![]() “Growing up in Roxbury and Dorchester, it was well known: If you are a teenager or a young adult, that entering in Brookline in any way shape or form … you was going to run into a problem,” he said. Sitting next to his attorney at a co-working space on Beacon Street, Alston laid out his grievances against the town, which have roots in his teenage years. But he told investigators in 2017 he’d inadvertently left the voicemail during a traffic incident - that his remark was aimed at a black or Latino driver who didn’t give him the right of way.īut Alston, who was out on medical leave at the time, still believes the slur was directed at him for being on leave. ![]() WBUR attempted to reach Pender this week but received no response. “Fucking ,” Pender said on the voicemail, an excerpt of which was provided to WBUR by Alston’s attorney. It began in 2010, when Alston received a now-infamous voicemail from his supervisor, Lt. "And frankly I don't think we should.”Īfter a fierce debate over whether the town should apologize to Alston, the measure passed by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.īrookline’s town meeting was the latest milestone in the nearly decade-long saga of Alston and at least five others who have sued the town over allegations of racism at the hands of town officials - including the police and fire departments, as well as public works and the select board. "I don't know about you, but I'm not confident that the town will win this case,” he said. should be given when they're due, not when it's most convenient to the transgressor.”įernandez said he didn't get elected to continue defending the town in the nearly decade-old discrimination case - but to help resolve it. ![]() … I hope we teach our kids that apologies. "Some have even said that we shouldn't give an apology away for free when it can be part of a settlement agreement. "Some have advocated waiting until this case is resolved to apologize to Mr. The proposal: an apology on behalf of the town to Gerald Alston, a firefighter who nine years ago was on the receiving end of a racial slur by his supervisor, and who remains mired in litigation. The first big test of his leadership was at town meeting last week. He was elected to the Brookline Select Board in May. Growing up in the subsidized Taino Towers in Spanish Harlem and later the South Bronx, the Puerto Rican Fernandez would become the first in his family to graduate from college. But other residents say real change isn’t going to come with an election, but with a new generation of leadership. Now, with the election of Fernandez and a recent town meeting vote in favor of a black firefighter, some Brookline residents are ready for the town to change the way it deals with allegations of racism. A civil rights lawsuit in federal court, originally filed on behalf of nine people, charges town officials with "enforcing racial subordination … and retaliating against persons who protest racial discrimination.” We bet on Brookline and Brookline said, 'OK, let's do this.’ ”īrookline has been grappling for years with allegations of racism from black and Hispanic employees and residents. "The bet that we made in our campaign is that residents in Brookline want to do that work and want to be pushed in this domain in terms of thinking about racial equity,” Fernandez said. But his campaign was marked by his commitment to bring the issues he works on at BU - he’s an associate dean of diversity and inclusion - to the fore of town government. The issue of how town government deals with allegations of racism isn't the only reason Fernandez ran. Last month, the Boston University professor was elected as the Brookline Select Board’s first Latino member. Raul Fernandez grew up in New York City, but now he's looking to shake up the government of Brookline. (Jesse Costa/WBUR) This article is more than 3 years old. Raul Fernandez, seen here standing in Coolidge Corner, is the Brookline Select Board’s first Latino member.
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