The Human
Rights Campaign and its former president, Alphonso David, have reached a
settlement in his discrimination lawsuit against the organization.
“The Human
Rights Campaign, Inc. and The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (collectively,
‘HRC’) and Alphonso David (‘Mr. David’) have chosen to amicably resolve Mr.
David’s lawsuit against HRC,” says a joint statement posted on HRC’s website Wednesday. “HRC and Mr. David share the
mission of advancing human rights for all LGBTQ+ people and realizing a world
that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. Mr. David and HRC
agree it is in their mutual best interests, and the interests of the
communities that they serve, to put this matter behind them. The terms of the
settlement are confidential.”
The lawsuit
and the circumstances surrounding it rocked the venerable LGBTQ+ group. David
was fired in September 2021 after it was revealed he had advised his previous employer, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on
responding to sexual harassment accusations.
David was
Cuomo’s in-house counsel before joining HRC in 2019, and the governor's office
tapped him for information and advice after the accusations surfaced in
December 2020. The New York State attorney general released a report in August
2021, finding the accusations credible, and Cuomo subsequently resigned, with
Kathy Hochul, formerly lieutenant governor, moving up to the governor's office.
David
maintained he did nothing wrong, but the chairs of HRC’s and the HRC
Foundation’s boards said his conduct had done "material damage" to
HRC's reputation and conflicted with its mission of fighting "racist,
bigoted patriarchal systems."
David countered by saying HRC had a "racist, biased
culture." In his lawsuit, he claimed that HRC board members told
him he had been paid less at the beginning because he was Black, and that a
board member urged him to stop mentioning his race in public comments —
including removing the fact that David was HRC's first Black president.
"HRC
underpaid David, and then terminated him, because he is Black," the
complaint stated.
Some other
former employees of HRC also alleged there was a culture of racism at the
organization. HRC responded that David’s suit was “riddled with untruths” and
said the group was committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. A 2015 report
had found that HRC’s culture favored gay white men, and the organization has
made great strides in changing that, HRC Board Chair Joni Madison said last
year.
Madison served
as HRC’s interim president during a search for David’s successor. Kelley Robinson, a Black queer woman, was named HRC
president last fall. She said at the time that she preferred to focus on the
work HRC has done rather than the David controversy. "HRC is an incredible
organization, and the work they've done speaks for itself," she said.
"I wouldn't be able to be in the position I'm in without HRC. ... I'm
entering this role with a deep commitment to leading with equity [and to]
building an organization that is as inclusive as the people we're fighting
for."
David was not
available for comment about the settlement, but a friend of his told The
Advocate, “Alphonso has spent his career fighting for marginalized
communities, and it didn’t come naturally to him to take on this fight for
himself, but it’s rewarding that it’s turned out this way.”
Former HRC
employee Richard Brookshire also spoke to The Advocate, saying,
“This settlement is a vindication of someone who’s committed their life to the
service of others.” Brookshire, a Black man, was HRC's deputy director of
communications for politics for a brief period. He said he felt David was
invested in the people he brought on, but he did not see that same investment
from others. He had told The Advocate previously that he saw a
culture of "passive racism" at the organization. Now he says he hopes
the settlement indicates HRC is making progress in addressing that. He is now
with the Black Veterans Project, of which he is cofounder and CEO.
The Advocate has sought comment from HRC and will update this story as further
information becomes available.
Story
developing …
SOURCE: ADVOCATE
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