When Don Imus Called The Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” and other derogatory names last year, there was justified public outcry. In fact, Rev. Al Sharpton led the campaign to get a public apology from the shock jock and advocated for his removal. The end result of the furor: Imus was fired from his popular syndicated CBS Radio show. (He has since #returned to the airwaves.)
By the end of the summer, another incident involving race and gender was playing out in the tabloids. Former basketball executive Anucha Browne Sanders was in court suing her former boss and employer, New York Knicks President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden, for sexual harassment. The story made headline news but there were no protests, outrage, Sharpton-or any other advocacy groups such as the NAACP or National Organization of Women. Browne Sanders fought her battle alone.
Two of the most sensational sexual harassment cases in this country and the largest discrimination suit in history all involved black women: Browne Sanders; Anita Hill, during the 1991 Senate Judiciary hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court; and Bari-Ellen Roberts, a former senior financial analyst who in 1994 was the lead plaintiff in the discrimination suit against Texaco.
Incidences of sexual harassment and racial discrimination in the private offices and boardrooms of corporate America should be shocking. But even with diversity programs touted as an important business imperative, racism and sexism are still alive and well. And since discrimination can be hard to prove in most cases, those who choose to fight, particularly in the case of black women, often have to go it alone-risking isolation, backlash, and a tarnished reputation.
These women find little support, even from individuals and groups who would be natural advocates. The National Organization for Women has issued a variety of statements against sexual harassment on its Website, even outrage over Imus’ return to radio, but it has not listed any coverage or offered any statement of support related to the Browne Sanders case. In her response, NOW President Kim Gandy conceded that women faced tremendous challenges in getting justice on the local and federal levels.
“It’s difficult for women, especially women of color, to get a fair shake on these kinds of cases because the courts are heavily stacked with conservatives who are willing to dismiss cases instead of allowing them to be presented to a jury,” says Gandy. “But every time a woman prevails in a highly publicized case, it is a victory and gives other women the courage to take a stand and not give up.”
Sharpton’s usual boisterous protests were also absent from this case, despite media reports showing a taped deposition of Thomas saying it was worse for a white man to call a black woman “a bitch” than for a black man to use such language. Only after Browne Sanders declared victory did Sharpton call for Thomas’ apology-not resignation.
Then, in a media flip-flop, Sharpton said he listened to the tape and Thomas’ words seemed to have been heavily edited. #Suddenly, Sharpton’s demand for an apology flew by the wayside. “If he said it,” Sharpton argues, “I would have called for him to be fired just like Imus.”
Yet Sharpton says he believes the media’s negative portrayals of black women force them to prove they deserve respect. “Black women have been miscast as sexual and promiscuous and they have to go to work and live down the videos and stereotypes. Women’s rights are a component of civil rights, and we have to do more,” says the father of two daughters.
For the women courageous enough to speak out, they understand that their fight will be a lonely one. “When you take a bold step like that, you have to assume that it is your personal step,” says Roberts. “It’s not wise to think that others will step with you. When I filed my lawsuit, one of the company’s attorneys warned me that it would be a long and lonely battle. She said I would be old and gray, wouldn’t have any friends, and she would still be #litigating the case-and Texaco would still prosper.”
She was wrong: In November 1996, the infamous Texaco “black jelly bean tapes” surfaced and company executives were caught on audio tape planning and plotting to destroy documents that were demanded by the court and by Roberts’ attorney. On the tapes, black employees were referred to as “black jelly beans” and called the N-word. The tapes, however, did not surface until two years after Roberts began her suit.
“As a black woman, I had been victimized by discrimination. Every job I went to my race and gender were an issue. I had the education and the experience, but time after time a white man or woman always got the #promotion,” Roberts explains. “My breaking point and decision to file the lawsuit came because I got tired of Texaco bringing in white boys that I had to train and they would end up with the promotion. It just got to be too much. Winning the case was a huge victory, but I was quick to say the money and the tapes didn’t start the suit. The suit was about racism, sexism, and disparity.”
The tapes led to the largest settlement in a racial discrimination case. Texaco agreed to pay out more than $176 million to Roberts and other black employees.
Roberts, who detailed her experience in her memoir, Texaco: A True Story of Race and Corporate America, and is now president of her own management consulting firm, says she cheered when Browne Sanders was awarded $11.6 million in her sexual harassment case against the Knicks, which was later #reduced by $100,000.
During the trial, Browne Sanders said Thomas sexually #harassed her immediately after he became the president for the organization in 2003. She ignored his advances and he became hostile. According to the 18-page lawsuit filed by Browne Sanders, she was repeatedly called a “bitch” and a “ho” by Thomas. In one interaction, Thomas professed his love for her and suggested they go away and have sex, the lawsuit stated.
At the end of the highly publicized trial, Thomas, 46, denied any wrongdoing and vowed to appeal the verdict. He said the jury got it wrong and he was “extremely disappointed.”
Browne Sanders, now the senior associate athletic director at the University of Buffalo, is pleased with the outcome but saddened by what she knows many other women will endure to avoid the scrutiny of associates, colleagues, and the media. “There is a good amount of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace; and many women suffer through it in fear of losing their job. The issues I had at Madison Square Garden weren’t only happening to me. There were a number of things happening to women who worked for me.
