A white student from Howard University’s law school has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the institution, claiming it created a “hostile educational environment” which allegedly caused him to suffer from depression.
Howard University is a federally chartered, historically black, private research university based in Washington D.C. Michael Newman, the student, had joined the law school in the fall semester of 2020.
In October 2020, students attended a seminar which said that if Biden and Harris won the White House, it would usher in a “golden age of environmental justice.” In a class GroupMe chat, Newman asked if “further dialogue could be had on whether: (1) black voters didn’t question turning to government for solutions, and (2) reliably voting for the same party every election disincentivized both parties from responding to the needs of the black communities,” according to the lawsuit (pdf).
Newman soon started receiving negative reactions from students over his post, with some insisting that his comment was insensitive. In a Zoom chat of his class, Newman compared his situation as a Caucasian student at Howard Law to an African-American student at a primarily white university, saying that he felt “utterly disenfranchised.”
“Classmates became overtly hostile, and some conspired to seek his expulsion … In a phone conversation, McGahee told Newman he had become the most hated student McGahee had seen in his tenure at Howard law.” Reggie McGahee was the Global Head of Diversity Recruiting at the institution.
Newman wrote a four-part letter to explain his position. However, several students called it a “manifesto.” On GroupMe, Newman was also called as “Mayo king” by his classmates, a pejorative epithet for Caucasians.
During a Zoom conference in January 2021, school dean Danielle Holley suggested that Newman transfer to another school, accusing him of “racially harassing classmates.” She also denied that “mayonnaise was an epithet or that Newman was a victim of racial discrimination.”
Both Holley and Newman filed complaints against each other. A school panel reviewed Holley’s complaint and judged that Newman be expelled. “To his knowledge and belief, Newman’s complaint against Holley was never adjudicated,” the lawsuit states. He was expelled in September 2022.
Newman eventually filed his lawsuit in a federal court, claiming that he was subjected to a “combination of public ostracism, vilification, and humiliation” due to which he ended up suffering from “depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.” The lawsuit is seeking $8.40 million in total damages.
Frank Tramble, vice president and chief communications officer for Howard University, justified the stance of the institution, saying that he could not comment “substantially” due to pending litigation.
The university “is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit as the claims provide a one-sided and self-serving narrative of the events leading to the end of the student’s enrollment at the university,” he said to Fox.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Howard University for comment.
Newman’s lawsuit is one among the many cases in recent times that have been filed for racial discrimination against white people.
In November, a white former employee at Seattle’s Human Services Department (HSD) filed a lawsuit against the city under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to the employee’s attorney, the employee suffered harassment and racial discrimination due to resisting the city’s Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI), which promoted concepts like “white privilege.” During some sessions, the employee was required to acknowledge his supposed complicity in racism.
In another incident last year, Nicole Levitt, an attorney who represents domestic violence survivors, filed a discrimination complaint against her employer Women Against Abuse (WAA).
According to the complaint, WAA had asked its white staffers to sign declarations that all white people are racists, including themselves.