A Black-led running group, TrailblazHers, is suing the organizers of the Boston Marathon, the city of Newton, Massachusetts, and the Newton police chief for alleged racial discrimination at a cheer zone during last year’s race. The lawsuit, filed just days before the 2024 marathon, accuses the organizers, the city, and the police of violating the plaintiffs’ Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law. According to the complaint filed in a Massachusetts court, on the day of last year’s race, Newton police “singled out spectators from TrailblazHers Run Co. (“TrailblazHers”) and other running crews that serve primarily people of color, racially profiling, targeting, and harassing them.”
TrailblazHers had organized a specific “cheer zone” in Newton at Mile 21 and had invited other running groups led by people of color to join, says the complaint. Over a hundred spectators, “mostly people of color,” were gathered there.
For the past four years, the group has gathered at Mile 21, the complaint states, and the marker is significant for the plaintiffs: “It stands as a key place where runners of color are acknowledged and celebrated,” helping create a “powerful and affirming experience for runners of color.”
The lawsuit describes specific instances of alleged discrimination
The lawsuit describes specific instances of alleged discrimination, stating that while white spectators were allowed to interact with and cheer for runners, non-white spectators at Mile 21 were harassed by police and instructed to stay back.
The lawsuit includes photos that purportedly show the “human barricade” created by police officers and their bikes. According to the complaint, police formed “a human barricade to physically separate the running crews of colors from the event. Similarly-situated white spectators received no such treatment.”
The complaint further states, “For individual members, police profiling and scrutiny turn what should be a day of joy and festivity into one of pain, humiliation, and trauma.”
In addition to forming a human barricade between the spectators and the runners, police on motorcycles also “stationed themselves on the street behind the Plaintiffs’ cheer zone, effectively surrounding and penning in the people in the cheer zone of color,” the complaint alleges.
Shortly after the incident last year, Newton police said in a statement: “After being notified by the B.A.A. (Boston Athletic Association) three times about spectators traversing the rope barrier and impeding runners, the Newton Police Department responded respectfully and repeatedly, requesting that spectators stay behind the rope and not encroach onto the course.”
“When spectators continued to cross the rope, NPD with additional officers, calmly used bicycles for a short period to demarcate the course and keep both the runners and spectators safe.”
This year’s Boston Marathon is set to see 30,000 participants running from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to Boston
Newton Police Chief John Carmichael addressed the lawsuit in a Friday Facebook post, saying, “I stand by my decisions that day, and more importantly, I stand by our officers who acted appropriately, respectfully, and as expected.”
The Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the marathon, said they were aware of the complaint but “have not yet had the opportunity to review it.” “We are focused on creating a joyous experience for all,” the organization added.
The lawsuit says TrailblazHers participated in 10 meetings with the Boston Athletics Association as well as meetings with city officials to address the incident, but neither police nor the association “enacted any meaningful reforms to prevent racial profiling and harassment from happening again.”
This year’s Boston Marathon is set to see 30,000 participants running from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to Boston. The race, which began in 1897, draws hundreds of thousands of spectators annually who support the athletes throughout their challenging journey.
TrailblazHers is being represented by Lawyers for Civil Rights, a Boston-based legal group dedicated to combating discrimination, as stated on its website.