The East Lansing Public Library is concluding its review of an incident last year when police were improperly called on a Black teenager. Officials found librarians had mishandled the situation that many called racially biased.
Last January, librarians called the police on a young Black teenager after misidentifying him for somebody else.
Police immediately cleared the teen. But dozens of residents including the boy’s mother, Stelisha Foreman, criticized the library’s actions as racist and called for the resignation of Kristin Shelley, who was formally the library's director.
According to the report, Shelley asked the teen to leave the facility after she and other staff mistook him for another individual who allegedly started a fire in the library's bathroom some months prior. She later called the police department after the teen resisted her request.
Following the incident, the library’s board of trustees formed a subcommittee to investigate the matter. Now, more than a year since the events took place, the subcommittee has issued a 33-page report of its findings.
Trustees Polly Synk and Ameenah Asante interviewed current and former library staff, administrators and community members on their experiences before and after the incident.
“We looked into what the possible causes and issues were that led to the events that day to see what kind of improvements and progress the library can make toward being welcoming and avoiding that kind of incident,” Synk told board members at their meeting Wednesday.
According to the finalized report, Shelley’s decision to call the police and her unwillingness to apologize to the teenager and his family continued to have a negative impact on them, the library staff and the community at large.
“This caused all employees of East Lansing Public Library and the library as a-whole to be impacted, not by the impeccable services they've been known to provide but rather scrutinized in the community and media for actions of library leadership and the workplace culture these individuals in-turn created,” the report states.
Library interim Director Angelo Moreno says the report is a step towards accountability.
“I just really encourage the board to take that seriously and move into this new permanent director phase with that same spirit of collaboration and transparency and respect that you've shown over the last few months,” Moreno told the board during its meeting Wednesday.
Workplace culture among staff has improved since Moreno took leadership of the library, per the report, as well as community relations.
“As a new Director assumes a leadership role in the library, maintaining open and collaborative relationships with staff will be key to a successful tenure,” the report explains. “The staff enjoy working with one another and care deeply about providing excellent service to all members of the community.”
The report also urges the library’s future administrators to dedicate time to communicate with staff and teenagers, as well as patrons who are Black, Indigenous and people of color, about their needs and expectations.
After a months-long search, the board selected Kevin King as the library's new director. King has spent the last 25 years serving various library roles, most recently leading community engagement at the Kalamazoo Public Library.
King will be charged with supporting the East Lansing board in its development of a strategic plan. He’s expected to begin in the role in early March.
