Beverly Hills Faces Two Lawsuits, Deluge of Accusations, Alleging Racist Treatment of Black Residents 

By Solomon O. Smith | California Black Media 

In recent months, the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) and Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) have been hit with two lawsuits and numerous reports alleging racist incidents targeting Black residents.

Last November, a formal complaint was filed on behalf of several students and two teachers — Bella Ivory and an anonymous complainant — against Beverly Hills High School. Attorneys Bradley C. Gage and Benjamin Crump are representing the plaintiffs. 

The complaint details incidents of harassment, retaliation and violence targeting Black students, according to Gage. Some Latino students had been the victim of racial slurs and are also considering a suit. 

In a video Gage shared with the press that was recorded on Election Day White students can be seen marching through the school’s halls celebrating the election of Trump while waving a Trump flag. They pounded on a classroom door in the video. Behind the door were Ivory and several Black students. During a press conference in January, Ivory described how she and Black students felt during that experience. 

“The profanity aimed towards our vice president, who is part Black,” said Ivory referring to Kamala Harris, “combined with students congregating outside of my classroom, increased my fears and also the fears of those students that were locked inside that room with me.” 

Another video shows feces on the floor of a bathroom and graffiti reading “I hate ni**ers.” There is also a TikTok video describing a cafeteria as dirty while showing Black students having lunch.  

“So, we have had for a number of years now, children at Beverly Hills High School, who claim they have been called racial slurs, had monkey sounds made at them, and around them, been threatened with violence and actually received violence,” said Gage. 

Gage told California Black Media (CBM) that he interviewed alumni going back at least 10 years, many of whom were willing to go on the record about racist incidents and the school’s inability to deal with them. In another instance parents and students complained about the use of a “ni**er card,” a card White students claimed to have purchased from Black students allowing them to freely use the epithet. 

“They have what’s called as an N-word pass. And what they’re doing with that is students will give either $50 or $100 to Black students,” said Gage. “They’ll pay them on Apple Pay. Then they get an “N-word pass, and start using the “N-word around some other Black kids.” 

These new cases are not the only ones brought against the city of Beverly Hills based on discrimination or racism. The second set of major suits was filed against the BHPD in January. The class action suit claims there have been a thousand instances of racial profiling by police.

“There are now 1,085 identified putative class members in the first lawsuit which is awaiting a ruling by the court on class certification,” reads a press release from Brad Gage, APC, the law firm representing the plaintiffs. 

“There is also a second, class action for continuing acts of racial profiling,” the statement continues. 

CBM contacted the city of Beverly Hills for comment, but a spokesperson referred us to archived statements on their website.

Michael Bregy, BHUSD’s superintendent put out a statement refuting the complaints against the school district. 

“We do not have evidence that suggests that there was racism at the recent spirited demonstrations,” wrote Bregy. “However, BHUSD has implemented proactive measures to ensure that any concerns related to racism and antisemitism – perceived or real – are addressed promptly and effectively.” 

Bregy wrote that the district is planning to work on “empathy” programs with groups like the NAACP.  

The city also released a statement about the allegations of police profiling in November when the first complaint was announced. 

“The role of the Beverly Hills Police Department is to enforce the law, regardless of race.   The statistics presented referencing the number of convictions is a mischaracterization of the evidence in this case,” reads the statement.  “In addition, the 1,088 arrests referenced includes people cited and released, not just custodial arrests. The city denies and will continue to strongly defend itself against these allegations.” 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of White residents is about 75%, while Black residents make up only 1.9% of Beverly Hills. With the installment of the Trump administration there is concern that incidents of violence against minorities will become commonplace and that the federal and local courts may be less inclined to provide relief.  

Gage has filed and won discrimination charges against Beverly Hills in the past, and Crump has handled some of the most controversial racial bias cases in the country, including representing the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor who were both killed in incidents involving police officers. 

Gage is concerned about the future of discrimination cases.

“It’s very serious. It’s very violent. It’s escalating on a daily basis,” said Gage. “And I feel concerned with the way that our country is going right now, where ordinary individuals seem emboldened to say and do things that never would have been acceptable, even six months ago or three months ago,” said Gage.