After a long career at an Alabama poultry plant, John Hithon sued his employer, Tyson Foods, for racial discrimination because he alleged Tyson Foods denied him a promotion on two occasions because of his race.  In 2002, Hithon was awarded $1 million in damages by a jury.  The trial court found Hithon’s supervisor constantly referred to adult black men, including Hithon, as “boy” which helped prove Hithon was discriminated against in hiring decisions because of his race.  On appeal in 2005, the 11th Circuit remanded the case for new trial, finding use of the word “boy” by Hithon’s supervisor was not evidence of racial discrimination; however, if “boy” was modified with “black” or “white”, then the term could show discriminatory intent.  In 2006, the case reached the Supreme Court, which held that use of the term “boy” to describe an African-American man could, by itself, be considered evidence of racial discrimination.

On remand in 2007, the second jury found in favor of Hithon and awarded him $1.3 million in damages.  On August 20, 2010, the 11th Circuit reversed, stating evidence of use of the word “boy” by Hithon’s supervisor was not enough to support a jury’s finding of racial discrimination.  In fact, the 11th Circuit found the repeated use of the word “boy” constituted stray, ambiguous remarks which were non-racial in context.  It held no reasonable jury could have found racial discrimination occurred in Hithon’s case.

This case is important because it shows the hurdles we face as legal services advocates pursuing claims of racial discrimination.  It will be interesting to see if Hithon appeals again to the Supreme Court.  Given the Supreme Court’s recent hostility to racial discrimination claims brought by ethnic minorities, this case should be closely watched.