White woman ‚harassed by anti-black racism‘
A white woman who claims she was racially harassed by „jokes“ insulting black people has won the right to take her case to an employment tribunal. Pat Gravell, 45, says that her former employer did nothing to stamp out the racist emails and text messages. Although she is white and British, she says that she was harassed by the remarks because she found them distressing and offensive. Gravell says she hopes to force employers to tackle casual racism in the workplace.
Last September a tribunal struck out her claim, saying it had no reasonable prospect of success, but today she won the right for a full hearing. The fact that she is white was not a „killer blow“, and her claim should be judged on its merits. Ms Gravell, who was made redundant in January after five years in the job, says that her colleagues sent her texts referring to black people as monkeys, made offensive references to the mixed-race marriage, and mocked those who died in the New Orleans flood.
