BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT BLACK HISTORY MONTH HONORS INAPPROPRIATE AND HIGHLY OFFENSIVE
National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers Responds to Highly Insensitive Announcement By Boston Police
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dated: Monday February 12, 2018
Black History Month is a time during which the nation takes pause to recognize the achievements, contributions and accomplishments of the many African American citizens who have made this country what it is today. It is a celebration not only of our culture but a recognition of the heritage that belongs to every African American citizen from coast to coast. It is a heritage that has generated leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., W.E.B. Dubois, Malcolm X, Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks, and the 44th President of the United States of America, the Honorable Barack H. Obama.
Yet today, the Boston Police Department has chosen to denigrate that heritage by praising the accomplishments of a white male solely because he hired a Black man. While the sports acumen and accomplishments of Red Auerbach are, indeed, legendary, they do not qualify him for the honor of being recognized during Black History Month. Even the deletion of what may only be considered as an ill-conceived tweet cannot pretend to make amends to a community that is constantly battling issues of discriminatory treatment by what some have described as an offending force. And what is more perplexing about this sad affair is that the Boston Police Department is headed by an African American Chief of Police who should have known better.
The Board of Directors and Membership of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers expresses their amazement and dismay at this offensive announcement, and call upon Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross to personally apologize for this affront, not only to the members of the Boston community who have been rightly and righteously offended, but to the many men and women of color who serve both with and under his command, as this has no less slandered their service as well. The city deserves nothing less and, quite obviously, much more.
The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc, a 501.(c).(3) non-profit, is a premier national organization representing the interests and concerns of African American, Latino and other criminal justice practitioners of color serving in law enforcement, corrections, and investigative agencies throughout the United States, and the communities in which they serve.
