The Probem of Reverse Discrimination

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Recommended: Racial discrimination in the workplace

Griffin and Low were awarded money in a suit involving racial discrimination,

Does reverse discrimination occur in the U.S today?

In January 2011, The City of Kansas City, MO lost its second multi-million dollar employment discrimination lawsuit in a one-week period. The former city employees, Jordan Griffin and Coleen Low, were awarded $345,000 and $517,000 respectively by the jury. Griffin, a former Senior Analyst and Commissioner of Revenue, says she was given the nickname “White Chocolate” in the false belief she would favor minority hires. She also says she was harassed when she refused to participate in the biased-hiring process and was overlooked for an interview for the Commissioner of Revenue position on a permanent basis because it was already “pre-determined” that the position would be filled by an African American. When the then Senior Analyst Low spoke up on her colleague’s behalf, she says the city laid her off as well. The city’s, assistant attorney, said the city did nothing wrong and that the city was forced to layoff another 73 people that year due to the slump in the economy (Evans). Did Griffin and Low deserve the money they were compensated and does reverse discrimination exist?

Another even more high news case was Ricci v. DeStefano. This landmark case ,most likely lead to Griffin and Low being rewarded as they were, started in 2003 when nineteen firefighters filled a lawsuit against the city of New Haven, Connecticut alleging that the city discriminated against them regarding promotions. Of these firefighters, seventeen are Caucasian and two are Hispanic, had all passed the city test for promotions to management. New Haven officials invalidated the test results because none of the b...

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Northup, Temple. "Is Everyone a Little Bit Racist? Exploring Cultivation Using Implicit and Explicit Measures." Southwestern Mass Communication Journal 26.1 (2010): 29-41. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 21 Apr. 2011.

crob80231, . "Are Progressives Unconsciously Racist Against Caucasians?." Open Salon, 10 DEC 2011. Web. 21 Apr 2011. .

"RICCI v. DeSTEFANO." LII | Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. .

Reid, Landon D., and Kristen E. Birchard. "The People Doth Protest Too Much: Explaining Away Subtle Racism." Journal of Language & Social Psychology 29.4 (2010): 478-490. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 21 Apr. 2011.

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