Brooklyn Crockton, a law student at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, has made headlines for what she calls “racism” in a moment she “just couldn’t believe,” WPRI reports. The ordeal took place at the Garrahy Judicial Complex where the student was denied access from entering the courtroom.
“So something happened to me today that I feel the need to share,” Crockton began in the TikTok. “I get on here a lot and talk about law school and what it’s like, but this is the quiet part that I’m just gonna say out loud.”
She says she was singled out by a white sheriff who questioned whether or not she was in the right location. “This sheriff comes out, [which] he typically does when he’s ready to let all the attorneys in the courtroom,” the student said.
“I’m like the second person in line. [And] he physically puts his body in between me and the door and is like, ‘Please step to the side.’ And I’m like ‘Okay,’ I step to the side, and he lets everyone else come in,” she said. “So once everyone else is in, he turns to me and [asks my name]. He then says ‘I don’t have you here on the docket. Are you sure you’re in the right courtroom?’”
@sobrooklyn_ I am still stuck #lawschool #blacklawyers #CorollaCrossStep #fyp #blacklawstudents #lawyersoftiktok ♬ original sound – Brooklyn Aubrey ✨
As an attorney in training, Crockton was taken aback after the officer questioned if she was the defendant in the case. “I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life. I felt like crying in that moment, and the crazy [part] about it is you hear stories like this all the time with Black attorneys, but when it happens to you it is just so visceral that you don’t even know what to say,” she said. “Like I literally have all of these binders and folders and I’m dressed pretty nice. Like why would you assume that I was a defendant? I think we all know why.”
The law student uploaded a follow-up clip saying that her concerns were heard by the university and that disciplinary action against the officer is in the works.
@sobrooklyn_ Reply to @tallnsexygyal ♬ original sound – Brooklyn Aubrey ✨