In November of 2019, the Boynton Beach City Art Commission approved a mural depicting the Florida city’s firefighters. Latosha Clemons, the city’s first Black female firefighter, agreed to the use of her image in the mural. The mural used quite a few photos of the city’s firefighters to draw from—some are replicated nearly perfectly. In June of 2020, the mural was unveiled to reveal that Deputy Fire Chief Latosha Clemons, as well as retired Chief Glenn Joseph, who is also Black, were depicted as white. The mural was quickly pulled down, and City Manager Lori LaVerriere fired public arts manager Debby Coles-Dobay and removed Matthew Petty as chief of the Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Department. Petty would later resign. 

Mayor Steven Grant said he didn’t know how this had happened, as this buck didn’t pass by his desk. City manager LaVierriere offered up only this statement about the literal and figurative whitewashing of Clemons and Joseph’s images: “The decision made to alter the artwork that was approved by the Public Arts Commission was wrong and disrespectful to our community. Every employee in the city of Boynton Beach works for its community. As a leader, I have been very clear that I will not tolerate any employee to be disrespectful, in any shape or form, to any members of our community.”

What happened exactly remains something of a mystery. Clemons, who retired in 2020 after 24 years in the department, wants answers.

The first Black female firefighter of Boynton Beach sued the city for $100,000 in damages back in April. She told news outlets: “I was hurt, I was disappointed, and then I was outraged.” CNN reports that the complaint includes a straightforward, easy-to-understand summation of her grievance and why the backlash led to the city yanking down the mural within 24 hours of its unveiling. “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.”

Retired Boynton Beach Deputy Fire Chief Latosha Clemons speaks to reporters

At the end of the first week in October, city officials discussed their options in a closed-door meeting. City Manager LaVerriere had hoped that by characterizing the mural’s racist artistic decisions as a gaffe or blunder—and saying that it afforded the city “an opportunity for us to look at the process” of how decisions are approved and changed might—lead them through this without more serious repercussions.

After initially pleading complete ignorance of how the mural ended up depicting the two Black firefighters as white people, Mayor Grant said he had heard that the request to make the change came from then-removed fire chief, Matthew Petty. Grant says Petty made the decision because Clemons and Joseph were no longer active. Fired former Public Arts Manager Coles-Dobay released a statement saying that she had been “directed and pressured” by now-resigned Chief Petty, as well as Fire Marshal Kathy Cline.

City officials told reporters that they could not comment further on pending litigation.