A class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Tuesday claims African American employees at CNN and Turner have been systematically discriminated against.
“This system prevents qualified African-Americans from competing equally for positions or even knowing that they are available,” the suit claims.
Atlanta attorney Daniel Meachum is representing two plaintiffs, Celeslie Henley, a former executive administrative assistant at CNN, and Ernest Colbert Jr., whose LinkedIn page lists him as a senior programming manager at TBS.
“African-Americans, especially African-American males, have historically received the lowest performance ratings than their Caucasians counterparts,” the suit reads.
“This is not some overly-sensitive black person with a chip on their shoulder and thinking that you owe them something,” said Meachum at a news conference this morning. “I was raised that if you get an education and you work hard, you get rewards,” he added.
“There are zero African-American males or African American females with the job title of vice president or higher at CNN,” the suit says.
CNN is declining comment.
Class Action Complaint Henley and Colbert v. TBS, Time Warner and CNN by tvnewser on Scribd