Opinion ID: 392240
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Taylor's Resignation from Mail Room Clerk Position.

Text: 15 The defendant does not contend that the district court erred in holding him liable under Title VII for the constructive discharge of Corenna Taylor from her mail room position; it would be futile to do so. We, nevertheless, recite some of the overwhelming evidence relating to the dismal racial atmosphere at the Arkansas Military Department to serve as a backdrop for this opinion. 16 The record clearly supports the district court's finding that Taylor's resignation was forced by the racial atmosphere existing in this Department; that she stayed as long as any self-respecting black person could have been expected to stay; and specifically that a white woman in her position would not have been treated in the same fashion. 17 A number of black employees of the Guard, whose testimony was specifically credited by the district court, recounted numerous instances in which they had been subjected to racial slurs, epithets and jokes. Marcellus Person, an EEOC counselor with the Guard, described the racial atmosphere at Camp Robinson as degrading. On frequent occasions, the terms niggers and spooks were used in his presence. He was told by co-workers that he was a token and was called that by some. John Watson, who in 1971 became the first black ever employed by the Guard, testified that his supervisor had physically threatened him, supposedly in jest, and consistently harassed him. Larry Hale, hired to replace Corenna Taylor in the mail room, was frequently called an uppity nigger or smart nigger. He stated that he and other black males were called boy; the white males were not so addressed. Hale also described a racially-charged incident that occurred while he was on training duty: National Guard Military Policeman instigated a fight with some black individuals, and then returned to the barracks where Hale was lodged to get billy clubs and to recruit other people to help finish what they had started. Let's go and get these niggers was the rallying cry. On one occasion, an employee of the Guard, who openly claimed to be a Ku Klux Klan member, hung up a hangman's noose in the supply rooms. As the district court stated, (t)he message conveyed or attempted to be conveyed by that action was unmistakable. 18 The pervasive atmosphere of prejudice in the National Guard was exacerbated for the plaintiff by the nature of her position. Taylor testified that the mail room job involved a great deal of heavy lifting, an aspect of the job that had not been explained to her before she took it. She felt that this physically demanding work was assigned to her because she was black. This assertion was buttressed by subsequent testimony: Corenna's two predecessors in the mail room, and the man hired to take her place were all black. Colonel Burdell, Director of Personnel and Administration for the Adjutant General, could think of no other job at Camp Robinson, except perhaps in the security guard force, that has had such a high percentage of black participation. There was also evidence that this traditionally black job was under-classified. 19 The plaintiff testified that racially offensive jokes were told in her presence, including one that ended with the punch line, Oh, don't worry about it, we're just barbecueing a few niggers. In another instance, a state employee of the Guard responded to a question directed at him in Taylor's presence by saying, Well, you know how that goes, they start treating us like niggers, they're making us park in the back and enter through the back door now. 20 There is, thus, ample evidence in the record to support the district court's finding that the racial atmosphere of the Arkansas Military Department was dismal, and further, that the atmosphere of racial discrimination and of prejudice was so pervasive and so long continuing in this Department of State Government that the employer must have become conscious of it. Employer toleration of a racially discriminatory work atmosphere clearly violates Title VII. See Bundy v. Jackson, 641 F.2d 934, 943-944 (D.C.Cir.1981); Firefighters Inst. for Racial Equality v. City of St. Louis, 549 F.2d 506, 514-515 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 819, 98 S.Ct. 60, 54 L.Ed.2d 76 (1977); Rogers v. EEOC, 454 F.2d 234 (5th Cir. 1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 957, 92 S.Ct. 2058, 32 L.Ed.2d 343 (1972). This is not a situation in which an employee has been the object of isolated, casual ethnic slurs. See Cariddi v. Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, Inc., 568 F.2d 87 (8th Cir. 1977). Rather, the plaintiff was subjected to an atmosphere heavily charged with racial discrimination which she endured as long as could be expected. 21 As has been noted, employer toleration of a discriminatory atmosphere alone gives rise to a cause of action by the plaintiff. However, the district court further found that the plaintiff was entitled to relief under the doctrine of constructive discharge. The court determined that Corenna Taylor's resignation was forced by the opprobrious racial atmosphere existing in the Guard, and that these conditions were the result of deliberate and conscious acts by the defendant. These findings are not clearly erroneous and fully support the court's ruling that the defendant is liable under Title VII for the plaintiff's resignation. See Calcote v. Texas Educ. Foundation, Inc., 458 F.Supp. 231 (W.D.Tex.1976), aff'd, 578 F.2d 95 (5th Cir. 1978); Young v. Southwestern Sav. and Loan Ass'n, 509 F.2d 140 (5th Cir. 1975). 22