After Black-Noose Doll, One Woman Fights Back
By Jennifer Millman
November 01, 2007
Cassandra Welch knows what it's like to re-live history. It's terrifying.
Welch was working for a pharmaceutical company when she found a black doll with a noose around its neck on her desk. It was during Black History Month, while she was the only black employee in a salaried position working in her department.
Welch says racist remarks by white employees against blacks were common, and she believes one or more of her white coworkers put the noose on her desk.
"It had to be the most mean-spirited, evil display of individual behavior I have ever seen. It's clear that the meaning of a noose around its neck, that's a symbol for black hatred," says Welch, who reported the incident to management. The noose eventually was removed, she says.
The Legal Battle: What's Going On?
In April 2006, Welch and four other black employees filed a class-action discrimination complaint against their former employer, drug-maker Eli Lilly, which employs about 42,000 people, according to its web site. The company denies the allegations of discrimination.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The lawsuit is not classified as a class-action currently; a hearing is scheduled for April. Welch, who is the lead plaintiff, and the others allege bias against black employees in pay, promotions, leadership-development and termination rates that created a hostile work environment. Read the complaint.
Eli Lilly vehemently denies the allegations. "Respect and fair treatment are really the cornerstones of our values here at Lilly, and we would never tolerate any behavior that would be contrary to those ethics that we have here," says Carla Cox, corporate-communications spokesperson for Eli Lilly. "These allegations certainly aren't reflective of who we are, what we stand for and how we operate here at the company."
"We looked at the allegations brought forward by these four individuals and we believe that their pact of saying that there was race discrimination is without merit," adds Cox. "Unfortunately, with everything in the legal process, I can't really discuss any specifics."
Noose: A Symbol of Hate
Welch is just one of many who have mentioned noose-hangings in recent months. There's been a flurry across the nation. Why nooses now?
"The noose symbol was used from 1800 to the 1960s about 3,000 times as a symbol of hanging--black women, black men, even children. It doesn't just hurt me, but it hurts every single one of us," says Welch. "For the first time in my life, history became real to me. It was no longer something that I just read in a history book; it was something that I felt for myself, and that is a feeling that I would not wish on my worst enemy."
Click here to listen to Welch talk about her experience.
(See also: DiversityInc Noose Watch)
On Nov. 1 on the federal courthouse steps in Indianapolis--Lilly's headquarters--NAACP President Dennis Hayes announced that it's now going to be NAACP vs. Eli Lilly & Co. The NAACP is taking on the case as part of a civil-rights agenda.
"The NAACP has recognized that this is a national problem," says Welch. "It's showing up in the justice system; it's showing up in our schools; it's clearly showing up in corporate America. It ... has to be stopped; it affects you for the rest of your life."
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