UNIT 3

November 12-November 18,2009 THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Sandra Guzman sues NY Post for discrimination By STEPHON JOHNSON

Amsterdam News Staff According to Sandra Guz-

man, the New York Post car- toon depicting Barack Obama as a chimpanzee wasn't the first time the paper has engaged in racist, discrimina- tory practices. Guzman, with assistance from her lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, filed a lawsuit Monday against the Post, citing "discriminatory treatment, harassment and unlawful retaliation" based on Guzman's ethnicity and gen- der. She's seeking monetary damages.

In the documented com- plaint, Guzman said she was let go after she vehemently- protested the infamous Obama cartoon, which was the end of a long line of issues the Emmy Award-winning journalist had with the Post. "What we hope to get out of this lawsuit is that no person of color, whether they be Black, Latino or Asian, should ever have to work in a hostile work environment based on their race or gender," said Thompson of Thompson, Wigdor & Gilly LLP. "We want to tell people that if someone complains about discrimina- tion, they should not be retali- ated against or have their career destroyed."

The complaint states that the Post, along with its parent company. News Corp., contin- ues to "maintain, condone, tol- erate, directly participate in and contribute to a hostile work environment against its female employees and employees of color." The picture that Guzman depicts of the Post's work envi- ronment is one of the good ol' boys network run amok, with the paper's editor in chief. Col Allan, as the ringleader.

One story depicts Allan walking up to Guzman and a group of female employees after a night of sharing drinks and showing them a picture of a naked man on his Blackberry while asking them, "What do you think of this?" No investi- gation was undertaken to con- front the issue, despite Guz- man's complaints. The com- plaint also accuses Allan of rubbing up against a female employee at a party and mak- ing sexually suggestive com- ments, "causing that female employee to feel extremely uncomfortable and fearing to be alone with him."

Les Goodstein, vice presi- dent of News Corp., is also named in the suit and accused of making inappropriate com- ments to Guzman, calling her "sexy" and "beautiful" and

referring to her as "Cha Cha No. 1" in a dig at her ethnicity. According to the suit, one of the male senior editors sexual- ly propositioned a young female copy assistant, promis- ing a permanent reporter job in exchange for sexual favors.

It's all a little too much for Guzman's representation.

"As an African-American man, I feel strongly about dis- crimination in the workplace, and when I learned about what happened to Sandra Guzman, I had to take her case," said Thompson. "Because I realized that she brought this forth not only on behalf of herself, but on behalf of women and people of color at the Post." Thompson is known by most for his success- ful investigation and prosecu- tion of the New York police offi- cers who viciously attacked Abner Louima.

The suit also alleges that after Guzman conducted an interview with Dominican pitcher Pedro Martinez, who recently pitched the World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies, Allan asked Guzman if Martinez had been carrying a gun or a machete during the interview. Thompson said that Guzman found the joke "deeply offensive and insulting" and displayed Allan's blatant disre-

gard for Hispanic people. Guz- man also alleges that a white male columnist would repeat- edly walk into her office singing songs fi"om the musical "West Side Story," particularly emphasizing the line "I want to live in America" while using a faux Spanish accent.

Similar stories are alleged throughout the suit from a white female employee openly displaying pleasure at profes- sor Henry Louis Gates' arrest, calling him "an angry Black man," to Guzman being accused of engaging in "Sante- ria" when she decided to keep scented candles in her office. The term "Santeria" was used to demean certain Hispanic and African religions by sug- gesting that the candles repre- sented witchcraft and voodoo.

"I have so much evidence, it's not even funny," said Thompson. The amount of alle- gations are startling, but not to Thompson. The picture of Obama may have been the first real blatant display of hatred of the president on the Post's part, but the suit claims that it's all part of the paper's plan. According to the suit, Washing- ton bureau chief Charles Hurt said the goal of the paper was the "destroy Barack Obama."

"For any newspaper to have

that as a goal not only for the first sitting Black president, but for any president is com- pletely un-American," said Thompson. Sonia Sotomayor's name was also brought up in the complaint. According to Thompson, Guzman, who's good friends with Sotomayor, was invited to a private recep- tion at the White House in honor of the new Supreme Court justice and asked if she could cover it for the paper. Allan's one-word reply via email? "No." The next day, the paper bought an Associated Press report of the reception.

"This is a big case, and I am determined to make sure Guz- man succeeds," said Thomp- son. "Because if she wins, many people at the Post and around the city win as well. Many people suffer silently [when discriminated against] until we go find another job. Standing up for your rights is a very hard thing to do.

