'Suffocating': Why a Black Professor Quit Collin College
McKinney -- On Kimberly O’Neil’s first day of work at Collin College in August 2014, she was at a big meeting for adjunct faculty members. As she sat in the political science room, a full-time professor approached her, she said. “Oh, a Black person,” O’Neil recalls her saying. “We can finally talk about civil rights.”
If it was meant to be a joke, O’Neil wasn’t laughing. It’s just one instance out of a litany of racist and bigoted conduct she says she experienced during her time as a political science professor at Collin College. After years of similar occurrences, she decided in March to resign.
As a former government executive, O’Neil said her work investigating and monitoring compliance on equal opportunity laws appears on federal records. She’s uniquely poised to understand that employees of color are treated differently at Collin College. So are immigrants with thick accents or those who practice certain religions.
“We’re not just dealing with bad behavior. We’re really dealing with something systemic,” O’Neil said, adding, “I know it’s not only happening to me.
Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/collin-college-professor-resigns-after-years-of-racial-harassment-12070537