“My breaking point came when they fired me. I wanted to keep my job; I loved my job,” she says. “I was in disbelief because I had had years of superior work performance. It was obvious that my firing was retaliation because I complained about the hostile work environment.”
It had been estimated that Browne Sanders’ payout could have increased significantly for compensatory and punitive damages. But three days before the federal court was to rule, the Garden settled and withdrew all appeals. In punitive damages, the Garden will pay Browne Sanders for creating the hostile work environment and condoning the retaliation against her. Garden Chairman James Dolan will personally have to pay for his retaliatory act of firing her. Thomas was not personally required to pay Browne Sanders.
In the days that followed her victory, two other black women filed discrimination suits against the Garden. Diane Henson and an anonymous co-worker claimed they were denied promotions while young white interns who schmoozed a
nd flirted with managers gained advancement. Henson worked at the Garden for 11 years before she was forced to resign.
Browne Sanders says the problems women face at the Garden are systemic. “When an organization takes a strong stand against discrimination and sexual harassment, that stance will be filtered down.”
Dawne Westbrook, Connecticut NAACP legal redress counsel chair and civil rights attorney, says many components come into play after a discrimination lawsuit is filed. “It is often very difficult to file a claim and remain
employed,” explains Westbrook. “Once the lawsuit is filed, the environment becomes so harassing and hostile that most plaintiffs end up quitting. Then they face the task of trying to find a new job without being blacklisted.”Civil rights attorney Ron Kuby agrees. He says once you file a lawsuit against your current or former employer, it is a big red flag to others that you are “a troublemaker.” He maintains: “White male troublemakers are considered movers and shakers, but black women are labeled as people who don’t know their place. They are measured by a different scale-no matter how good their work ethic. There is [also] fierce competition for jobs out there, so many black women remain silent.”
Westbrook says the NAACP recently became a plaintiff in a #discrimination case filed by Cassandra Welch, an 11-year business consultant for Eli Lilly who has now been joined by more than 400 black #employees in the class action lawsuit. Welch says she complained about racism, unfair treatment, and pay disparities between white and black employees and immediately became a target of racial harassment.
“Someone put a dark-skinned doll on my desk and tied a noose around her neck. Then the name-calling started and it was sheer shock to me. I couldn’t believe it, not in the 21st century. I know racism exists, but it is usually more subtle,” she says. “What happened to me was blatant. Prior to speaking up about the unfair treatment, I was a performer and did my job above and beyond what was required. My point was that there should be equal pay and equal merit for equal work. But that is not happening, especially not for black women.”
Ella L.J. Edmonson Bell, associate professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, says black women in today’s workforce feel isolated and alone because they realize early on they are not part of the corporate team and rarely gain the protection of senior executives. “Nobody is out there to look out for black women in the workplace, and that’s why they are filing discrimination suits to begin with,” says Bell, author of Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity. “I am not surprised when any black woman steps up and files a lawsuit. The problem occurs long before that point. I am surprised more black women are not speaking up.”
Brandeis University professor Anita Hill, who declined to be #interviewed by be, was recently forced to revisit the details of her testimony from 16 years ago with the release of Supreme Court #Justice Clarence Thomas’ memoir, My Grandfather’s Son. In his book, Thomas says Hill was a liar and her testimony was politically #motivated. In a recent New York Times Op Ed, Hill offered this
#rebuttal: “I stand by my testimony. Justice Thomas has every right to present himself as he wishes in his new memoir … but I will not stand by silently and allow him, in his anger, to reinvent me.”It further stated: “He claims, for instance, that I was a mediocre employee who had a job in the federal government only because he had ‘given it’ to me. He ignores the reality: I was fully qualified to work in the government, having graduated from Yale Law School and passed the District of Columbia Bar exam, one of the toughest in the nation.”
Hill went on to write that Thomas hired her twice, once at the Department of Education and then at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And that she is saddened that Thomas is assassinating her character in order to preserve his.
She stated: “I have repeatedly seen this kind of character attack on women who complain of harassment and discrimination in the workplace. In efforts to assail their accusers’ credibility, detractors routinely diminish people’s professional contributions. Often the accused is a supervisor, in a position to describe the complaining employee’s work as ‘mediocre’ or the employee as incompetent.”
Browne Sanders, Roberts, and Welch agree that black women pay a hefty price when they decide to speak up about discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, but they are confident they did the right thing. “My experience has been frightening,” offers Welch, “but I rely on my faith and inner strength. Collectively we have to unite and say we will not tolerate racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace.”
SEXUAL RACIAL OR DISCRIMINATION CLAIM
Harassment in the workplace based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age is #illegal. Anyone who believes he or she has been discriminated against has the right to file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, without fear of losing his or her job or endangering a promotion, bonus, or raise. A person, agency, or organization may also file on behalf of someone who has been discriminated against in order to protect the victim’s identity. A #complaint must have the following information:
The complaining party’s name, address, and telephone number
The name, address, and telephone number of the #respondent employer, employment agency, or union that is alleged to have discriminated, and number of employees (or union members), if known
A short description of the alleged violation (the event that caused the complaining party to believe that his or her rights were violated)
The date(s) of the alleged violation(s)
Retaliation from an employer may come in many forms, but is also illegal. Under the law, employees are protected against coercion, intimidation, harassment, or interference in their exercise of their rights.
source: u.s. equal employment opportunity commission