Filed under: News
Colson says that another employee showed her a picture of a penis on a cell phone. She says that when she complained about the incident, other employees retaliated against her. She is claiming that the church is responsible for the harassment she experienced, as well as the retaliation and emotional distress.
"New Birth has a strict policy against sexual harassment that requires employees to report the complaint within 48 hours of the abuse," Long and church spokesman Art Franklin told CNN.
"Tama Colson's complaint allegedly happened in October of 2009," the statement said. "Although, Tama Colson was aware of the New Birth sexual harassment policy she did not make her complaint known to New Birth authorities until August of this year. New Birth moved swiftly to launch an investigation that is ongoing."
Colson began working for the church in 1998. She says that she was hesitant to report the incident to her direct supervisor because the man who allegedly showed her the picture of the penis was part of Bishop Eddie Long's inner circle. She says that after the incident, she was demoted by the church and intimidated by the man who showed her the picture. She was also accused of poor work performance and eventually fired.
In many ways, this sounds like a typical workplace sexual harassment suit, where none of us really knows what happened. While there are certainly many legitimate cases of sexual harassment, there are also cases where race or gender are used to excuse poor performance. The problem for The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, however, is that the lawsuit has been filed during a time when some suspect that church leadership may have been bending quite a few rules as it pertains to sexual boundaries. The sex scandal involving Bishop Eddie Long is the obvious case in point.
This is the sixth lawsuit filed against either New Birth or Bishop Eddie Long in the past six weeks. Personally, I believe that both Bishop Long and the church may end up filing bankruptcy, which would be a terrible outcome for such a strong institution. They are also going to experience a decline in membership from innocent bystanders who've faithfully filled the pews every Sunday. Although the black church can be full of drama, there is a point where the drama simply becomes too much to bear.
For the rest of us, one important lesson to learn is that there is no room in the workplace for anything that might constitute sexual harassment. Inappropriate jokes, comments, or nonverbal behavior can get you into serious trouble. Equalrights.org defines sexual harassment to be:
"Unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment."
My point is that sexual harassment is something you don't want to play around with. In fact, I am even against the idea of dating someone in your workplace, given that you can never be sure of how vindictive that person might be if the relationship goes south. I've seen colleagues in academia have their entire careers ruined by ill-timed relationships with students or their co-workers. There are plenty of people to date outside the workplace, so why take the risk?
If a picture of a penis was shown to Ms. Colson, then that's obviously a problem. If she has a documented complaint and the issue was not addressed, that is also a serious problem. When it comes to possible sexual harassment on the job, it should be taken very seriously, especially since women are going to soon make up the majority of our workforce. The days of assuming that being sexually harassed is just part of being a woman are gone. Being accused of harassment can cost you everything, including your career, your reputation and a great deal of money. If you are a business owner and have not taken necessary precautions, one lawsuit can push you into bankruptcy. If you are a victim of harassment, make sure you know your rights so you can be protected. In fact, both the accuser and the accused should be sure to understand the law.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.