Beverly Hills resident and Arts and Culture Commissioner Karla Gordy-Bristol reported the incident during public comment at the Sept. 22 City Council meeting. (Beverly Press/Park Labrea News file photo)

Two employees at a Beverly Hills post office were allegedly subjected to racist abuse on Sept. 22, prompting calls for the city to take additional steps to address anti-Black racism in the community.

Beverly Hills resident and Arts and Culture Commissioner Karla Gordy-Bristol reported the incident during public comment at the Sept. 22 City Council meeting. Gordy-Bristol, who said she has lived in Beverly Hills since 1971, told council members that two people had directed racial slurs and other derogatory remarks toward longtime post office employees earlier that day.

“It was very disheartening to find out that today two people of the community used racial slurs towards staff members there that have been there for years,” Gordy-Bristol said. “They were visibly shaken and disturbed. They had to close the gate for their safety.”

According to Gordy-Bristol, one woman called an employee a “Black b–,” told her she “didn’t need to be there” and said she “shouldn’t be in our community.”

A second employee, whom Gordy-Bristol described as a manager, was allegedly called the N-word and told to “go back to Africa.”

Deputy City Manager Keith Sterling said city officials first learned of the alleged incident when Gordy-Bristol raised it during Tuesday’s meeting. He said he was not aware of a police report being taken regarding the incident.

“We just learned of this alleged hate speech incident for the first time last night,” Sterling said in a Sept. 23 email. “Council members expressed their dismay and condemnation of the alleged comments made. We do not believe this isolated incident is reflective of our diverse, welcoming city.”

Gordy-Bristol, however, said a similar incident occurred last year and that police provided protection to post office employees afterward. She said the latest report reflects a broader problem that city officials should address.

“We’re a no-hate city, at least we’ve been preaching it,” Gordy-Bristol said. “There are a lot of people out here that see and hear and feel it, and it’s very sad.”

She asked the council to consider establishing a task force, liaison or other group focused on addressing racism and hate in Beverly Hills and listening to residents who experience it.

“Don’t ignore it. Don’t lean toward one community and ignore another, because a lot of people live here,” Gordy-Bristol said. “Like I said, I’ve been here a very long time. I’ve seen a lot. I could share. But when you put it on the agenda, I’m happy to.”

Mayor Craig Corman condemned the alleged remarks.

“What you reported tonight is disheartening and very disturbing,” Corman said. “Those types of statements to members of our community have no place in our community. We completely condemn comments of that sort, and your suggestions we’ll consider seriously.”

Councilwoman Rebecca Pynoos said Gordy-Bristol’s account added to concerns she already had about reports of anti-Black racism in Beverly Hills, including allegations detailed in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the Beverly Hills Unified School District.

The lawsuit, filed in August by nine Black families with children currently or previously enrolled in BHUSD schools, alleges years of anti-Black harassment and discrimination, including repeated use of the N-word, requests for “N-word passes,” racialized jokes, monkey references, physical assaults and online threats. The plaintiffs also accuse the district of failing to adequately respond to some of the alleged incidents.

Pynoos said she was disheartened to read about the allegations involving students.

“We as a city, together with our school board, need to address [this],” Pynoos said. “Time is pertinent. We talk a lot about antisemitism and hate, and racism is something that we’ve not been as vocal about and open about when it’s happening to people in our community.”

Pynoos said at the Sept. 22 meeting that parents approached her during her City Council campaign to describe racism their children had experienced, including students being called the N-word. She also described former neighbors whose son witnessed students offering other students money to use the slur. She said the family subsequently moved out of Beverly Hills.

Pynoos’ comments echoed allegations contained in the federal lawsuit. Among the incidents described in the complaint, one Black middle school student was allegedly subjected to repeated racial slurs and requests for “N-word passes,” including an incident in which another student allegedly offered him candy in exchange for permission to use the slur.

“I don’t have an answer to this, but I do know we need to address it as a community, and that civility doesn’t end at the doors of our schools or at the doors of our City Hall chambers,” Pynoos said. “I hope in the future it’s something that we as a council will look at different ways of addressing.”

The lawsuit also cites an October 2025 California Department of Education decision that rejected BHUSD’s conclusion regarding one racial incident at Beverly Vista Middle School. The state found there was sufficient evidence that a student’s reference to a phrase incorporating the N-word while pointing at Black students constituted race-based bullying and created a racially hostile educational environment.

BHUSD has not responded to requests for comment on the federal lawsuit.

Vice Mayor Mary Wells thanked Gordy-Bristol for speaking publicly about the reported post office incident and suggested the city’s Health and Human Relations Commission could begin considering the broader issue.

“I think that we as a city do take a stand against that and I think it’s important for our community members to speak up when they experience something like that,” Wells said. “I know that that’s not always easy to do.”

Wells suggested referring the issue to the Health and Human Relations Commission, to which she and Councilwoman Sharona Nazarian serve as council liaisons.

Nazarian and Councilman Lester Friedman did not comment on the reported incident at the post office during the City Council meeting.

Corman supported Wells’ proposal and said the liaison committee could speak with the commission’s chair and vice chair “on how best to go forward with an initiative to address those concerns.”

Sterling also said the city intends to make U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu’s office aware of the reported incident.