Vanessa Bowie-Middleton, an African American cafeteria worker from Washoe County, Nevada, has received a $60,000 settlement from her local school district after claiming white teachers complained about her “Black voice,” leading to her being stripped of key job duties.
Bowie-Middleton, 60, had worked for the district since 2019 and served as kitchen manager at Bohach Elementary. In January 2022, she said the school principal, Heidi Gavrilles, told her she could no longer discipline students because some white teachers “did not like the way she spoke,” according to Atlanta Black Star.
That same day, the principal also banned her from using the school’s PA system, which she often used to ask students to quiet down or clean up. According to her lawsuit, Gavrilles later told a local NAACP leader that white teachers “did not want to hear a Black voice telling children what to do.”
Before that incident, Bowie-Middleton said she loved her work, enjoyed interacting with students, and played music to keep the cafeteria lively. She said maintaining order was part of her role, something she was trained to do by her supervisors. Her former manager, Terri Braunworth, backed her up in a court statement, saying cafeteria staff were expected to correct misbehavior and that Bowie-Middleton “was always appropriate” when doing so.
The lawsuit accused the principal of racial discrimination, noting that white employees were still allowed to discipline students while Bowie-Middleton was not. Despite her strong job performance, district officials dismissed her complaint, saying there wasn’t enough evidence.
The experience took a heavy toll on her mental health. Bowie-Middleton said she felt humiliated, stopped engaging with students, and eventually transferred to another school in 2023.
When she took her case to federal court, the district denied any wrongdoing, arguing that disciplining students wasn’t part of her job description. Her lawyer, Terri Keyser-Cooper, disputed that claim, saying cafeteria workers were trained to intervene for safety reasons.
This week, the district agreed to pay $60,000 to settle the case but insisted the decision was made for “business reasons” and not as an admission of guilt. Bowie-Middleton’s attorney called the settlement “a small step toward accountability” and criticized the district for refusing to apologize.
SOURCE: blacknews.com