By Lucius Gantt
One day, years ago, a woman accused me of sexual harassment. I was minding my own business in a state government parking lot and the woman asked me, “How are you doing today?” and I replied, “Better now that I see you.”
In a matter of days, I was called into a state office and was told about the harassment accusation. Before I could say anything, I was told to go on about my business and ignore the woman.
What happened was the supervisor that heard the accusation told the woman, “That’s crazy! Lucius tells everybody that, men and women!”
The woman, who I had never spoken to before or after the parking lot incident wasn’t mad at me, she was mad at a coworker of hers that was a friend of mine so she made a frivolous complaint to, allegedly, hurt my friend and her coworker.
Anyway, I think every man or woman that feels they have been harassed should report their feelings to an investigatory office or agency so that agency can look into the matter.
If harassment truly happened, the perpetrator should be punished. If no harassment happened, the false accuser should also be punished.
Black men in America have been reprimanded, demoted, fired, lynched and murdered because of false allegations as far back as in slavery days.
I know some Gantt Report readers don’t like for me to write about stuff like this but it is true. When liars want to take the heat off of themselves, oftentimes they feel the best thing to do about their lies and misdeeds is to “blame it on a nig**r”!
Are there any historical references to this topic? Yes!
In 1955, Emmet Till, a young boy in Mississippi, was brutally murdered after being falsely accused of sexually harassing Carolyn Bryant, a white woman, in a grocery store.
In 1987 Pervis Payne was convicted for the 1987 murder of Charisse Christopher and her child in Millington, Tennessee. The prosecution argued that Payne had been searching for sex after using drugs and looking at a Playboy magazine, and that he attacked Christopher after he made an advance on her and she rejected him. But no evidence supports that theory and DNA evidence proved Payne’s innocence.
The predominately Black town of Rosewood, Florida was burned to the ground and Blacks were killed because of false accusations.
I could write a book about the many, many times Black men were falsely accused by non-Black women so when anybody is accused of sexual harassment I think the allegations should be investigated before the news networks that you love rush to judgments and conclusions.
Do you remember when President Joe Biden was accused of inappropriately touching a woman? Biden damn near hugs everybody.
Today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been accused of workplace harassment by at least two women.
Is Cuomo being “Negroed”? Perhaps, perhaps not.
If a Black woman accuses a white man of sexual harassment will the news media rush to report the allegation or will the allegation be covered up and swept under the rug.
I don’t know. I just know that all credible accusations should be investigated and the chips should fall where they may.
Harassment is terrible but false allegations are bad too.
Lucius is a contributing columnist to NNPA newspapers around the nation, and the author of “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” available on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere.