"White People Teach Black Kids Better" Was Direct Evidence Of Discriminatory Attitude
King (African-American teacher) sued the employer pursuant to 42 USC Sections 1981 and 1983 alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. The trial court granted the employer's motion for summary judgment. The 8th Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part.
The court concluded that the trial court erred in not applying the direct evidence analysis of mixed-motive cases under the Price Waterhouse test (if there was direct evidence of race discrimination, the burden rested with the employer to show that it more likely than not would have made the same decision without consideration of the illegitimate factor). While many of the alleged racial comments fell into the "stray remark" category, the court found that the employer's statement to King that "white people teach black kids ... better than someone from their own race," was evidence that may be viewed as directly reflecting the employer's alleged discriminatory attitude.
King v. Hardesty
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas.
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