MATC VP resigned over race issues
Employees speaking out about culture of racism
Black employees at the Milwaukee Area Technical College are raising concerns about what they see as a pervasive culture of racism and discrimination, fueled in part by the abrupt resignation of an African American member of the college’s presidential cabinet.
Amir Law, the college’s former vice president of enrollment management, resigned effective Jan. 22, according to a resignation letter obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel under Wisconsin’s public records law.
In an email to several campus leaders on his last day at the college, which was also obtained by the Journal Sentinel, Law wrote that issues of race were at the root of his decision to leave.
“My decision to leave MATC after less than a year is fairly straightforward: Race is never far from the surface of any situation in the U.S., especially in Milwaukee as an African American male,” Law wrote. “As many have noted, MATC is a microcosm of
Milwaukee and not in a good way. The lack of respect, empathy, and acknowledgment of the adverse treatment of Black employees on campus is what led to my resignation.”
Law did not elaborate on any specific incidents of racism or discrimination in his email to MATC leaders. As of late Tuesday afternoon, he had not responded to several Journal Sentinel requests for an interview.
“All I can say is that the resignation was unfortunate and that we will continue to focus on supporting our current and future employees of our college,” Vicki Martin, MATC’s president, said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.
The departure of one of the college’s highest-ranking African American leaders is only the latest example of the discrimination faced by Black employees at the college, according to a group that represents them.
In a Feb. 8 letter to Martin and MATC’s Vice President of Human Resources Laquitha Bonds, the group, called the African American Network, pointed to Law’s resignation as “emblematic of the culture of the College.”
“The Network is deeply concerned about the current and historical racial climate at the college,” co-chairs Walter Lanier and Nina Powell wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the Journal Sentinel through sources outside the organization’s leadership.
Lanier and Powell wrote the group’s concern was not new, but “it has been escalated and elevated by the sudden resignation of Dr. Amir Law.”
The African American Network is an independent organization that represents the interests of MATC’s Black employees to college leadership. The Network also works to raise scholarship dollars for students.
Lanier, who according to LinkedIn has worked at MATC for more than 12 years, is the director of student resources and counseling services. Powell, who has worked at the college for more than 21 years according to LinkedIn, is a deputy Title IX coordinator and student complaints administrator.
Lanier declined an interview request, saying the letter speaks for itself and the group will keep pushing for change.
Harassment and intimidation
In addition to raising concerns about Law’s resignation, the organization’s letter outlined several other allegations of discrimination and harassment against Black employees at MATC.
In one situation, the authors recalled a white female supervisor who used the phrase “n ***** toes” to refer to one of her Black employees and, the group alleges, harassed and retaliated against the employee by writing her up.
According to the MATC’s written response to the African American Network’s letter, which the college provided to the Journal Sentinel, the college investigated the complaint and disciplined the supervisor. The college did not elaborate on the nature of the discipline in its response to the Network.
Lanier and Powell also wrote of two other instances in which top college leaders — at the vice presidential level — “have been accused of harassing, intimidating, (and) discriminating against people of color at the college.” The Network’s letter alleges two leaders had a history of making belittling and discriminatory comments about Black employees, including one who called a group of Black employees “riff-raff.”
In investigating the accusations against both college leaders, MATC “did not substantiate a finding of racially based harassment,” according to the college’s response letter.
One of those complaints arose when a senior leader at the college reported a vice president who spoke disparagingly and mockingly about Equan Burrows, now MATC’s dean of student experience, questioning his intelligence, belittling him and making “inaccurate assumptions of professional coat-tailing for positions.”
Burrows serves as co-chair of the African American Network’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee but did not speak to the Journal Sentinel on behalf of the Network. He confirmed the letter’s characterization of the allegations as accurate.
Burrows said he was understanding of the need for the college to maintain confidentiality around the outcome of the investigation. However, he was disheartened by a nearly three-month delay from the conclusion of the investigation by an external firm and any communication from the college as to the status of the complaint. He only heard of a resolution when he went and asked the college for one.
