An Open Invitation to Michael Newman to Have Several Seats
A former white student at Howard University's Law School is suing for racial discrimination, after he was responsible for making an uncomfortable environment for Black students. The caucacity...
Michael Newman, a white man, and former Howard University Law School student who was expelled from the institution, is seeking $2 million in a lawsuit claiming that his time at Howard fostered a “hostile education environment” that triggered anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. According to Newman’s account, he was the victim of “public ostracism, vilification, and humiliation,” however, according to complaints from his Black classmates, Newman habitually crossed cultural lines by making insensitive and incendiary remarks about Black people — while attending a whole ass HBCU
For example, one of his classmates found a tweet on Newman’s private account where he posted an image of a scarred back of an enslaved person with a caption that read, “But we don’t know what he did before the picture was taken!” Newman claimed that the tweet was meant as a tongue-in-cheek response to “Americans who attempt to explain away videos of police brutality by claiming that the victim must have committed wrongdoing before the video started that justified the violence.”
And maybe his excuse for being so wildly tone-deaf in posting something like that would have a bit of merit if he had not garnered a reputation for making derogatory statements. But per reports from school administrators, Newman had a habit of sending “disturbing” emails to the school’s Listserv community that referenced either stereotypical or unfounded claims about people “from the Black community.”
Now, for whatever reason Newman was of the assumption that he would be able to spew racially insensitive/inflammatory rhetoric among his fellow students at one of the proudest historically Black colleges on the planet, and have that energy not be met with backlash. He was wrong on all accounts.
Students at Howard allegedly referred to Newman with names such as “Mayo King,” and “White Panther,” and within the context of his lawsuit, Newman claims that an administrator told him that he was “the most hated” student he had ever seen attend the school. It is possible that he could have been subjected to some playful ribbing among the students at Howard just based on identity alone, but the fact that he was expelled from school on the basis of being a bigoted prick suggests that he had all of the smoke that was sent his way coming to him.
According to a university statement, Newman was expelled for “disruptive and harassing conduct,” and Howard fully intends to “vigorously defend itself” against the pending lawsuit. The caucacity of Newman’s pursuit of punitive damages for a toxic environment he created is rich, but not necessarily surprising.
It also pales in comparison to the actual racism that Black students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) are often subjected to while NOT causing a disruption to the learning environment. And also not receiving any form of recompense for trauma inflicted on them.
But Mr. Michael Newman wants $2 million when he needs to be finding 2 million seats to have — far, far away from “the yard.”