Federal Judge Won’t Dismiss Discrimination Suit Against Delaware HBCU

A federal judge has shot down requests by officials at the historically Black Delaware State University to dismiss a discrimination complaint filed by a white former employee.

According to The Associated Press, on April 9 a judge upheld a previous recommendation made by a magistrate judge last month, when it was found that Jeffrey DeMoss had presented sufficient facts showing his termination was racially motivated.

Delaware State  University

A former white employee is suing Delaware State University after he claims race was a motivating factor in his firing. (Representational image by Getty Images)

In his suit, DeMoss claims he overheard former university President Harry Williams refer to him as a “white fat (expletive)” during a phone call. He also claims a school official alerted him that his firing was motivated by race and that the university wanted an African-American in his position instead.

DeMoss served as operations director for the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center as well as executive director for dining and auxiliary services.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top