Who are you not calling doctor? Academic sues over ‘racist slight’

A BLACK academic sued a university for race discrimination because the nameplate on her door did not have her “Dr” title on it.

Among a series of alleged “microaggressions”, Dr Christabelle Peters complained that the omission did not apply to her white colleagues at the University of Bristol.

The lecturer in American Cultural and Political History made a string of other racism allegations, including that her office furniture was not delivered and that her payslips were not put in her pigeonhole.

Dr Peters also complained that a senior lecturer told her “nobody gives a s--about Africa”, a tribunal heard.

The academic suffered a stroke while in Portugal and alleged that the university mistreated her in its handling of the incident, it was also heard.

The lecturer, who is black British of Guyanese origin, has lost all her claims at an employment tribunal. At the weeklong hearing in Bristol, in which Dr Peters represented herself, she brought claims of race discrimination, race harassment, victimisation and disability discrimination.

Dr Peters said she was the victim of “micro-aggressions” but the university said they were simple errors and the tribunal ruled in its favour. It found that the nameplate issue was an “admin error”, and that another lecturer had the same experience.

The tribunal heard in September 2018, when Dr Peters was making an application for a research project about Africa, a senior lecturer told her “nobody gives a s--- about Africa”.

The comment had a “marked effect” on Dr Peters. She felt “depressed” by it and the lecturer who made the comment was “gutted he upset her”, the tribunal heard. It ruled, however, that the university’s handling of the incident was not motivated by race.

After Dr Peters suffered a stroke in December 2019 and did not return to work, she claimed bosses were pushing for her to take ill health retirement and that this was racist.

The panel, however, found the university was also considering how it could get her to return to work when fit and able.

Dr Peters, who resigned in January this year, lost all her claims.

A spokesman for the University of Bristol said: “We are pleased the judge dismissed all claims made against us... We are disappointed matters needed to be resolved through legal channels as we know staff tried their very best efforts to support Dr Peters and address her various concerns.”

The tribunal found it was an admin error and that another lecturer had the same experience