After submitting a racism complaint at her job, a Black therapist discovered a noose outside her house, prompting her to pursue a lawsuit against her employer.
Takiya Lawson-McCants became employed in 2019 with Alabama Mentor, a company founded in 2005 that offers foster care support for children, adults, and families. In her lawsuit filed Wednesday, Lawson-McCants says that racism towards her began shortly after she started working at the agency’s Birmingham office.
Lawson-McCants says that a white co-worker bragged about residing in a “sundown town,” a majority-white community where Black people are unwelcome and even hurt in some instances once the sun goes down. The employee told her that one of her family members lynched Black people who refused to leave the town by sunset, including children. The woman allegedly took joy in telling Lawson-McCants about her family’s prejudiced history.
The co-worker would also use racial slurs such as the N-word and referred to Black people as “monkeys,” “slaves,” and “Black b—h.”
After initially ignoring the racial banter, Lawson-McCants and another Black colleague reported the white woman’s behavior to management, but no action was taken against her. The white employee was eventually promoted, and the harassment intensified. Lawson-McCants filed an official complaint against the co-worker, which resulted in false accusations against her at work and threats from people in the “sundown town” that the woman often referred to. Lawson-McCants was even told that the Ku Klux Klan still existed, which appeared to be a threat. Shortly after, a noose was placed in the therapist’s yard.
Lawson-McCants is accusing the company of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by subjecting her to a racially hostile work environment. She says she was subjected to “humiliation, embarrassment, and mental anguish” and seeks unspecified monetary damages. Lawson-McCants is also demanding that the company put new discrimination protocols in place.
