By Sylvia Maria Gross
Kansas City, MO – Earlier this month, a Jackson County jury found that the Kansas City Boys and Girls Clubs had illegally fired a Vice President when she complained that some recent hiring decisions were racist. The organization was ordered to pay a total of 550 thousand dollars to Tameka Bryant, and President David Smith was personally fined 60 thousand dollars. The Boys and Girls Club questioned the jury's finding and says it stands behind Smith's employment decisions.
David Smith is also president of the Kansas City Missouri school board. In light of the jury's finding, some community leaders have called from his resignation from both organizations. Sylvia Maria Gross reports on some of the repercussions of this lawsuit.
Attorney Martin Meyers talks about the precedent of bringing discrimination and retaliation cases to state court, in front of a jury.