Human Rights campaign sued for racial bias by its first black leader
Image: Bloomberg
The LGBTQ+ champion Human Rights Campaign was sued by its first Black president for allegedly paying him less than his White predecessor and barring him from discussing his race in public to avoid alienating White donors.
Alphonso David, who held the post from 2019 to 2021, filed the federal race discrimination suit against HRC in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday.
“Today, I am filing a lawsuit for the millions of Black and Brown people who face discrimination every day but fear retaliation or lack the resources to challenge it,” David said in a statement. He added: “HRC cannot ask others to advance fairness and equality when it refuses to do so within its own ranks. We don’t achieve justice by hiding in darkness or cowering when institutions with power abuse it.”
HRC’s press office didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The case is Alphonso David v. The Human Rights Campaign, 22-cv-00620, US District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
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