Black employee told braids look “ghetto”
Katherine Lemire, a former special prosecutor for the New York Police Department, says that she was removed from her job at Michael Stapleton Associates for standing up for a Black colleague.
Lemire, who was president of MSA Investigations until she was forced to resign, says she stood up for Chanissa Green after MSA Vice President of Operations Joe Atherall warned the human resources assistant to not wear her hair in braids.
According to the allegations, here’s what he said: “When someone like me… sees someone with a style like that, we think ghetto – not professional. I’ll tell you what’s beautiful: my daughter, with blond hair and blue eyes.”
Lemire, who has filed a lawsuit, says that the probe into the discrimination was botched by the company and the employee handling the investigation was also fired as a result.
Sources:
huffingtonpost.com; ajc.com; atlantablackstar.com; thegrio.com; essence.com; hollywoodreporter.com
