The Tar Baby Lawsuit Against the American Red Cross, by Kirby Sommers
(The Toy Collins Discrimination Lawsuit)
PART I
Toy Collins, the Health and Safety Director for the American Red Cross’ Rock River Chapter who was fired on July 16, 2007 and who worked for the Red Cross for eight years, has countered with a lawsuit dated September 12, 2008 against the federally chartered stalwart non-profit that validates every suspicion uttered over the years about the Red Cross’ racism, sexism, ageism and retaliatory practices.
“Tar baby is what Lauren called me. Her and Karen would giggle and laugh at me when I complained. But that’s what she called me,” a distraught Collins said during a recent interview.
Lauren Zimmerman is the Emergency Service Director and Karen Kennedy is the Human Resources Director.
In an office of 23 people, Collins was the only African American paid staff member.
When a superior – or anyone, for that matter, calls you “tar baby” – well that’s as offensive as calling you a nigger. Making matters worse, it wasn’t a one-time offense. It happened on a regular basis.
During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 following the heavy criticism that fell on the American Red Cross for their poor performance with minorities -- the storm is credited with pulling the white veil of secrecy off the Red Cross and showed they are not used to dealing with people of color within the United States. According to the Red Cross’s own statistics, in that year, only 5 percent of the volunteers were black, 4% Hispanic and 2% Asian within the sprawling 700 plus chapters across the country.
So, one would have to question why employees of the American Red Cross engage in offensive behavior (as is evidenced by approximately 200 lawsuits against them during a period of approximately 6 years) against African Americans, women, aging employees, or anyone who doesn’t fit in with their culture even after the spotlight cast its light on their egregious errors. The answer to this is simple: change within an organization as large as the Red Cross does not happen overnight. And changing someone’s lifelong beliefs is not realistic. Not even when they’re wrong -- no one changes how they think or behave on a dime.
Toy Collins arrived at the Red Cross as a volunteer in 1998. At the time, The Red Cross wanted a 2% increase in African American donors and Mrs. Collins seemed to fit the bill. Well articulated, well educated and well connected, Collins was able to get more contributions into the local Rock River chapter than any other volunteer.
Toy proved to be a valuable commodity as a liason between the Red Cross and the African American community. On October 2000 Cynthia (Cindy) Waddick, at the time the Executive Director, offered Toy a paid staff position as the Health and Safety Community Coordinator. The job would be utilizing Toy’s social skills within the African American community.
As Toy recalls, she worked hard. She was proud to be working with the American Red Cross. Until one day in 2003, when the position just above hers opened up – that of the Health and Safety Director. A Health and Safety Director can hire people and has real responsibilities. It’s a management level position. And, at the Rock River Red Cross Chapter there were no black management employees. At least, not yet.
Collins approached Waddick and applied for the job.
“I like you where you are,” Waddick told Collins after she submitted her application, adding: “You aren’t management material.”
Yet Waddick turned around and offered Collins the job at a salary of $16,000/year. The promotion would have meant Toy getting a substantial decrease in salary. She declined and suddenly realized what had happened. It was an intentional gesture meant from keeping her from going up within the ranks.
By offering Collins less money than she was making, Waddick knew Collins couldn’t afford the pay cut and wouldn’t accept the “promotion.”
Except this is illegal. It’s an old trick used by higher ups within the American Red Cross, and used in this case, by Cindy Waddick to prevent Toy Collins from getting a promotion.
Meanwhile, Tyler Doty, a young man applied for the same job.
“Tyler is young and will run circles around you.” With those words Cindy Waddick sealed Toy’s fate and hired Doty. However, with those words and actions Waddick was also making it clear that: Toy was a woman, was too old, and was too black to be part of Red Cross management.
This folks, is called discrimination on the basis of gender, race, and age.
And the story would have ended there were it not for the fact that Doty wasn’t qualified and quit after just 7 short months, making the position available again. This time, with no other applicant in sight, Toy Collins was hired and then, as the saying would have it, all hell broke loose. Because, then, the retaliation part of Toy’s hellish existence within the Red Cross began in full force.
