It turns out the poem was the work of a local black poet, Michael Robinson, who wrote it as an angry response to the beating of Rodney King. Despite his ability as a poet to form unusual mental associations among diverse sensations and ideas, Robinson is reportedly baffled that the presence of his poem, a critical social commentary on the behavior of white police in Los Angeles, is being interpreted as evidence of a culture of discrimination at the hospital.
But a Pittsburgh attorney who handles workplace discrimination suits
told the Pittsburgh Business Times that the author's identity is irrelevant, and that the real question
is "whether the poem is going to be admissible as evidence to show an
atmosphere. It probably would be." In an editorial, the newspaper
agreed: "Even in issues as difficult as harmonious race or gender
relations in the workplace, we wonder if common sense is still the
best guide. If the poem never entered the medical clinic, then the
offended employees at Western Psych, regardless of the merit or lack
thereof of the complaints, would not have had this incendiary example
of what they believe to be UPMC's tolerance of a culture of
discrimination."
Hospital officials reply that they cannot search employees' desks or drawers for potentially offensive materials, but attorney Sam Cordes counters that if an employer fails to take action when such material is found, that may be used as evidence to hold the employer liable in future lawsuits.
