‘Reverse Discrimination’: Almost $5M in damages awarded to white teacher terminated at historically black university

Former Harris-Stowe State University instructor has been awarded $4.85M in damages after a St. Louis Circuit Court jury found the historically black university discriminated against the instructor because she is white.

Beverly Wilkins, a white full-time faculty member was hired by the College of Education in 2001. Latisha Smith, who was hired in 2007, is African American and was “quickly promoted to assistant dean, then dean and later into the interim co-chair of the department in her first three years at the university.”

Wilkins was not promoted during her nine years at the university and Smith dismissed her in 2010, citing budget cuts as the reason for the termination. The lawsuit alleged that Harris-Stowe’s board approved a reduction-in-force policy which was not followed with Wilkins was let go.

Wilkin’s lawyer, Michael Meyers, argued that Harris-Stowe systematically discriminated against white employees, including hiring new staff after administrators cited budget cuts for the RIF. Another piece of evidence presented to the jury included an email from an African American instructor who voiced her opinion that the interim leader had “voiced her prejudice so openly to me and others”.

The jury awarded $3.5M in punitive damages as wells at $1.35M for lost wages and distress.

Social scientists and analysts who argue that ‘reverse discrimination’ is a myth suggest that having spaces (and employment) set aside for people of color is not racist when one takes into account the historical imbalance of power, and that attempts to rectify systemic injustice are not examples of discrimination.