PART II follows…
(The Toy Collins Discrimination Lawsuit)
PART I
Toy Collins, the Health and Safety Director for the American Red Cross’ Rock River Chapter who was fired on July 16, 2007 and who worked for the Red Cross for eight years, has countered with a lawsuit dated September 12, 2008 against the federally chartered stalwart non-profit that validates every suspicion uttered over the years about the Red Cross’ racism, sexism, ageism and retaliatory practices.
“Tar baby is what Lauren called me. Her and Karen would giggle and laugh at me when I complained. But that’s what she called me,” a distraught Collins said during a recent interview.
Lauren Zimmerman is the Emergency Service Director and Karen Kennedy is the Human Resources Director.
In an office of 23 people, Collins was the only African American paid staff member.
When a superior – or anyone, for that matter, calls you “tar baby” – well that’s as offensive as calling you a nigger. Making matters worse, it wasn’t a one-time offense. It happened on a regular basis.
During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 following the heavy criticism that fell on the American Red Cross for their poor performance with minorities -- the storm is credited with pulling the white veil of secrecy off the Red Cross and showed they are not used to dealing with people of color within the United States. According to the Red Cross’s own statistics, in that year, only 5 percent of the volunteers were black, 4% Hispanic and 2% Asian within the sprawling 700 plus chapters across the country.
So, one would have to question why employees of the American Red Cross engage in offensive behavior (as is evidenced by approximately 200 lawsuits against them during a period of approximately 6 years) against African Americans, women, aging employees, or anyone who doesn’t fit in with their culture even after the spotlight cast its light on their egregious errors. The answer to this is simple: change within an organization as large as the Red Cross does not happen overnight. And changing someone’s lifelong beliefs is not realistic. Not even when they’re wrong -- no one changes how they think or behave on a dime.
Toy Collins arrived at the Red Cross as a volunteer in 1998. At the time, The Red Cross wanted a 2% increase in African American donors and Mrs. Collins seemed to fit the bill. Well articulated, well educated and well connected, Collins was able to get more contributions into the local Rock River chapter than any other volunteer.
Toy proved to be a valuable commodity as a liason between the Red Cross and the African American community. On October 2000 Cynthia (Cindy) Waddick, at the time the Executive Director, offered Toy a paid staff position as the Health and Safety Community Coordinator. The job would be utilizing Toy’s social skills within the African American community.
As Toy recalls, she worked hard. She was proud to be working with the American Red Cross. Until one day in 2003, when the position just above hers opened up – that of the Health and Safety Director. A Health and Safety Director can hire people and has real responsibilities. It’s a management level position. And, at the Rock River Red Cross Chapter there were no black management employees. At least, not yet.
Collins approached Waddick and applied for the job.
“I like you where you are,” Waddick told Collins after she submitted her application, adding: “You aren’t management material.”
Yet Waddick turned around and offered Collins the job at a salary of $16,000/year. The promotion would have meant Toy getting a substantial decrease in salary. She declined and suddenly realized what had happened. It was an intentional gesture meant from keeping her from going up within the ranks.
By offering Collins less money than she was making, Waddick knew Collins couldn’t afford the pay cut and wouldn’t accept the “promotion.”
Except this is illegal. It’s an old trick used by higher ups within the American Red Cross, and used in this case, by Cindy Waddick to prevent Toy Collins from getting a promotion.
Meanwhile, Tyler Doty, a young man applied for the same job.
“Tyler is young and will run circles around you.” With those words Cindy Waddick sealed Toy’s fate and hired Doty. However, with those words and actions Waddick was also making it clear that: Toy was a woman, was too old, and was too black to be part of Red Cross management.
This folks, is called discrimination on the basis of gender, race, and age.
And the story would have ended there were it not for the fact that Doty wasn’t qualified and quit after just 7 short months, making the position available again. This time, with no other applicant in sight, Toy Collins was hired and then, as the saying would have it, all hell broke loose. Because, then, the retaliation part of Toy’s hellish existence within the Red Cross began in full force.
PART II follows…
