On April 23, 2021, Frederick K. Brewington held a press conference on behalf of his client, Mr. Kyrin Taylor, an apprentice electrician member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Mr. Taylor and his attorneys disclosed video evidence of nooses hung in his work area by two White co-workers. Copies of the videos were provided at the press conference.
The incident took place on the morning of April 20, 2021, when Mr. Taylor came into the tool room at Cooper Lighting and Power, Inc., located at 39 Central Avenue, Farmingdale, New York. As Mr. Taylor entered the workspace, he was shocked to see a fully tied noose and another attempt at a noose hanging from the area in which he must frequent on a daily basis. Alarmed and afraid, Mr. Taylor called his union representative and the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD). The hanging noose was verified and is now being investigated by the SCPD’s Bias Unit. To add insult to the real injuries suffered from being confronted with a noose, instead of being consoled by his employer, he was scolded by the owner of the company as to why he called the police and did not contact him.
The union representative who came after being called was outraged by this racist act and angered that this would even occur, much less in the workplace. Mr. Taylor wants to make sure that this situation does not ever occur again and that other African-Americans are not subjected to these clear signs of hate and intimidation.