Photo: Facebook/ Leo Sullivan
A viral video is sparking outrage after a Black father recorded two white women demanding he show identification while spending time with his two young sons at a Chicago apartment complex pool before threatening to call the police.
In the video, Leo Sullivan repeatedly questions why he is the only person at the pool l being asked to prove he has the right to be there.
“I’m sitting out here at the pool with my children—I’m the only Black man out here,” he says. “So the nice white people come out here and tell me if I don’t show them my ID, I have to leave.”
In Facebook posts accompanying the videos he shared, Sullivan said he and his sons were staying at an Airbnb when the incident occurred. He alleged he showed the women proof he was staying at the property, but they continued to question whether he was authorized to use the pool.
As the confrontation continued, Sullivan’s younger son asked his father to retrieve his ID. Sullivan adamantly declined, emphasizing he should not have to show identification to strangers. Moments later, the child began crying and said, "I don't want you to go to jail." Sullivan reassured his son that he would not be arrested.
In a follow-up Facebook post, Sullivan alleged the women later called police a second time after he asked for their names. He said responding officers told the women he was not required to show them identification.
Sullivan also said the incident traumatized his children and that he is considering legal action.
The video has since spread widely online, drawing a response from civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Sharing the footage on Facebook, Crump called the encounter “ridiculous” and wrote that “no family should have to endure humiliation or fear while simply enjoying time together.”
He added that children “should be making memories at the pool” instead of watching a parent explain why they belong there.
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