platform for bullying to continue even after school is out. Cyberbullying occurs when young people take malicious actions online. through chat rooms, email, social sites and instant messaging. (credit:Getty Images)
Stock Answer To 'What Are You?'(03 of12)
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"You don't need to go into full confessional mode, but have fun with it, if that helps. Or be perfectly honest," author Jonathan R. Miller said. Miller writes e-books with multi-ethnic characters and themes. You don't have to talk about all the nuances of your family tree every time you're asked about your background, he said. That can be exhausting. Find something that works for you personally. (credit:Shutterstock)
Real Answer To 'What Are You?'(04 of12)
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"I like the word 'mixed' because it's a messy word, and in my experience growing up mixed is exactly that," Miller said. He suggests that it's important to allow yourself to truly wrestle with questions of identity in environments you consider safe. (credit:Shutterstock)
A Friend To Confide In(05 of12)
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If you are struggling with your identity, you don't have to tell the whole world, but confide in a friend that you trust. Having someone to confide in is important. "If you can, find someone who you can talk to about your most honest, ever-evolving, often-messy answer to the question, 'What am I?'" Miller said. (credit:Getty Images)
If You Can't Speak, Write(06 of12)
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"Maybe you don't have anyone trustworthy to talk to honestly about your experiences. Write about them. It helped me, sometimes, to get those out," Miller said.It may not make a lot of sense initially and it might feel uncomfortably personal, but write. Keep a journal, write short stories and rename the characters, try your hand at poetry -- whatever feels best. (credit:Shutterstock)
Let Your Identity Be An Open Question(07 of12)
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"You are likely being told at different times, more or less, to hurry up and get off the fence, pick a side and get on with it," Miller said. It's not necessarily a bad thing to be unsure of who you are, even if your peers seem to have their acts together, he said. Teenage years are discovery years. Miller also quoted author Rainer Maria Rilke: "'Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. ... Live in the question.' That's good advice. Difficult to follow, but good." (credit:Shutterstock)
Embrace The Chameleon(08 of12)
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When it comes to mixed heritage, "you don't have to be 'both' or 'other' or 'all of the above' all of the time. Sometimes the only way to figure out what you are is to choose one thing and be it for a while," Miller said.Explore how it feels to fully embrace a single aspect of your identity, for short period of time. See "what stick and what slides off." It's simply learning, Miller said. (credit:Shutterstock)
Don't Be Afraid To Abandon The Labels Altogether(09 of12)
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"I can't tell you how many multi-racial people I've met who have chosen a single race or ignored race entirely and been perfectly content with the decision. A biracial friend of mine used to tell me, 'I'm black and white, yes, but I'm black. Period,'" Miller said. He said he knows many people have chosen to identify with only one aspect of their multi-background, while others have embraced the blend. (credit:Shutterstock)
Get Involved In Life(10 of12)
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Find creative ways to occupy your time, Miller said. Join a group or do an activity (with others) where you are empowered to be who you are, instead of having to act how others think you need to be in order to fit in. (credit:Getty Images)
Be Proud Of Who You Are(11 of12)
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Take pride in your ethnic (culture, color or religion) heritage. You have no control over your heritage, and you can't change that fact that this is who you are. So embrace it and learn as much as you can. "You may feel like it would be an insult to your heritage to embrace one aspect of yourself above the others, but trust me, it wouldn't be. This is important: it is not your job to uphold, with perfect equity and grace, all of the elements that went into your making," Miller said. (credit:Shutterstock)
Have A Ready Defense Against The Identity Police(12 of12)
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"Often they're the 'gatekeepers' that decide whether you're 'in' or 'out.' But what you can do is have a ready answer for the 'charges' they level against you. Whether you use humour, earnestness, or self-righteous anger, it helps to have your defense lined up and ready," Miller said. Sometimes people think all the "members" of their cultural or ethnic community must behave, dress and think a certain way. But as an individual, you can do whatever you want and find your own identity. (credit:Getty Images)
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