First Black Leader of Human Rights Campaign Sues, Says He Was Fired Because of Race
The first Black leader of the Human Rights Campaign is suing over claims that he was underpaid and then ultimately fired because of his race.
Alphonso David filed his lawsuit last Thursday and in it, he alleges that he was underpaid and was let go from his position because he was a Black man. David, a civil rights lawyer, led the organization for two years before his termination last September. His termination came after New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a report which linked David to helping former governor Andrew Cuomo respond to sexual misconduct allegations. David served as a counsel to the former governor, and the report named Davis at least three dozen times. Shortly after the report came out, the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for gay rights, terminated David from his position.
In his 16-page lawsuit, David details that the organization has a "deserved reputation for unequal treatment of its non-white employees." David explains in his complaint that he was terminated “for cause” after he refused to resign. The lawsuit explains that his treatment “including his summary termination, differed markedly from how his white predecessor had been treated.”
The complaint highlights the organization’s former president Chad Griffin and the racial inequalities that existed between black and white employees during Griffin’s leadership. “HRC endured several scandals and reputational challenges centered around its mistreatment of marginalized groups, including Black and transgender people,” the complaint explains. The lawsuit highlights a 2015 internal report known as the “Pipeline Report” that detailed the unequal treatment of minorities throughout the HRC.
The Pipeline Report details, “ne of the most frequent concerns that arose was the sense of an organizational culture rooted in a white, masculine orientation which is judgmental of all those who don’t fit that mold.” Employees at the HRC shared in surveys brought on by the report that the organization was a “white man’s club” where a “toxic work environment” flourished. The report also detailed employees observing white male staffers as being more likely to rise through senior ranks than non-white male staffers.
David highlights that while the HRC stood behind Griffin as he rode the wave of scandal surrounding the leaked report, David was unfairly terminated after he found his name embroiled in the report detailing the former governor's sexual misconduct allegations.
David also highlighted instances of racially motivated treatment after a white board member confronted David after he gave a speech on race. The lawsuit details that the “prominent” white board member asked David, “We all know you're Black, why do you keep telling us that?"
The lawsuit also took aim at Davids’s compensation, with David describing himself as being underpaid during his time at the HRC. The lawsuit details that during contract negotiations in May 2021, David was invited to a lengthy dinner where he was told by two board members that the HRC had paid David “less than his predecessor for performing the same work.” The two board members ultimately shared that the pay discrepancy was because of David’s race. Upon renewal of his contract, David was ultimately given a 30% raise as compared to his initial contract according to the complaint.
