Three women who say they experienced sexual and racial harassment on their jobs at Alabama State University have filed a federal lawsuit against the institution. They have named John F. Knight Jr., a top university administrator and state legislator, among the defendants.
The complaints date back to 2008, when all three women worked in the Office of the Special Assistant to the President. Mr. Knight was special assistant to the president and executive director for marketing and communications at the time. He is now the university's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
The women—Jacqueline Weatherly, Cynthia Williams, and Lydia Burkhalter—contend in their lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., that the university intentionally discriminated against them on the basis of their race and gender.
The plaintiffs say that they were repeatedly harassed by Lavonette Bartley, who worked under Mr. Knight, and sometimes by Mr. Knight himself. Ms. Bartley created a hostile work environment, they allege, by frequently using offensive racial and sexual language, and making sexually suggestive comments.
One of the women, Ms. Burkhalter, also accuses Ms. Bartley of inappropriately touching her and giving her sexually revealing clothing to wear to work.
Ms. Weatherly and Ms. Williams are African-American, and Ms. Burkhalter is biracial. Ms. Bartley and Mr. Knight are also African-American.
The complaint alleges that university administrators, including Mr. Knight, did not address the women's concerns and requests to be moved away from Ms. Bartley, and tried to hinder their efforts to file formal complaints against her. It also states that Mr. Knight told Ms. Williams that he and Ms. Bartley had worked together for a long time and that he had "no intention of walking around the office on eggshells for fear of employees filing EEOC complains or talking to investigators." He threatened her with the loss of her job, it states.
Ms. Williams and Ms. Burkhalter were terminated from the university last year. They contend that the university illegally retaliated against them because of their complaints against Ms. Bartley.
Ms. Weatherly remains employed by the university, as does Ms. Bartley.
Ms. Burkhalter also claims Mr. Knight made sexual advances toward her, such as asking her to dance for him and asking her, "What is the wildest thing that you think you could do on your birthday?"
She also contends that after she was terminated, a university trustee told her, "If you had just laid on your back for Knight, you wouldn't be in this situation."
Ms. Bartley declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit, referring requests to the university's public-relations department. Mr. Knight did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
In comments published this week in the Montgomery Advertiser, Mr. Knight called the lawsuit frivolous and said he believed it was masterminded by political enemies. Mr. Knight told the newspaper the claims that he participated in sexual harassment were "absolutely false. There is no validity to it at all."
Candis A. McGowan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, dismissed Mr. Knight's allegations of a political vendetta, saying the complaint was based on facts, not politics.
The lawsuit seeks, among other things, back wages and an unspecified amount of compensatory damages. Ms. McGowan said she did not know what amount of financial damages would be appropriate, but said the plaintiffs were "entitled to be made whole to put them in the position they would have been in but for the discrimination and retaliation."
The university issued a statement that did not specifically address allegations in the lawsuit, saying administrators had not yet received the complaint. The statement instead highlighted advancements at the university. "No one person or lawsuit will lessen what is taking place at Alabama State University," it said.
Comments
1. oneopinion - March 12, 2010 at 01:38 am
Well, good for these Alabama women. I hope this lawsuit shed light on the discriminatory practices that occur at most HBCUs. Unfortunately the institutions that were created to assist persons discriminated against has become a major participant in the area of discrimination. There are countless number of faculty and staff employed by HBCUS who have been victims of same-race, gender, and age discrimination. Nepotism and legacy are also major problems at these universities. Many employees also experience pay disparities based on discrimination, favoritism and personal biases. Additionally, members of search committees know that persons hired for jobs are pre-selected by administrators, yet agree to waste taxpayers dollars by interviewing several candidates. It is time for HBCUs to realize that equal employment opportunity also applies to them and that many qualified African-American Ph.D.s would never pursue employment at one of these institutions because of self-created problems and pervasive discrimination. In closing, most agree that problems will persist at HBCUs as long as first-generation college graduates and products of poverty are allowed to run these universities.
2. snwiedmann - March 12, 2010 at 08:25 am
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3. klkjupiter - March 12, 2010 at 10:30 am
Interesting that you cite discrimination as a challenge and then you advance class-based discrimination.
4. honore - March 12, 2010 at 05:40 pm
it is indeed sad that schools such as HBCUs founded to counter-act discrimination, harrassment and other assorted acts of brutal treatment based on race, would find themsleves allowing such despicable behaviors and at the very top of the administrative ladder no less...cheers to these women. They will need much support. My experience with such scenarios tells me that they will become even bigger targets for increased harrassment.
5. princeton67 - March 12, 2010 at 07:53 pm
"Ms. Weatherly and Ms. Williams are African-American, and Ms. Burkhalter is biracial. Ms. Bartley and Mr. Knight are also African-American."
What is the relevance of this factoid to the case?
"...giving her sexually revealing clothing to wear to work...." Does Mrs. Burkhalter have the clothes?
Has any one of the three plainitiffs heard of pocket voice recorders?
So far, "He said; she said."
6. jon6707 - March 13, 2010 at 02:45 pm
Actually, princeton67, so far, it's 3 "she saids" versus 1 "he said."
7. hijole - March 14, 2010 at 05:26 pm
I have never understood the rank hypocrisy and mendaciousness that pervades 99.9% of the denizens of the Bible Belt. I'll bet the first question the defendants ask after discovering you work or live in Montgomery is: "Where do you worship?" It is all so creepy and sordid -- but what can you expect from a school that "brands itself" using a hopelessly inarticulate slogan namely: "When we teach class, the world takes note."
8. bthomas5 - March 14, 2010 at 08:22 pm
"Ms. Weatherly and Ms. Williams are African-American, and Ms. Burkhalter is biracial. Ms. Bartley and Mr. Knight are also African-American."
What is the relevance of this factoid to the case?
-----------------------------------------
The suit alleges racial harassment. This "factoid" is actually quite relevant to a reader's understanding of the context of the situation.
9. dank48 - March 15, 2010 at 04:05 pm
Hijole, it's good to know you've personally interviewed 999 out of 1000 of the residents of the Bible Belt, but I think you may have gotten your results skewed a bit. Contrary to popular belief, some of us can actually read, many wear shoes, and there's even a growing movement in favor of indoor plumbing.
I don't see that your comment is less bigoted than the flip side; I'd hope that when ignorant yahoos generalize about them pointy-headed liberals on the East and West Coasts, you just consider the source and forget it.
10. get_a_clue - March 23, 2010 at 02:46 pm
@honore, since it's clear that you and many of the authors of these post are far too ignorant to understand the fallacious nature of your conclusions, I won't be too hard on you...however, "cheers to these women"?? "they will need much support"??? Seriously, how stupid do you sound? Wait, let me answer that for you, VERY STUPID lol!!! Here you all are "supporting" and "cheering" for women that you don't even know! How will you feel if and when we find out that these women are pawns in a situation that is far to complex for your simple minds to understand? You'll probably feel as confused and ignorant as you sound!! I feel sorry for your mothers lol (I really do though)! Please, GET A CLUE before you make posts!!!