Category: Civil Rights

In one of his most famous speeches, aptly entitled Who Taught You to Hate Yourself, Malcolm X spoke to an unfortunate truth, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman…the most unprotected person in America is the black woman.” Malcolm’s comments keenly observed that the nation’s avowed principles like “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and/or “equal protection” did not apply equally in a nation with a deeply entrenched social caste system centered on race and gender. The founding ideals of our democratic republic “were false when they were written,” Malcolm knew this, and those in attendance did as well. We know it too.

To date, about 40% of the people seeking legal assistance from our office complain of some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace. Accordingly, several of my current clients have experienced various forms of workplace discrimination, including three different people in various stages of legal action against their current or former employer based on their allegations of religious discrimination and/or harassment.

Employment discrimination is one of the persistent ways bigotry and xenophobia impacts everyday people. Roughly 40% of the people seeking legal assistant from our office call to complain of some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace. To that end, I am presently representing three different people in various stages of legal action against their current or former employer based on their allegations of religious discrimination and/or harassment. US law defines employment discrimination as a form of discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity by employers. When it occurs, employment discrimination is a clear violation of US law.

On Tuesday December 10, 2019, Jacob and I attended a film screening and faith summit entitled Just Mercy Faith Summit. The summit, hosted by Eastern University, convened faith leaders, civil servants, and elected officials who desire to address inequities in the nation’s criminal justice system. It was inspired by the film Just Mercy (a film adaptation of the best-selling book by Bryan Stevenson of the same name)…