Quinsigamond Community College instructor sued over alleged racial remarks about Nigerians, blacks

“You can’t trust Nigerians. They’ll steal your money,” is what a civil lawsuit claims a Quinsigamond Community College instructor told her class, among other disparaging remarks about Nigerians.

The civil lawsuit claims Arlene James, a part-time faculty member at QCC since 2010, made “repeated disparaging racial remarks about Nigerians that inferred the Plaintiff had a propensity for untrustworthiness and academic dishonesty based on his race/ethnicity.”

The lawsuit was filed in Boston federal court Monday by attorney John T. Martin on behalf of Leroy Gardner, a Nigerian man who was enrolled in a medical administration class being taught by James. Quinsigamond Community College was also named as a defendant in the suit.

Gardner was enrolled in the class from June 28, 2021, to Aug. 3, 2021 as a non-credit course operated by QCC’s Center for Workforce Development & Continuing Education.

Between those dates, the suit claims, James made repeated disparaging racial remarks about Nigerians including telling the class that she had an online romantic relationship with a Nigerian man whom she helped gain passage to the United States.

James told the class the man stayed with her long enough to clean out her bank accounts and took out high-interest loans in her name, according to the lawsuit. James told the class of 10 students, including Gardner, that “some races” have credibility issues — namely — Nigerians and black people, the suit said.

These disparaging remarks often drew laughter from other students in the class, according to the suit.

There were several instances where James singled out Gardner in front of the class and inappropriately scrutinized him during tests, the lawsuit claims

During an online exam, James singled out Gardner in front of the class and said that he needed to show his work area to her because she needed to see the area to be sure he was not cheating, Martin wrote in the suit.

In another instance, during a remote class, James required Gardner to remain motionless in front of his webcam, the suit claims.

“And if the Plaintiff failed to do so, James would scream at the Plaintiff for ‘suspicious’ movements,” Martin wrote. “No other students in the class were subjected to the same or similar treatment.”

During one in-person exam, James stood directly above Gardner to monitor him while he took the exam.

Gardner brought his concerns to Kathleen Manning, the dean of the Center for Workforce Development & Continuing Education on Aug. 2, 2021, according to the suit.

“James confirmed to Dean Manning that James did in fact made [sic] statements to the Plaintiff and the class that ‘you can’t trust Nigerians. They’ll steal your money,’ the suit said.

The suit includes another incident where an exam used a prompt that included the hypothetical address: “123 Plantation Street.”

“This offended the Plaintiff even though James said that there was a street named Plantation in Worcester,” the suit said. “Regardless of the racial implications that the word ‘Plantation’ elicits, James instructed the Plaintiff that he needed to accept the term ‘Plantation’ to receive a certificate for the class.”

Gardner brought this incident to the attention of Thereasa Vecchio, the dean of students, who agreed with Gardner, according to the suit.

Gardner’s concerns were later investigated by Sara Simms, the Affirmative Action Officer at QCC. Simms interviewed James, Dean Manning, and other individuals identified as witnesses to Gardner’s discriminatory treatment, the suit said. Simms’ findings concluded that Gardner was treated differently from similarly situated, qualified students not of the complainant’s protected class; Gardner was being harassed due to his protected class; Gardner was subjected to unwelcomed verbal and/or physical conduct based on a protected classification; and that there was evidence found of discrimination and discriminatory harassment.

That racial harassment, according to the suit, has been so severe that it has injured Gardner and “adversely affected the enjoyment of, and access to, some or all aspects of QCC’s Medical Administration Training class.”

The lawsuit calls for a jury trial on claims of a hostile educational environment under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and deprivation of rights and is demanding $50,000.

The amount sought in the lawsuit was corrected in this story after publishing.

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