Racial Harrassment In The Workplace Getting Worse And Worse

For all of those idealistic-to-a-faulters who think that Barack Obama's success means that our country is finally rising above it's racist past are, unfortunately, pretty far off track. Actually, the number of racial discrimination lawsuits have soared over the past decade, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Racial harassment cases have more than doubled since the early 1990s, hitting an all-time high of 6,977 in 2007, according to EEOC data. (Blacks file nine out of 10 race harassment charges.) From fiscal 2000 to 2007, the EEOC received 51,000 racial harassment charge filings nationwide, already over the number received during the entire 1990s.

The big racial harassment payouts tend to get the headlines. Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin Corp. agreed to settle a case and pay $2.5 million to a black electrician who claimed he was harassed on a daily basis. He was threatened with lynching and once told: "If the South had won then this would be a better country."

But cases like this with smaller monetary penalties are numerous, although they may not get as much press coverage.

Check out some of the cringe-inducing stories we don't hear about. MLK day is coming up! He'd be so proud.

Jan 14, 2008 · posted by Lauren Williams, Stereohyped · Link · 7 Responses

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Tagged: Lawsuits, Racial Discrimination, Workplace Discrimination

Comments (7)

No. 1 · Ottermatic

And this is despite interpretations of the law that make brining a successful discrim suit more difficult than ever.

Posted: Jan 14, 2008 at 4:47 pm

No. 2 · daria

I'm going to guess that people of other races don't care to fight it. Really, the first time anyone said something to me, I'd report it to HR and start looking for another job. In theory, I want to fight racism but in reality, I just wouldn't even want to deal with it. If I wake up every morning knowing that I'd face this B.S., I'd fall into a deep depression. Immigrant's mentality. If you can leave, leave.

http://gorgeousblackwomen.blogspot.com/

Posted: Jan 14, 2008 at 5:08 pm

No. 3 · blackmistressdiva

Wow@some of those stories. Some of the worst things seem to happen to people who will take it. I mean, I know times are rough, but I don't think I could work at a job where someone was calling me darkie. I'd either fight back or quit.

Posted: Jan 14, 2008 at 5:21 pm

No. 4 · LeAnne@hairsmystory.com

I've never worked at a job where I wasn't harrassed by co-workers. Somehow, maybe I am just paranoid, but it always comes back to people's discomfort about my race. Hmmm…

one guy was Blantantly racist… like there was nothing wrong with his mind-fuckery.
hairsmystory.com

Posted: Jan 15, 2008 at 8:32 am

No. 5 · tayo

As an aside, could racial harassment be getting worse because people are less willing to take it and be silent about it? Like in rape cases. The amount of harassment is still about the same as always but the number of reported cases is increasing? Just a thought.

Posted: Jan 15, 2008 at 8:42 am

No. 6 · blackmistressdiva

"I’ve never worked at a job where I wasn’t harrassed by co-workers."

LeAnne - are you serious? OMG. That's rough.

Posted: Jan 15, 2008 at 1:19 pm

No. 7 · SjP

I've started a new Open Thread called "Slave" Narratives. Just a spot to come to on Saturdays to reflect on the past week while working while Black. Please feel free to stop by.

Posted: Jul 26, 2008 at 3:18 pm

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