New York City fined for racially discriminating against white officials

A court ruled that New York City must compensate three officials from its Department of Education (DOE) with $2.1 million, after they were relegated from their position and replaced by three black candidates who had lower qualifications. The courts alleged that the local administration committed "race-based discrimination" after evaluating the evidence presented by the three affected women.

Lois Herrera, Jaye Murray and Laura Feijoo, who filed their lawsuit five years ago, will receive $700,000 each. At the time they were demoted, Richard Carranza was the chancellor of the city's DOE, who the plaintiffs said had the objective of combatting "toxic whiteness," so he decided to demote them in a discriminatory manner.

"This landmark case is a resounding affirmation that discrimination of any form should not be tolerated in educational institutions, regardless of the race of those negatively impacted," Davida Perry, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told The New York Post.

Perry said her clients "feel justified and vindicated by the resolution of this significant legal battle," adding that they "hope the light that was shed on the DOE’s policies will help other institutions understand that every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and fairness."

The defendants' legal team assured that "the DOE and the City are fully committed to fair and inclusive employment practices, and we maintain that these claims lack merit." Still, it acknowledged that "settlement of this long-standing case was in the best interest of all parties."