Rachel Dawson, former executive director of the University of Michigan Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, filed a lawsuit against the University Monday for alleged racial and gender discrimination during her termination process. The lawsuit, submitted through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, claims Dawson’s termination violated Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the lawsuit, Dawson also intends to simultaneously file suit in the Michigan Court of Claims for violations of her constitutional rights to free speech and due process.
Dawson, a Black woman, was fired in December 2024 following a report that she allegedly made antisemitic remarks at an academic diversity conference in March 2024, where she did not speak on behalf of nor represent the University.
According to the lawsuit, two conference attendees filed complaints against Dawson with the Anti-Defamation League, claiming she said Jewish people have “no genetic DNA that would connect them to the land of Israel” and that the University was “controlled by wealthy Jews.” The University then hired Covington & Burling LLP, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, to investigate the allegations. Covington & Burling also provides legal services for the ADL.
In her lawsuit, Dawson claims these allegations were false and exaggerated. The lawsuit stated that the two individuals approached Dawson by discussing rumors of antisemitism on the U-M campus and repeatedly asked her questions, prompting her to share her views on the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
“Ms. Klos and the other woman became angry with Ms. Dawson when she did not simply agree with their pre-conceived belief that the University of Michigan allowed antisemitism to flourish freely on campus,” the lawsuit stated. “They began to berate her and pepper her with unrelated questions, such as whether she understood the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Ms. Dawson responded that she did, and that she had recently read a scholarly article which stated that both Jewish and Palestinian people had ancient origins in the region. This angered the two women further.”
According to the lawsuit, prior to a disciplinary review conference held by the University in December 2024, Dawson also submitted a written statement to the University. In the section of the statement included in the lawsuit, Dawson wrote non-Black faculty have faced similar complaints without termination, and that she was singled out for a disciplinary review committee because she is a Black woman.
“The University’s characterization of my conduct as “aggressive” and “abusive” reflects negative stereotypes about Black women, and I am concerned that discrimination and bias may have informed the University’s response and decision to not only discipline me, but escalate my discipline from a written warning to a DRC,” Dawson wrote. “I am aware of several non-Black employees of the University who have been the subject of similar complaints about their behavior, and none have been terminated… The allegations against me illustrate how racial and gender biases can shape the interpretation of events and statements, especially for Black woman in positions of authority.”
Dawson seeks reparation for her lost wages and compensation for emotional and physical stress among other damages. Laurie Michelson, a district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, will preside over the hearing.
In an email to The Michigan Daily, University spokesperson Kay Jarvis wrote the University defends its decision to terminate Dawson.
“Rachel Dawson was appropriately terminated from her employment at the University of Michigan,” Jarvis wrote. “We will vigorously defend this matter.”
Summer News Editors Claudia Minetti and Sarah Spencer can be reached at cminetti@umich.edu and sarahsp@umich.edu.
