A 23-year-old brotha in a New York City suburb just wanted to clock into work and earn a living. Instead, he was greeted with racial harassment and, most recently, a noose hanging from his workspace.
The incident happened on April 20 at Cooper Power & Lighting Corp in Farmingdale, N.Y., in Suffolk County, Long Island. Kyrin Taylor has been working at the local business since December. The noose was hanging clear as day—and, no, you cannot mistake it for anything other than a noose, in case anyone wants to explain it away as an accident.
Fearing for his personal safety, Taylor called the police and his union, IBEW Local 25, to inform it of the situation, according to his lawyer, Frederick Brewington.
“Seeing this took my breath away and I really did not know what to do or what to think,” Taylor said in a statement, according to CNN.
Taylor and Brewington said Taylor’s boss scolded him for calling the cops.
This isn’t the first time Taylor has experienced harassment at his job.
“I am the only African-American working for [Cooper Power and Lighting] and this was not the first time I was treated with disrespect,” he said. “I have been targeted by this act of pure hate and I just don’t know what to think. When will people stop thinking it is alright to terrorize Black people?”
CNN tried to get comment from Cooper Power and Lighting, but no one responded.
The good news is that Taylor’s union got him a new job, which he starts Monday.
Brewington said his client is still reeling over what happened and is seeking mental health services to deal with it.
“He’s highly upset,” Brewington said of Taylor. “He said to me that besides being disgusted, I am afraid. And I said, ‘You can’t live in fear, but being afraid is not unhealthy.’”
DISCUSSION
Well, it costs only time to call 631-755-6655 and let the folks at White Power and Lighting what you think of their workplace harassment issues. The list of internal extensions is here: https://www.cooperpowerlighting.com/contact.html