"It's a difficult time for Ms. Guzman, and she's a coura- geous woman with enormous integrity," said Thompson. "She didn't have to bring this law- suit. She's an award- winning journalist. She could've just picked up the pieces of her career and started rebuilding, but she's determined."

Black Vets (Continued from Page 3) units tjrpically transported and guarded ammunition and equipment. Few saw combat and none served in leadership

positions, historians say. Eddie Lee Bennett, 81, said

though their role is commonly seen as menial, it carried great danger.

"I was many times placed on a .50-caHber machine gun on this hill surrounding the depot that

carried all of the eqviipment. We had to protect it from enemy attack," said Bennett, of Bedford- Stuyvesant. "There were many times I thought I would not come home as a young man."

Bennett said he lied about his age to join the Army at 15

years old. Like other Black men who joined the ranks, he saw the military as a way to escape economic and educa- tional barriers of Black neigh- borhoods.

Because of his service, the government subsidized his

education to become a tailor. "It's been very helpful to me,

but I've been one of the fortu- nate ones," he said of his serv- ice. "I became an entrepreneur. And I consider myself a suc- cessful person, thanks to the U.S. Army."

Rangel (Continued from Page 3) the Ways and Means Commit- tee in the House. The commit- tee is responsible for writing tax policy.

While it was Rangel him- self who suggested that the House Ethics Committee pro- ceed with its investigation, to some, Rangel's potential ouster looks and smells like an old school political power move.

"I think that many people may not understand the con- gressman because he's a very complex person," said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of Partnership for New York City. "Many elected rep- resentatives pick one con- stituency to represent, whether it's their district or a particular industry. The Texas guys represent oil; the Iowa guys represent the farms. Congressman Rangel has, on the one hand, represented

international businesses that are the core of the New York economy and, at the same time, he's represented disaf- fected youth and the poor, working-class people."

Wylde continued, "He's had a very complicated assign- ment and he's handled it beautifully for 40 years, and I think that, in the process, he probably isn't well under- stood by many people because it's so tough to represent such a diverse constituency."

Rangel has many achieve- ments, on top of his aforemen- tioned diverse cast of friends and partners. He's managed to obtain funds that were cru- cial to New York City. He was able to direct stimulus money from President Barack Obama towards the city's public housing. He's under- stood that defending immi- grant rights, while not popu- lar in the so-called "flyover states," is crucial to a city that sees thousands of new immi- grants arrive each year in the

city with dreams of prosperi- ty. As a champion of the rights of the city's underprivileged, Rangel has managed to toe all lines effectively and graceful- ly—something that Brooklyn Councilwoman Letitia James feels make Rangel one of the most significant and influen- tial politicians in recent mem- ory.

"He's a historical icon and I, among many others, stand on his shoulders," said James. "There seems to be this right- wing attempt to go after sen- ior leaders, and Charlie Rangel commands so much respect not only in New York, but across the nation."

Some folks, not on record though, alluded to Rangel- directed attacks as a result of jealously and prejudice towards New York City, a Black congressman in a posi- tion of power and his diverse group of acquaintances.

There's no doubt that Rangel has made a sizable impact on city, state and

national politics. Something that Steve Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board ,of New York can personally attest to.

"Charlie Rangel, thanks to his years of leadership, is in a very important position in New York State and New York City," he said. "His voice is critical. We need to make sure he gets a fair shake and a fair deal, and we need to keep him working for the vision he has for the country." Spinola cited Rangel's assistance in fight- ing the loss of state and city local deductibility as one of Rangel top achievements. Spinola said it would be "a problem for our state" if Rangel were to lose his posi- tion in Congress.

Literature handed out to the media included a long list of people standing by Rangel in his time of need. It includ- ed the likes of Roger Tous- saint, of TWU Local 100; Lloyd Williams, of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Com-

merce; Howard Rubenstein, of Rubenstein Associates; and Deborah Wright, of Carver Bankcorp Inc. They, along with Kyle Bragg, vice presi- dent and director of the resi- dential division for SEIU- 32BJ, are mortified at the thought of the nation's capital doing business without Rangel.

"To watch all of these arti- cles come out and demonize him, we needed to step up and talk about the Charlie Rangel that we know—the Rangel we know that has been fighting for decades," said Bragg. "He has been a champion. It's because of people like Rangel that you and I are here today and are able to prosper in this nation.

"It is a mandate to be here," concluded Bragg.

"We will go with whatever the Ethics Committee comes up with," said Rev. Butts. "We believe he's a strong repre- sentative for our nation, our city and our community."

Copyright of New York Amsterdam News is the property of Powell Savory Corporation and its content may not

be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written

permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.