NAACP wins court victory in East Haven suit

By Anika Singh

Although Dorsey found no "purposeful" discrimination, he concluded that "it is psychologically forboding for a black to seek jobs in dominantly, if not exclusively, white employment ranks." While African Americans make up 17 percent of East Haven's population, of 309 municipal workers, only one, a welfare director, is African American and of 416 school board employees, two are African American.

Roger Vann, president of the Greater New Haven NAACP, lauded the decision as a major step towards changing the demographics of the city's workforce. "Whether [he thought] the discrimination was intentional or unintentional the judge is asking the town to do exactly what we wanted it to do," Vann said. The NAACP's 1993 suit was filed when an African American applicant who placed first on the civil service test was not given a job with the city.

NAACP lawyers decried "the overwhelming paucity of African American hires" and testified that the city's environment was unfriendly to minority applicants. "The focus we put on negative perceptions [and] stories of harassment ...essentially worked together to bring the decision that there had been sufficient discouragement to even apply [for city jobs]."

Beyond the numbers, Joshua N. Rose, an NAACP attorney in Washington, D.C., pointed to an existing "stigma in the community" that keeps minorities from applying because they feel that they will not be seriously considered for positions. The NAACP also attacked what Vann labeled "a patronage system" that keeps whites in municipal posts.

The court is now left to consider what specific actions the town must take in order to remedy its hiring practices. The NAACP has proposed a series of initiatives to boost minority recruitment. The town has until next week to respond to these initiatives. According to Hugh Keefe, attorney for the town of East Haven, the NAACP has "requested nothing that wasn't already being done" Keefe said. The town is willing to advertise municipal and school job offerings on minority radio stations, search for applicants through minority organizations, and personally approach individuals and groups to apply for jobs. Such actions are similar to those proposed by the NAACP.

Vann expressed hope that such action would result in a more diverse work force in East Haven but stressed that substantive change may not occur for some time. "This is where the rubber hits the road," he said. "We'll have to encourage people on our side to be Jackie Robinsons and break down the color line. Hopefully in my lifetime we'll see a much more diverse workforce." He expressed concern, however, with the difficulty with which change must be realized, cautioning that similar suits in New Jersey and Cleveland, Ohio have yielded mixed results. "Some towns have seen significant increases, others have not. You can't legislate or mandate from the court bench how people feel."

Despite the ruling, Keefe said that both he and East Haven mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr. were pleased with the ruling. According to Keefe, the NAACP's claims that there had been intentional discrimination were "forcefully rejected" in the text of Judge Dorsey's ruling, and the evidence presented concerning specific incidents of discrimination was deemed unconvincing. "There is no evidence at all of discrimination in the history of the town," he said.

In fact, Keefe alleged that there was no basis at all for the suit, and that the NAACP entered the court battle "for the money." As part of the settlement, the NAACP has demanded that East Haven subsidize its legal fees. The exact amount for which the NAACP lawyers will file has not yet been disclosed, but the suit has already cost the town well over $200,000 in its own legal fees.

Vann and Rose dismissed Keefe's attacks as attempts to steer attention away from the ruling. "It is clear that the town of East Haven had to pay Mr. Keefe and a team of 14 people close to $250,000 to resolve an issue that could have been resolved cheaply years ago," Vann said.

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