White student sues Howard University for $2 million over racial discrimination

WASHINGTON – A white Howard University law student is suing the institution for racial discrimination, alleging the school created a “hostile educational environment”.

Plaintiff Michael Newman attended Howard University School of Law from the fall 2020 semester and stayed for only two years until he was expelled in September 2022. He seeks $2 million in monetary damages for “pain, suffering, emotional suffering.” and damage his reputation.

Frank Tremble, Vice President and Director of Public Affairs at Howard University, said that while he is unable to provide “substantial comments” due to the pending litigation, the university is “ready to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit because the claims are one-sided and independent – a narrative about the events that led to the end of the student’s enrollment at the university.

Newman suffered “depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts” as a result of “public ostracism, vilification and humiliation,” the lawsuit says. At one point, global head of diversity recruiting Reggie McGahey allegedly told Newman that he had become the most hated student McGahey had seen during his time at the university, according to the lawsuit.

When Newman raised concerns about his treatment to school administrators, the dean of the law school allegedly denied that white Howard Law students, and Newman in particular, faced any degree of racial discrimination.

After discussing Newman’s alleged racial insensitivity, students learned of a tweet from Newman’s private Twitter account that included a photo of a slave exposing his severely wounded back, with the caption: “But we don’t know what he was doing before the picture was taken, “according to the lawsuit.

Newman stated that the tweet poked fun at commenters who are “trying to explain the video of police brutality by claiming that the victim must have committed an offense before the video started.” He claimed that the students responded with references to his race, gender, sexual preferences, age, and physical appearance.

The problems began when the university moved to distance learning at the start of the pandemic, meaning students communicated exclusively through online forums and GroupMe chat rooms, Newman said in court documents.

Following a symposium with an African-American speaker ahead of the 2020 election, Newman said he posted on the professor’s forum page asking whether further dialogue could be held about “whether: (1) Black voters have no hesitation in reaching out to government for decisions, and (2) reliable voting for the same party in every election removed the incentive for both sides to respond to the needs of black communities.”

According to the allegations, some students reacted negatively to Newman’s message and reached out to school administration, which resulted in Newman being removed from one of his class group chats.

Newman also described feeling “totally disenfranchised” at school and compared himself to a black student at a predominantly white university. Student reaction was again mostly negative, with some calling his comment “offensive,” he said.

Newman repeatedly apologized for offending anyone, emphasizing that he sought to “learn not only the law, but also learn the thoughts and experiences of people of color,” the lawsuit says.

But Newman allegedly faced more open hostility: many students began calling him “the king of mayonnaise” (a supposed reference to his race) and “the white panther,” with students claiming that the “arguments” they blamed Newman for were “high stress” and “distracted them from their studies.

Newman attempted to remedy the situation by sending out a four-part letter explaining his views, but the effort was called a “manifesto” and one student accused him of “manipulating [classmates’] emotions … as a social experiment,” the lawsuit says. The letters allegedly resulted in Newman’s removal from the second class-wide group chat.

Law School Dean Danielle Holly later secretly recorded a Zoom meeting she called with Newman and McGahey, during which she suggested that Newman transfer to another school, accusing him of racially harassing classmates, according to the allegations.

According to the lawsuit, during a digital town hall attended by 300 attendees to discuss the Newman controversy, Holley allegedly described Newman’s letters as “disturbing in every sense of the word.” She allegedly banned him from using several features to try to speak up for him, even disabling the chat feature and turning off his camera.

Holly and Newman filed concurrent complaints, with Holly accusing Newman of “constantly harassing members of [sic] the Howard Lowe Community and the Violation of the Learning Environment at Law School.” At the same time, Newman claimed that Holly perpetuated “threats”, “discrimination”, and “a hostile academic environment”.

In the panel reviewing Holly’s complaint, the school determined that Newman was “responsible” and ruled that he should be expelled. As far as he knows, Newman’s complaint was never considered, the lawsuit says.

Newman appealed the decision, but the second review team allegedly came to the same conclusion, despite it being revealed that Holley provided evidence to the first panel that Newman had never seen, which he claimed constituted “classified evidence”.

Lawyers representing Newman filed a lawsuit in federal court.

Newman’s lawyers will try to argue that the school terminated the contract with Newman, a student on a scholarship, after a series of incidents and accusations led to multiple panels and hearings that led to his expulsion, according to the lawsuit.

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