California teacher suing his own union for anti-white racism

A white Sacramento-area teacher is suing his local teachers’ union for racial discrimination.

Isaac Newman, a high school social science teacher in the Elk Grove Unified School District, filed the lawsuit May 24 against the Elk Grove Education Association (EGEA), claiming it prevented him from seeking a place on the union’s executive board solely because he is white.

“After nearly 10 years of membership, my union has barred me from running for a leadership position simply because of the color of my skin,” he said. “You don’t have to be a history teacher to recognize that this is a textbook example of discrimination and a blatant violation of the Civil Rights Act.  

“I hope my lawsuit will force the union to see reason and remove all racial barriers to running for elected office.”  

The lawsuit details how EGEA created a new “BIPOC” representative position for its executive board in 2023.  

Other executive positions include president, vice president, treasurer, various grade-level-specific representatives, a special education representative and an at-large member.  

However, EGEA specified the BIPOC representative had to “self-identify [as] African American (Black), Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawai’ian, Pacific Islander, Latino (including Puerto Rican), Asian, Arab, [or] Middle Eastern.”  

Despite wanting to run for union office, Newman was effectively disqualified by his race.  

Ironically, EGEA’s own bylaws say “members shall enjoy the same rights and privileges, regardless of age, gender identity, race, ethnicity, national origin and sexual orientation.” 

The lawsuit alleges the union is violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California law forbidding racial discrimination.  

In a statement to local media, EGEA ignored the substance of Newman’s complaint and focused on its alleged motivations.  

“This appears to be a lawsuit backed by an outside extremist group to sow fear and division in our community,” the union said. “We haven’t seen the details; but our priority continues to be our students and community.”  

Newman defended the legitimacy of his complaint.  

“This kind of racial litmus test is illegal and un-American [and] that’s why I’m taking them to court,” he said. “This is really about having a voice, pushing for real equality, real equity, not this equal-outcomes version.”  

He is seeking damages and asking the U.S. District Court to declare such anti-white discrimination unlawful.