White Student Files $2 Million Lawsuit Against Howard University Claiming Racial Discrimination

A white student is suing Howard University for $2 million after claiming he suffered from racial discrimination while attending the university’s law school.

The New York Post reported Michael Newman was a law school student at the Washington, D.C based HBCU in 2020 and was expelled in September 2022. While there, the lawsuit claims Newman suffered “depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts” due to “public ostracism, vilification and humiliation.” He specifically named Howard’s Global Head of Diversity Recruiting, Reggie McGahee, in the lawsuit, saying McGahee told Newman he allegedly was the most hated student he had seen during his tenure at the university.

The school’s VP and Chief Communications Officer, Frank Tramble, told The Post he couldn’t fully comment on the lawsuit, however, he said the school is prepared for a fight. Tramble said the lawsuit is a “one-sided and self-serving narrative of the events leading to the end of the student’s enrollment at the University.”

Newman’s lawyers are attempting to prove Howard broke its contract with Newman, who was attending on a scholarship, according to The Post.

Newman claimed the real trouble for him started at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when classes switched to a virtual setting. Students generally communicated through GroupMe or other online portals. During a symposium close to the 2020 election, according The Daily Mail, Newman proposed questions to the African-American speakers, asking “why Black voters didn’t question turning to government for solutions” and “how reliably voting for the same party every election disincentivized both parties from responding to the needs of the black communities.”

He received instant backlash and was removed from the class.

Students also felt “offended” when Newman allegedly compared himself to a black student attending a PWI, or primarily white institution. After attempting to apologize, Newman said students began calling him names such as “mayo king” and “white panther.”

Danielle Holley, the dean of the School of Law, allegedly accused Newman of racially harassing fellow students and suggested he transfer to another school. After both Holley and Newman filed several complaints, a school panel determined that Newman was “responsible” and ruled that he should be expelled.