Human Rights Campaign Sued by Its Former President

Alphonso David, the first Black president of Human Rights Campaign, was fired in September after more than two years in the role—and now he's suing the LGBTQ advocacy organization, saying it terminated him because of his race. In fact, the group has a "deserved reputation for unequal treatment of its non-white employees," the suit claims. David says he was underpaid for the same reason, and that HRC board members "acknowledged" the reason he got less than his predecessor was because the president before him had been white. The HRC's interim president says the lawsuit is "riddled with untruths" and that David was actually fired because the New York attorney general's probe found that he had helped to discredit one of the women who accused Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. David served as Cuomo's chief counsel until 2019.

David also says he was discouraged from talking about race, alleging a senior exec criticized him for issuing a statement in support of Black Lives Matter on the HRC's behalf, saying it could "alienate" "white gay men" and other donors; asked him not to mention on his website bio that he was the first Black president of the HRC; and was not happy when David hired a Black-owned consulting firm, then once criticized a Black HRC staffer for going to a meeting with the company without a white staffer present because "it will be just like all the Black people looking out for each other." David also says a board member asked him after one speech, "We all know you’re Black, why do you keep telling us that?" and a board co-chair said after the same speech that HRC "was not ready for a Black president," NPR reports.

But the HRC's interim president insists the finding from the AG's investigation was a "painful revelation, particularly because so many members of the LGBTQ+ community are survivors of assault and harassment themselves." She adds, "Notably, some of the individuals he accuses of discriminatory behavior are people of color and champions of racial equity and inclusion who provided support and guidance as Mr. David led the organization." Nonetheless, NBC News points out HRC has been criticized at other times over the past 10 years for allegedly discriminating against people of color and transgender people. "Discrimination and bias are rife within HRC. And I’m just the latest person to be affected," David tells the Washington Post. He says the actions he took while working for Cuomo were not improper. (More Human Rights Campaign stories.)