While the college was apologetic for the delay, the African American Network’s members saw it as a concerning example of delays in following up on investigations related to racial bias.
Burrows said his story is just one piece of greater institutional concerns, which he — as part of that institution — believes he has the responsibility to improve, internally. He’s heard from many colleagues who “have a true fear, to tears, of being retaliated against.”
“Holistically, I think the letter, though it references specific instances, I think it speaks to a more culture-based concern and I think that’s what needs to be addressed and dealt with,” Burrows said.
“I still believe in the structure, even though there have been pieces that have faltered, I believe in the structure and that the sanctity of this 100-plus-yearold institution will prevail and support the greater good, which is educating our students and providing an equitable working environment for all,” he said.
MATC leaders call for empathy, change
In an interview Friday, Martin acknowledged the seriousness of the African American Network’s concerns and said the college must listen with empathy, acknowledge the problems raised and take action.
“Our employees’ experiences are their experiences, and if people have concerns, we have to recognize that, listen, understand and address the concerns,” the college president said. “That’s my pledge as president and my expectation of my leadership team.”
MATC is easily one of the most racially diverse campuses in the state: 41% of its 1,236 full-time employees are “diverse” and 26% are Black. In 2019, nearly 60% of the student body identified as people of color and 29% were Black.
But “diversity does not automatically grant equity and inclusion,” Martin said.
“This is an issue that we and I take seriously,” she said. “My commitment is to ensure that our college is free from racism, discrimination, harassment and bias of any kind. We remain intentional in our efforts to maintain a learning and working environment where staff, faculty and students feel safe and supported in their personal and professional development. But we have work to do.”
Martin and Bonds addressed several other concerns raised by the Network’s letter, including perceptions of racebased pay discrepancies — specifically unequal opportunities for tasks that include additional pay — and widespread fear of retaliation for reporting discrimination.
Martin and Bonds said there were no specific instances of retaliation in the letter for them to address, and pointed employees to a standing policy stating the college does not tolerate it and that any substantiated instances of retaliation would result in discipline “up to and including termination.”
The Network’s letter referenced a particular “culture of fear” among custodial workers, which the college said it has referred to the vice president of operations and the college’s general counsel. The college will also host a “focused listening session” for those employees.
On the issue of pay, Bonds disputed the Network’s claim “stretch assignments” — special projects or tasks beyond an employee’s job description and with additional pay — were assigned in a discriminatory way.
Citing college data from the start of 2020 through Feb 2021, four African American employees got such assignments for a 10.2% average pay bump, compared with three Hispanic employees with a 9.2% average pay bump and six white employees with a 7.9% average pay raise.
Bonds, who is four months into her job, acknowledged the letter raised questions about how the human resources department could be more transparent in addressing potential perceptions of bias.
“I really think it’s just a lack of understanding and I can’t say we’ve done the greatest job in being at the forefront of that,” Bonds said.
Campuswide, MATC is working on several diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, including: a re-evaluation of all of MATC’s student and employee policies “through a diversity, equity and inclusion lens;” a new campus culture and climate assessment; monthly meetings with the African American Network; ongoing listening sessions for student and employee concerns; and mandatory unconscious bias training.
The college is also requiring bias training for hiring panels, creating a new scoring system that accounts for job candidates’ “nontraditional experiences” and creating a “leadership training academy,” which will include training on conscious and unconscious retaliation and how to be an antiracist leader.
Another important step both the college and the African American Network have expressed hope about is the arrival this month of MATC’s first-ever diversity, equity and inclusion executive, who will oversee those efforts across the campuses and report directly to Martin.
Still, the culminating effect of the letter, alongside Law’s resignation, paint a picture of an institution where leaders and employees alike agree there is much work to be done.
“This is just a representative sample of what is a long list of incidents and issues that reflect the culture of an institution that could be, but is not now, great,” Lanier and Powell wrote.