Woman Sues Ex-Employer, Claims She Was Fired For Not Being The 'Right Kind Of Black Person'

According to Newsweek, Tabia Lee is suing her former employer, noting claims that her free speech and academic freedom were compromised during her time as the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) director for De Anza Community College, located in Cupertino, CA.

“They literally marginalized me as an individual,” Lee said during an interview with the outlet.

After working in the field of education for about two decades, Lee, a Black woman, says she was terminated from her tenured position at the community college.

In a 53-page lawsuit, Lee alleges that she was immersed in a hostile environment during the time that she worked for the educational institution. She says that she was accused of “illegally targeting white people on the basis of race,” and for “whitesplaining” and not being the “right kind of Black person.”

Additionally, she says she was ostracized for refusing to use the term “Latinx” instead of “Latinos,” as well as refraining from invoking racial stereotypes.

When Lee was terminated in March 2023, she was told the decision was made “because of De Anza and the District’s ideological opposition to Dr. Lee’s humanism in the classroom.”

What’s more, it also said that she “refused to knuckle under to campus orthodoxy.” To Lee, the school’s characteristics were described as extremely “woke.”

“She happens to be Black, but first and foremost, Dr. Lee is a teacher dedicated to humanism and civil rights,” said the complaint. “She teaches that people should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. De Anza is hostile to this concept.” It also adds that Lee’s thinking was opposed to “unchangeable attributes ascribed by characteristics of race and gender beloved by De Anza’s race and gender ideologues.”

Lee, who is a native of Sacramento, CA, has a background in sociology and experience instructing students of various ages across a variety of educational institutions. She currently is still out of work due to the termination.

“These are people who should definitely know better,” Lee said, according to Newsweek. “And the way that they behaved was what they claim other people do to marginalized people. They literally marginalized me as an individual, and they shunned me and they worked really hard to push me out.”

At this time, Lee is currently seeking to return to her old position as well as receive benefits and payment for financial damages from the legal battle.