Earlier this year, a Mobile jury ruled that Mobile County Schools discriminated against a Black assistant principal in denying him a job at Theodore High School, a mostly white school. The jury awarded $128,573.39 in back pay and damages.

 

"The jury found he was being discriminated against because he was denied the principal(ship) of Theodore which is traditionally a mostly white school, and they put him over at an African American school," said Jon Goldfarb, attorney for the Plaintiff, William Henderson.

 

The Mobile County Public School superintendent at the time, Martha Peek, passed on hiring Mr. Henderson and went with a white candidate instead. "He was on the road to get that job, and she jumped in," said Goldfarb.

 

"The reason we won the case is because there were some interviews scores," said Goldfarb" They really got caught red-handed with this fake score sheet that they couldn't explain. She tried to deny it, but we could show it came from the superintendent's office because it has the superintendent's stamp on it."

 

"You need the best principal at the best school regardless of their race, and if they were doing this all along then the African American students weren't getting the best principal at their school and the white students weren't getting the best principal for their schools," said Goldfarb.

 

For more information about the case, please read the following article written by Sarah Whites-Koditschek:

https://www.al.com/reckon/2020/08/mobile-blocked-black-administrator-from-leading-mostly-white-school-jury-verdict-shows.html

 

Please also read the following article written by Andrea Ramey:

https://mynbc15.com/news/reality-check/jury-finds-former-mobile-superintendent-blocked-promotion-for-black-school-administrator