When an NHS manager innocently used the phrase ‘cracking the whip’ during a meeting, she had no idea it would trigger legal proceedings that would end up costing her employer and the taxpayer thousands of pounds.
But a nurse who heard the expression which has its roots in farming was horrified, believing it to have ‘connotations of slavery’.
The incident occurred in 2017, but nurse Vivienne Okoh didn’t resign until two years later. Ms Okoh, who is black, sued North East London Foundation Trust claiming she had been a victim of racial discrimination, harassment and victimisation by manager Caroline Ward.
Taniesha Lyons is demanding the resignation of Paul Wagemann, member of the Clover Park School Board since 2009.
Paul Wagemann
A special meeting of the school board to address the matter has been scheduled for Monday, December 21. The meeting agenda provides the link and password to join the webinar.
Lyons ran against Wagemann in 2019 and lost 62 to 38 percent.
Now Lyons wants Wagemann gone.
In a letter to the school board this week, Lyons charges Wagemann with “blatant bigotry and racism,” calling Wagemann “an explicit racist” and “a considerable liability.”
Lyon’s charges stem from a comment Wagemann made at the December 14 meeting of the school board.