White law student sues historically black college for $2million over racial discrimination and claims head of diversity said he was the 'most hated' after tweeting picture of a slave with an inflammatory caption
- A White student has filed a lawsuit against Howard University's law school, alleging racial discrimination and creating a hostile education environment
- Michael Newman attended the school from the fall semester of 2020 to September 2022 when he was expelled
- He seeks $2m in damages for the suffering and damage caused to his reputation; Howard University has stated that it will vigorously defend itself against claims
PUBLISHED: 20:29 EST, 26 February 2023 | UPDATED: 20:39 EST, 26 February 2023
A former student at Howard University School of Law who is white has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the historically black institution, alleging he endured racial discrimination and creating a 'hostile education environment'.
Michael Newman, attended the School of Law starting in the fall semester of 2020 and remained there for two years until he was expelled in September 2022.
Newman's lawsuit alleges he suffered 'pain, suffering, emotional anguish and damage to his reputation,' as a result of racial discrimination by school administrators and other students.
His claims are based on a series of alleged events that took place during his time at the law school, including him being publicly ostracized, vilified, and humiliated.
In response, the university has said it 'is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit.'
Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick is pictured. The institution is being sued by a former white student at the university. The university has said it 'is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit.'
A White student has filed a lawsuit against Howard University's law school, alleging racial discrimination and creating a hostile education environment. Howard University, pictured
In the lawsuit, Newman raised concerns about his treatment to school administrators, but they denied that caucasian students at Howard Law, and that Newman in particular, faced racial discrimination to any degree.
Newman details how he suffered 'depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts' as a result of the treatment he received, the lawsuit claims.
The trouble for Newman allegedly began when the university shifted to remote learning at the start of the pandemic, meaning students communicated through purely online forums and GroupMe chats.
Following a symposium featuring an African-American speaker in the run-up to the 2020 election, Newman said he posted on a professor's forum page asking if further dialogue could be had on 'whether: (1) Black voters didn't question turning to government for solutions, and (2) reliably voting for the same party every election disincentivized both parties from responding to the needs of the black communities.'
Newman received negative responses from some students and was removed from one of his group chats for the class, according to the allegations.
Newman also described feeling 'utterly disenfranchised' at the school and compared himself to a black student at a primarily white university.
Once again, the student response was again largely negative, with some calling his comment 'offensive.'
Newman repeatedly apologized for offending anyone, stressing he was seeking to 'learn, not just law, but to learn the thoughts and experiences of people of color,' the lawsuit stated.
After discussions regarding Newman's alleged racial insensitivity, students found out about a tweet from his private Twitter account which depicted a slave baring his badly scarred back with the caption: 'But we don't know what he did before the picture was taken,' according to the lawsuit.
In another controversial tweet, Newman seemed to claim that he was mocking commentators who 'attempt to explain away videos of police brutality by claiming the victim must have committed wrongdoing before the video started.'
But Newman allegedly continued to face overt hostility, with many students starting to refer to him as 'mayo king' (a perceived reference to his race) and 'white panther,' with students claiming that 'controversies' that they blamed on Newman had caused 'severe stress' and 'distracted them from their studies.'
Newman then tried to remedy the situation by sending out a four-part letter to explain his views, but the effort was labeled a 'manifesto,' with one student accusing him of 'manipulating [classmates'] emotions … as a social experiment,' the lawsuit states.
The letters allegedly resulted in Newman's removal from a second class-wide group chat.
School of Law Dean Danielle Holley later secretly recorded a Zoom meeting she called with Newman and Global Head of Diversity Recruiting Reggie McGahee, during which she suggested Newman transfer to another school, accusing him of racially harassing classmates, according to the allegations.
Gahee is alleged to have told Newman how he had become 'the most hated' student McGahee had seen during his tenure at the university.
During a digital town hall attended by 300 participants to discuss controversies surrounding Newman, Holley allegedly characterized Newman's letters as 'disturbing in every sense of the word,' according to the suit.
She allegedly blocked him from using several functions to try and speak up in his defense, even disabling the chat function and turning off his camera.
Holley and Newman wound up filing simultaneous complaints, with Holley accusing Newman of 'continual harassment of member [sic] of the Howard Law community, and disturbance of the learning environment at the School of Law.
At the same time, Newman claimed Holley had perpetuated 'threats,' 'discrimination' and a 'hostile academic environment.'
Frank Tramble, vice president and chief communications officer for Howard University, said that while he could not comment 'substantively' due to pending litigation, the university 'is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit as the claims provide a one-sided and self-serving narrative of the events leading to the end of the student's enrollment at the university.'
Newman’s lawyers will now try to prove that the school broke its contract with him and that the string of incidents and subsequent review panels ultimately led to him being expelled.
White student sues historic black college for racial discrimination
A White student has filed a lawsuit against Washington DC's Howard University's law school, alleging racial discrimination and creating a hostile education environment.www.dailymail.co.uk
Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...k-college-2million-racial-discrimination.html
